Famous Bloggers

How To Blog and Start a Business

Home » The Famous Blog » 10 Quick Ways to Market your Local Business Online

10 Quick Ways to Market your Local Business Online

- by 2,047

Market your Local Business Online

Getting your local business online is a smart way to market your business and reach out to potential customers. Usually most companies are afraid to venture online. They have many excuses or perceived obstacles in their mind. Very common ones include, it is too expensive, I don’t have time, what if my blogger does not provide accurate information?; my dealers would sue me if the content is wrong.

Have you wondered on these grounds for your local business?

You are not alone. Most business owners worry about the red tape. Don’t worry on all these things. Too much worry, procrastination will just stop the ball from rolling. The best way to market your business online is by getting started and taking action. The very first step would be to own a website.

Don’t worry about what will happen after the prospect visits your website; first GET the prospect to your website.

Most local companies do not take this activity seriously and some think it is not required. If you do not change today and make it happen you will find that your competitors have gone ahead of you.

Steps for Creating an Online Marketing Plan for your Local Business

    1. Get a website
      The very first step for marketing a local business online would be to get a website. It is best to get a domain name which has your local business name in it. This makes it easier to find your local business online and has many SEO benefits. If you do not have a nice logo or want to redo your present one then you can use some designers at sites like fiverr who can make one for you for $5.
    2. Create Social Networking Accounts
      Create accounts on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as a bare minimum. Ensure that you optimize each of these profiles. What optimization means is that each of these profiles must have accurate information about the local business. This includes Name, Address, Telephone Numbers, Website Address, Photographs and Email Addresses. It is also nice to have a logo uploaded in to your profile.
      Here is a tip which will come in handy – save the URL or link to your social networking profile in a notepad or word document. This list of links will come in handy when you are creating profiles and accounts in business reviews or social media websites. This helps cross link your accounts and creates awareness and visibility.
    3. Craigslist Marketing
      This is a little known way to market online. Craigslistis a great way to advertise local business services, ask for volunteers, announce sales or just about anything. Craigslist can be used for posting just about anything about the local business. Here are a few ways to use Craigslist for marketing your local business online.

      • Post in events (sales), in local community
      • Use the local news section – Keep updating with news about your business
      • Ask for volunteers in craigslist volunteers section for example: the http://newyork.craigslist.org/vol/
      • Post open positions in the local business on craigslist

      For E.g.:
      Post this in Craigslist ->Sales Clerk Needed“Want to have fun selling ABC and meeting people. We have just the right opening for you. No prior experience required.”
      You can link this advertisement to a page on your website with a contact form.The same strategy can be used on other classified sites like Kijiji, Oodle,and Backpack. Please note that you search for country specific classified sites and post in them for bigger impact. Remember on all the sites where you register an account, update the profile page if they have one. This is one easy way to get a backlink to your website.

    4. List your local business website in directories online
      This makes it very easy for local people to find you when in need. Here is a list to get you started.

      These are excellent places to list your business. Ensure that you provide precise and thorough information. You might find that certain websites already have you listed. In that case, check that the information provided there is accurate. There may be instances that the listings might be incorrect. If you find this true in your case, then make sure you try and edit the information available. If this option isn’t available then you should contact the site administrator using the contact us page.

      The important things to keep in mind on such review websites is that the information has to be accurate and you must respond to reviews (both good and bad) in a professional manner.

