Behind 203local

203local was created in March of 2018 to discover, explore and support local small businesses and events in the area.

Upon creation of the account, the hashtag #203local had been used less than 500 times. As of the date of this new website launch (1/1/25), the tag has now been used almost 225K times.

Early on, we figured out that the best way to get local businesses to start using the hashtag was to “like” every picture from different accounts. We created over 20 accounts that we would spent 5-6 hours a day “liking” all posts that used the tag #203local.

While no one owns a hashtag, you can clearly see upon following the tag that it is commonly used by local businesses, social media influencers, social media professionals, and regular people to share information about businesses they have discovered in “the 203”.

We think it’s super cool that so many members of the community are utilizing this tag and have been able to discover TONS more businesses because of it!

All businesses & events posted on 203local must have a local tie and have local customers or attendees in Fairfield & New Haven Counties.

In addition to running over 60 accounts under the 203local umbrella, we now run social media accounts on behalf of businesses and send out a weekly newsletter blast to almost 40K households. Check out our IG/FB accounts for hyperlocally targeted content!

@203bethany @203bethel @203blackrock @203branford @203bridgeportct @203brookfield @203brunch @203buds @203cheshire @203cocktail @203danbury @203darien @203datenight @203easton @203events @203fairfield @203glutenfree @203greenwich @203guilford @203kids @203livemusic @203local @203madisonct @203middlebury @203milford @203monroe @203munchies @203newcanaan @203newfairfield @203newhavenct @203newtown @203norwalk @203orange @203oxford @203pizzas @203popups @203redding @203ridgefield @203sheltonct @203sherman @203socialclub @203southbury @203staffing @203stamford @203stratford @203trumbull @203vegan @203weston @203westport @203wilton @203woodbridge @203woodmont @860local @914kids @914local