Get Found! Local Online Marketing and Advertising Blog is a place where we research, discuss and present what works for getting small businesses found by their local customers on the internet. Our goal is to learn, educate and help grow small businesses, using the internet as our platform.
Facebook pages and how it helps Local Businesses
Facebook pages are an awesome tool for local businesses today. Over the last couple of years,
Facebook has exploded in popularity, making it the dominant social networking forum. Not only
has it helped millions of people to connect to long lost friends and family, it has become a hugely
beneficial marketing outlet for local businesses.
Many experts have hypothesized that daily Facebook searches may one day soon surpass Goog
le
searches. Any local business owner, who knows anything about Internet marketing, realizes what
a gold mind of an opportunity this presents.
Of course, not everyone just naturally finds success with Facebook marketing. It is a matter of
knowing how to market appropriately in the social media arena.
Steps to Successful Facebook Pages Marketing for Small Businesses
Before anything else happens, you obviously must create a Facebook page for your local
business. These are business themed profiles and are not the same as traditional user profiles.
They highlight business hours, website, and provide room for additional marketing practices
like polls and contests. Though they are free to create, be prepared to budget in some money for
related Facebook marketing.
Once your page is up and running, the rest primarily remains around properly promoting it for
consumers. Not only do you want to market your page by encouraging people to visit it on your
business flyers, cards, and website- but also by maintaining a healthy, active presence.
Properly Marketing your Facebook Pages
Facebook is a powerful tool, but it is not a “create it and forget it” type of thing. You need
to include frequent updates, add media, and pictures. Many experts encourage local business
owners to update their Facebook pages status at least once per day, preferably twice. It is
important to post during times when the company’s targeted demographic will most likely be
logged in, often mid-morning and early afternoon present optimal times, though this varies.
In addition to frequent updates, it is important that local business owners communicate with their
clients over Facebook. This means commenting and liking their statuses from time to time in an
organic and non-spammy sort of way. Business to customer engagement is important and helps
to develop community. Just be sure you aren’t going overboard and spamming your customer’s
wall. This is something that will quickly leave you “unfriended”.
Fill your posts with informative, engaging information. Seek out interesting news stories and
blog posts that are related to your business and will catch the attention of your clientele. Take
time out to upload images from recent events, offer Facebook only discounts, sales, and prizes.
Give your clients interesting, thought-provoking polls which they can share with their peers,
bringing even more people to your Facebook pages.
Since people love to use their Facebook to “check in” to local businesses, you are constantly
getting your name out. Other people will see that their friends frequent your business and you are
automatically getting a word-of-mouth reference. The amount of connections you can make to
local clientele through Facebook is infinite.
If you want to see where your business stands, use our free and instant market anaysis tool by visiting our home page at www.FoundLocals.com
Posted in Local Online Advertising Basics | No Comments »
Why Citations Are Important and How it effects your Local Business
Local Business Citations and SEO
Firstly, citations are an important part of search engine optimization (SEO), a common Internet marketing strategy that makes a certain website more favorable to search engines. This is because they add credibility to your page, which is important for getting a higher ranking on search engines like Google.
Just as it is important to brand yourself well and get your name out to the public through print advertising and word-of-mouth reference in the real world, it is equally as important on the net. The more times your name and valid information pops up across the net, the more legitimate and valuable you appear to sites like Google. This is a crucial part of link building, which is one of the biggest elements of SEO.
In other words, the more credible you seem to Google, the higher up on the list of results your page will appear during a related search.
Citations from Local Business Review Sites
The citations that you build on local business review sites are critical, not only because they help to build your credibility with search engines, but also because they are highly relevant to customers who are seeking out a business over the web. It is becoming more common every day for consumers to look into this information prior to investing their time and money in a new company.
If you think people don’t look for local businesses online, think again. As much as 20% of searches online today are for local businesses. Many times, these searches are aimed at finding not only basic contact information but also reviews from other consumers. This is why it is important to build and monitor reviews as much as possible.
By having a significant number of citations on the web, you will be increasing your businesses’ reach both through search engines, as well as directly to consumers. Clearly, even without including the value of link building and search engine optimization, the more times your business is mentioned on the web, the greater the probability that an interested consumer will find you. All in all, what do you have to lose?
Tags: citations, local business
Posted in Local Internet 101 | No Comments »
Local Internet 101: The Three Steps of Local Online Advertising
I’d like to introduce you to the first article of our new “Local Internet 101″ series; a set of entries geared towards helping small business owners coming from a bricks-and-mortar business who are making their first steps onto the internet.
If you’re new here, let me be the first to say “Welcome”. You’ve probably already experienced enough terminology, technology and new concepts to make your head spin. Well, the Local Internet 101 series is here to get you caught up to speed by walking you through some of the fundamentals of local online advertising for small businesses. We keep the concepts simple by relating internet terminology to real-world concepts that you’re all familiar with. By the time we’re done with you, you’ll have reduced your C.P.A., elevated your R.O.I. and know all of the ends and outs of S.E.O. (you’ll also be able to understand that sentence!)
Let’s get to it then, shall we? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Local Online Advertising, small business, targeting, website
Posted in General | No Comments »
Can Local Customers Find YOUR Business Online?
One of the questions I’m asked most frequently by clients is “How will I know if customers can find my business online?”. Equally important is the question “Are customers are even searching online for my type of business?”.
The fact is, thousands of local customers search online daily for a variety businesses in their local area. In fact, a 2007 study by NPD group showed that 80% of customers searching online will eventually find a local business and follow up with a contact such as a phone call or store visit. But if they can’t find your business online, that contact is likely to be with one of your competitors. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Basics, Competition, Local Online Advertising, Local Online Marketing, Search Engines
Posted in Local Online Advertising Basics | 2 Comments »
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