      You can find more directories by typing in the following phrases in Google or other search engines (as-is):

      “your keywords” + “location” + directory
      “your keywords” + “location” + “add url”
      “your keywords” + “location” + “submit site”

    5. FourSquare
      While Foursquare can be treated as a Business Review site, it has been added as a separate point as there are many things you can do for maximum impact. Here are some ways to get started with Foursquare:

      • Add a listing to https://foursquare.com with an official email.
      • Write a brief overview of services.
      • Upload a good picture of local business.
      • Link account to all social media properties it allows.
      • Ask local business members and Facebook fans or twitter fans to rate your local business.
      • Ask people to share their experience at local business.
      • Run Specials on FourSquare – like “FREE Dessert on Your Birthday”
    6. YouTube Channel
      This is a social media property which has been under utilized and works beautifully for local businesses. If your local business does not have a YouTube channel, then you must create one. Optimize this channel and use the Local business name if available.Link all your properties in this channel and upload a few videos with their descriptions optimized.
      Comment on other videos, send friend requests and build and promote this channel everywhere.
      P.S. You can use other video sites as well by syndicating a single video using services like Traffic Geyser and Tube Mogul.
    7. Coupons
      This is something I have not seen done by many companies. Coupons are a great way to get traffic and visitors and a lot of eyeballs. Here is a quick overview of how it works:

      1. Add coupons for special events, services or offers
      2. Distribute on coupon sharing sites
      3. Promote on Facebook and Twitter
    8. Google Places
      Yeah, I know shoot me for adding this again. But Google Places can help you get so many visitors and foot traffic, it is mind blowing. Just adding a listing here is good
      http://www.google.com/local/add/coupons?hl=en-US&gl=US
      What makes it even better is adding offers and promoting them using other channels. We noticed an increase in traffic and gained many clients by just listing here and adding an offer.
    9. Add Content to your website
      This is so simple yet so overlooked. How many times have you landed on a local business website and felt frustrated that you couldn’t find what you wanted? Content is King and you must share information on your website. Give your visitors and customers a reason to stop by your website daily.
      Some content ideas for your website or blog include:

      • Why people should work with your local business
      • How much does the service cost?
      • Which brands are good for a particular service?
    10. Slideshare
      Slideshare and other document sharing sites are totally underused and they overperform. You must use this resource to promote your business, product launches, new offers.These were 10 things you can do to warm up your marketing efforts online. Are these the only ways? No, there are many more. Once you start marketing online, it is my recommendation to take it slow. Be consistent and don’t overdo or overexert. Here are some off page SEO activities you could outsource to someone to continue the process.

Some Off Page SEO activities which can catapult your local business marketing online

  • Write articles and submit to article directories
  • Make a Squidoo, WordPress, Blogger and Hubpage for your Local business
  • Make other web 2.0 properties
  • Perform RSS Submissions
  • Press Releases
  • Ask for reviews on Business Review Pages – For example
    http://www.yelp.com/biz/business-name
    “We have set up a review page here for helping people find the Business name easily. There are some really nice comments here. If you have something wonderful to share about your experience at local business please free to leave a comment on this page. “

As you can see the list is endless. The only way to get traffic is take action and to draw up a plan. What do you think of these local business marketing solutions? Please feel free to comment.

Image © trailfan – Fotolia.com

About

Latha helps small business owners generate more leads using low cost traffic generation techniques. If you are looking for some low cost and effective business marketing solutions, check out her website at http://www.estellaeffects.com

