The Definitive Guide to Local Marketing on Facebook

How to market a local business on Facebook

Facebook has more than 500 million active users.  Your customers use Facebook at home on a daily basis, but did you know that they also use Facebook while eating at your restaurant or shopping at your store, which is why it’s so important to have an in-store and out-of-store Facebook plan to acquire fans and drive behavior.

What this guide is NOT about

It is crystal clear that Facebook is not a fad: big brands, local merchants, and individuals use Facebook everyday for marketing and promotions (not to mention Facebook is now a public company); therefore, this guide is NOT about why you should use Facebook.  Instead, I take it as a given that you understand your customers use Facebook and that you must somehow harness the power of Facebook to drive sales and increase retention.

What this guide IS about

The Definitive Guide to Local Marketing on Facebook is specifically about how to use Facebook to increase foot traffic, increase brand awareness, and increase retention for your brick-and-mortar business.

Guide road map:

  1. How to get more Facebook fans
  2. How to design your Facebook page like the big brands
  3. How to utilize Facebook apps to drive customer action
  4. How to create a content calendar that makes sense for your business
  5. How to respond to negative/inflammatory Facebook comments
  6. The legal way to run Facebook giveaways and contests
  7. How to run effective advertisements on Facebook

Not that your roadmap and expectations are set, lets get started.

Continue reading The Definitive Guide to Local Marketing on Facebook

10 Common Social Media Questions from Small Business Owners, Part 2

10 Common Social Media Questions from Small Business Owners, Part 2

In the first part of our two part segment on the 10 Common Social Media Questions from Small Business Owners, we looked at questions such as the following:

  • Facebook, Twitter, or Both?
  • How many Facebook fans or Twitter followers is a good number?
  • Should I reply to all posts from Facebook/Twitter users?
  • Do I need to hire someone to manage my social media presence?
  • How do I get people to find my business?

In the second part, we take a closer look at the basics of social media including questions regarding blogging as well as platforms like Pinterest. Continue reading 10 Common Social Media Questions from Small Business Owners, Part 2

How to build an effective content calendar for Twitter

An active Twitter community has the power to drive foot traffic and increase brand awareness for a local business.  The first step is of course to get Twitter followers; the next step and equally important is to create a content calendar that will make it easy for you to Tweet to your community and stay on top of mind.

What is a content calendar: a content calendar is a schedule for when to post content and what to post about.  A content calendar helps you keep organized and consistent when it comes to social media engagement.  Remember, that which is scheduled gets done.

Who should read this post: a local business owner that just doesn’t have the time or energy to Tweet all day

What you will learn: how to create an effective content calendar that will make it easy to stay on schedule and send relevant Tweets to your community

Continue reading How to build an effective content calendar for Twitter

How local businesses can utilize the new Facebook Apps

Facebook is a platform that is limited only by your creativity – and of course technical knowledge.  But even without a technical background, a local business can utilize a myriad of apps to create an engaging Facebook experience.

A local business with an active Facebook fan base can greatly increase foot traffic and customer retention.  Best of all, most of the apps available to local businesses are free, giving you a marketing channel that only requires your time.

Who should read this post: Local business owners looking to spice up their Facebook page with engaging apps

What you will learn: What apps are available to you and how to use them to drive traffic and retention

Continue reading How local businesses can utilize the new Facebook Apps

How to get more Twitter followers for your local business

how to get more twitter followers for your local business

Starbucks has 2 million+ followers on Twitter; McDonald’s has 400,000+ followers on Twitter.

If you’re a local business, chances are that you’re finding it extremely difficult to attract Twitter followers.  And there are so many articles online about how to leverage your Twitter following for more business, but how can you even accomplish “more business” if you don’t have a following in the first place?

This post is NOT about how to get more Twitter followers for your blog or personal brand.  This post is specifically about how a local business owner can attract Twitter followers to his business.

Who should read this post: local business owners that want to utilize Twitter for marketing but can’t seem to gain Twitter followers

What you will learn: what you can do right now to start gaining traction and followers on Twitter

Continue reading How to get more Twitter followers for your local business

Infographic: How To Avoid Designing A Bad Website

Infographic: How To Avoid Designing A Bad Website Article

No one intentionally designs a bad website. Rather, a bad website is often the result of a variety of reasons ranging from a lack of understanding of the goal at hand, to what is essential rather than a distraction in a design.

Jeffrey Veen, author of “The Art and Science of Web Design” states

Designers can create normalcy out of chaos; they can clearly communicate ideas through the organizing and manipulating of words and pictures.

Just how first time parents consult baby books for tips and advice on raising a newborn, designing a website is not something you just jump into. It is a process that combines careful planning, an understanding of your target markets potential interaction and creativity.

To help assist those looking to design a new website, we have spotlighted the following infographic by KISSmetrics which features tips and advice on ways to attract potential customers as well as ways to keep user frustration to a minimum. Continue reading Infographic: How To Avoid Designing A Bad Website

Facebook Timeline Cover Optimization for Local Marketing

The new Facebook Timeline has completely revamped the business page layout.  From the new cover image to the removal of welcome tabs, Facebook is constantly changing, making it very important for businesses to stay up to date to maximize social engagement.

In this post we will cover optimization for the cover image.  In future posts we will come everything from Facebook apps to utilizing sticky posts to drive awareness.

Who should read this post: business owners that are looking to improve the quality of their brand on Facebook

What you will learn: absolutely everything about optimizing the cover image for the Facebook Timeline

Continue reading Facebook Timeline Cover Optimization for Local Marketing