Tag: local marketing

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

The Beginners Guide To Understanding and Setting Up Google Maps Search

Google Maps - Local Search Marketing

Harnessing the power of the digital space for your business doesn’t just mean learning how to use Facebook or Yelp. It also means learning about the different ways by which customers may find and engage with your business.

For that reason, we’ve come up with this quick overview of Google Maps Search!

Where to start?

  1. Google Places: http://www.google.com/places/
  2. Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/

What are we talking about?

Formally known as Google Local, Google Maps is one of Google’s most popular tools . If you are business owner, Google has a special place called Google Places where you can customize and optimize our business for searches. Continue reading The Beginners Guide To Understanding and Setting Up Google Maps Search

Video Interview: Local marketing with Carmen Sognonvi

Interview details:

About Carmen:

Carmen Sognonvi is co-owner and general manager of Urban Martial Arts in Brooklyn, NY.  Her views on local business and entrepreneurship have been featured in Fox Business, Inc.com, and Crain’s New York Business.  You can reach her at (646) 504-4092 or carmen AT carmensognonvi.com.

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Carmen is such a terrific person and professional.  I love that she not only talks the talk on her blog, but she walks the walk as well because she’s a local business owner.  In her interview, Carmen gives concrete tips that a local business can utilize to use social media to drive traffic and retention.  If there’s one thing I learned during the interview, it’s that online content is the most important asset that a business owner can focus on for the web.  Without content, there is no social presence.

Enjoy the video!

Continue reading Video Interview: Local marketing with Carmen Sognonvi

Effective local marketing strategies for your business

Effective local marketing strategies for your business

Whether you are a large corporation or a small mom and pops business, local marketing plays an important role in generating buzz and interest in the area around your business. Contrary to popular belief, being successful with your local marketing doesn’t mean you need to have a huge budget. While it helps, execution and a clear, well-thought out strategy is often the key determinant.

Depending on who your target consumers are as well as other factors, such as the type of business (grocery store, gas station, etc.), there are many marketing avenues that a business may choose to take. On the digital end there is Facebook and Twitter while for those looking for a more traditional approach there are press releases and mailers.

So what is local marketing?

Also known as ‘neighborhood marketing,’ local marketing generally refers to any marketing techniques a business uses to market and promote itself to the area in which it operates. In most cases, local marketing often becomes the responsibility of the franchisee with the parent company being responsible for the national and regional marketing initiatives. An example of this is how McDonald’s would focus on national advertisements that focus on brand awareness and new products that will be at all the stores across the nation, while the individual franchise owner may promote special deals they have on Monday’s at their own location. Continue reading Effective local marketing strategies for your business