Businesses Continue Shift to Digital Advertising – Midmarket – News & Reviews – eWeek.com

Written by Local Business Get Online | Scoop.it | posted in Local Online Marketing News | 0 Comments

You may not be online yet, but can you afford not to be?  Your competitors are probably are...

"Our forecast clearly indicates that the allocation of SMB advertising and marketing dollars for acquiring and retaining customers will both shift and grow over the next five years," said Mark Fratrik, vice president of BIA/Kelsey.

Just 20 Customers Can Get Your Social Marketing Moving

Written by Angie Seaman | posted in Local Business Marketing, Local Business Social Media, Local Online Reputation Management | 0 Comments

If you have 20 customers who love you, that’s all you need to get your online presence kick-started.  According to Ning’s Point of View report, it only takes 20 people to bring an online community to a significant level of activity and connectivity.

The report also goes on to say there is a big shift from just sending out status updates to developing a dialog.  Which really means that online, you should be having the types conversations you have with your customers inside your store every day.

Social media is really about community and word of mouth.  Your customers are much more influential than you are when it comes to bringing new customers through your doors.  So get them talking about you in an organized way on your Facebook page, or start talking with them on Twitter.  Just get the conversation started online where your customers can start spreading the good word about you.  Here are some ideas about how to get the conversation rolling…

Answer Questions about Products

Do you sell anything quirky or unique?  A conversation starter?  Post pictures of it and invite your customers to comment about it.  Or ask your customers what questions they have for you.   One caution here:  be sure you actually reply.  Just like it would be rude to walk away from a customer in the middle of a conversation on your sales floor, don’t leave your customers hanging on Facebook or Twitter.

Post a Poll Question

Pick a topic in your business’s area of expertise and put up a poll on Facebook.  People love to see what others think and compare opinions.  The results of the poll will be a good update to post later, too.  The post will probably get a lot of comments as people agree and disagree with the results.

Offer Advice

For service-oriented businesses, offer help with something that you’re an expert on.  Your customers will appreciate that you took the time to think about their questions and the personal level of customer service will set you apart.  It’s all about making connections with customers and future customers to build loyalty.

Weigh in on What They’re Talking About

Social media is a two-way street – you don’t have to stick to the conversations you start.  Do a search on Twitter for some phrases in your business’s topic area and answer questions or offer opinions.  Search for your store’s name and see what they’re saying about you.  Thank customers for mentioning good experiences, and try to resolve any issues you might see come up.  Be helpful and open to suggestions, and your customers will be impressed that you took time out to acknowledge and help them.

What You Need To Know About Online Sales Tax

Written by angie | posted in Info from Twitter & the Web | 0 Comments

How a Local Restaurant Built 20,552 Raving Fans Without Really Trying

Written by Angie Seaman | posted in Local Business Marketing | 0 Comments

I miss Avanti’s.  It’s a local chain of Italian restaurants in Central Illinois with hands-down the best bread I’ve ever tasted.  They’re inexpensive, the service is friendly, and they’re a college-town favorite in the area.

I haven’t lived in Illinois for about 20 years, but my family is there and even though there isn’t an Avanti’s in the town they live in, we make a 30 mile pilgrimage every time I’m home.  My family also makes regular trips for their awesome food.  Why they don’t have a store in Champaign I will never know, but it doesn’t stop anyone from making the drive.

I Love Avantis – So What?

So, I have Avanti on the brain.  I am an Avanti’s Evangelist.  How does this help them from where I am in Maryland?  I only go there once a year so how much am I worth to them?

One night, I was thinking about how much I’d love to have a roast beef and mozz sandwich on their delicious bread, and I did the next best thing to hopping a flight to Bloomington – I found them on Facebook.  I liked their fan page, and professed my undying love to them.

All my friends saw this tribute, and now six of them are fans of the page.  Several who live within driving distance of an Avanti’s were reminded of how much they like them, and I’m sure some of them went to pick up a sandwich or a pizza because I mentioned them.  And a few probably wondered what the heck I was talking about, but when they went to Bloomington and were hungry, they may have stopped in for the first time based on my recommendation.