Reader Interactions

Related Posts

{ 17 Responses }

  1. Samuel says:
    Among the tips you share, it depends on your business I guess but I have to say coupons are very effective ways to market your local business online. The key though is to be generous with the first few set of coupons. It's not so much how much make with the first set of visitors, but rather the subsequent purchases and customer loyalty that you should be aiming for.
  2. Shalu Sharma says:
    I have not heard of using Craigslist for promotion purposes. I think its a good idea. I will look into it. There are so many changes happening in the SEO world due to Goole updating itself every few weeks. Things are looking very girm. Thanks for these wonderful tips.
  3. Sarah says:
    You have very valid points and tips. I always stress to people how important it is now a days to have a website, yet some company's just wont make that move. In today's age you just have to if you want to get some where. Potential customers want to be able to suss your company out at their own leisure and see what you have to offer them.
  4. Lori Highby says:
    Great post Latha. You really covered this topic well. I especially like the local aspects on tip #4. And I agree with you 100% on Google Places. I encourage everyone to get on Google Places. And ask for reviews from your favorite clients as reviews on Google Places helps with your position in the search results. The more positive reviews, the better!
  5. Azam says:
    This article is milestone in marketing. The main source of attraction for the customers is discount and discount is only granted because of coupons.
    • Latha says:
      Azam, Thanks a Lot for the positive comments. Yes, there are so many ways to get prospects into our funnel. We are not misleading them, but we are making sure that we are found when someone wants something we can offer. Coupons, evets, twitter specials, Facebook specials are so very exciting and fun to run. One client actually runs a coupon special using Facebook and Twitter. I suggested she have a Google Places Coupon and a listing on Foursquare. It is worth the extra mile.
  6. Peter Lawlor says:
    Great article on local marketing. Using just 1 to 3 of those methods can work. I wonder is it better to focus on a few and do those few really well or attempt to do all 10? I'm thinking it's best to target a few methods and do it well. The fact is most small businesses don't have a lot of resources to execute all 10 well.
    • Latha says:
      Peter, That is a good question. It does depend on how much time and resources you have on hand. But, it is also important to build links consistently and to build GOOD links. These can be added slowly. The key factors are to Diversify and to have consistency. I usually tend to check my Google Analytics and my clients Goals accomplished etc to determine on which strategy I would focus MORE time. But I always try to get as many components in the skeletal structure as many as I possibly can. Directory listing additions etc can be automated. One thing I try to do is this. 1. Create a ping.fm account 2. Setup accounts inside this account - you know add the blogger or zimbio or Facebook - As many as I can 3. I send updates via ping.fm - It is very very useful and it works really well. You can actually track this by using Google Analytics. Also, I grab all RSS feeds and I create a giant RSS Feed. I use this for RSS submissions. Guess what ? Anytime I update the webproperty it is automatically indexed. You just have to combine things and keep some activity going (avoiding bad neighborhoods).
  7. Sara says:
    Hello Latha Lukose, I found your article very interesting.I 'm not running a local business but a friend of mine is trying to include his business into the internet, and these informations will help him.Your whole idea about listing the local business is very good and I 'm saying this because you gave a full presentation of this.I wasn't aware about local. com , kudzu.com ect and I'm happy that now I am more informed.I also noticed and the other link as well and the Craigslist.Thank you for sharing.
    • Latha says:
      Hey Sara, I am glad I could be of help. These are great starter points for any local business, your friend would really benefit from these activities.
  8. Robin Jennings says:
    I'm really finding additional content on clients websites are really helping rankings. And of course Google places is a great start.
  9. neojit says:
    Hello Latha Lukose, Thanks for the tips and guides for improving local market business online, especially thanks for the keyword phrases searching in Google and other search engines.
    • Latha says:
      Neojit, Glad you liked it.
  10. Paul says:
    I believe its must in present days to market one's business online or else our competitors would succeed in the market and we will be left far behind.The steps for Creating an Online Marketing Plan for my Local Business helped me a lot to attain my goals and grow in business.
    • Latha says:
      Paul, Thank you for the kind words. Yes, it is a must. Not onley does it help with seo but it helps people find your business easily and for a business to brand itself.
  11. Petra says:
    One piece of advice I would give anyone seeking to outsource the online marketing of their business is to very extremely careful who you use. Anything less than an SEO company with a good track record is taking a risk. Why? Google is changing what is acceptable in terms of generating links to websites on a frequent basis and you want to be sure that your website is having safe links built to it. Ensure that Blog Networks are not being used, they are the latest method to be attacked by the big G.
    • Latha Lukose says:
      Petra, Yes, It is very true that we need to be extremely careful on where and how we generate links. Even on your posts (in your website) if you are not sure of a particular website but still need to link to it, then you must link using a nofollow tag. Avoiding bad neighbourhoods is a MUST.