Still, I’m one person who maybe got a few people through their doors, and I didn’t buy anything at all.  That doesn’t seem like a lot, but consider this…

The Power of Word of Mouth

Avanti’s is in a few small cities in Illinois.  Their Facebook fans are not all people who eat there regularly, or even can eat there regularly.  A lot of them are people like me, singing their praises from a distance.  But all those people have friends who are lucky enough to be able to drive over and eat there.  And they also have friends who can do the same.

Facebook reports the average user has 130 friends, and I have about 200 so I’m slightly better than average.  So let’s say hypothetically that four friends end up liking Avanti’s after someone talks about how fab they are.  Then those four people have 130 people seeing their posts, and four of their friends like Avanti’s.  And four of their friends like them.  And so on, and so on.  See?

Every time that page is shared, and people talk about them, Avanti’s is making money they wouldn’t have made before.

That is part of how a very local chain of restaurants has amassed 20,552 Facebook fans at this writing without even trying – they don’t even really post to their page.  The other part, of course, is they are very good at what they do and they have the local thing working extremely well for them.  Which is why they don’t have to post to their page – their rabid fans are doing the work for them.  Spreading the word four friends at a time.

So what can local business owners take from this example?

Local Business Takeaways

1. Never underestimate the power of local nostalgia.  People fall in love with places for a lot of reasons – give them reasons to love your business.  Provide value and quality in product and service and they will love you enough to tell their friends.
2. Time and distance don’t matter on the Internet. People will talk about you online and it doesn’t matter if they’re current customers or not – their reviews will influence friends and strangers alike.
3. Value all your customers, current and past, and make it easy for them to talk about you online. Give them a place to do it with your own Facebook fan page.  Pages are completely free and are a great starting point to having a conversation with your fans.  Remind them that you’re there and you’ll see more and more of them come through your doors.
4. Avanti’s, if you’re reading this, please consider opening in Maryland. I promise to spread the word about you at least four friends at a time.

How to Add FREE Coupons to Your Google Maps Listing

Written by Angie Seaman | posted in Local Business Marketing | 0 Comments

You know how valuable your Google Maps listing is for getting customers through your front door, but add incentives for them to come to you – and do it for FREE. Here’s how:

Social Checkins & Why they Matter

Written by Angie Seaman | posted in Local Business Marketing | 0 Comments

At first, as a semi-old fart, looking at sites like Foursquare, Gowalla and the like made me react with questions like, “Why do I care if my cousin checked in at TGI Fridays?  Do I want anyone to know that I’m the mayor of my local Starbucks?”

But, of course the marketer in me is stronger so I was intrigued.  And as I started playing with it, I found it fun for reasons other than letting the world know that I’m at Target.  Again.

When I’m out and about and thinking about what’s for lunch, my smartphone is my guide.  I often will just turn on one of my checkin sites and search for a restaurant.  Sometimes I see that someone I know has checked in there and left a positive note.  It might get me to try a new place.

Or I’ll see a little discount for a place that’s nearby.  That might get me to drop in just to feed the bargain hunter in me, and the part of me that feels a little secretly cool for finding this hidden treasure.  My competitive drive kicks in when I see that I’m only 1 checkin away from becoming the mayor of my current location.  If that location is McDonald’s, do I become Mayor McCheese?

On a site like Yelp, social checkins serve double duty.  Not only do you see where your friends are eating and shopping, which builds some authority in your mind, they are also encouraged to post reviews there.  And you have reviews of a lot of other users right there at your fingertips.  It makes the decision of “where to go much easier”, and it makes it a lot more important to claim your listing there to be sure that they have the right info they need to find you.

Social checkins are fun, and there are good motivators to use them for most people who walk around with a smartphone.  So this is another in the list of places that you want your customers to be able to easily find you.  Make sure you’ve claimed control of your listings on these social checkin sites so that you can make them work for you.

Not sure how or don’t have time?  Drop us a line and we can do the heavy lifting for you.