Local Marketing not just about Search

It’s true that “word-of-mouth” recommendations from family and friends are the top means for getting a good referral; this is precisely why social media is so important to business.  Social sites allow customers to quickly see, or ask what their social connections have to say about your business.   In addition, some of these social sites have become so sophisticated that they are soon become mini-search engines of their own.  However, to get results, it’s important to be active and interactive…the more involved you are, the better the results.

Be sure to select the social media outlets that best represent your business and potential customer base.  Not only can you gain the trust and respect of potential customers, but it will also help with retention, branding, search engine optimization, and ultimately…more sales!  Information derived from social media will also provide valuable information for planning future marketing and advertising campaigns.  When planning your next campaign blitz, don’t forget that it’s absolutely critical to connect social media to purchased advertising.  I call it “cross-platform marketing,” ensuring that your business branding or promotion is well-connected, and consistent.  This will extend the reach, frequency and ultimate success of your campaign.

Business uses for some of the top social media sites

LinkedIn:  LinkedIn is a professional social networking, and outstanding business-to-business, LEAD GENERATING marketing tool.   Your profile is essentially your business card, so make sure it’s public and search engines will index it!  New company pages allow you to update business products/services and add special offers.

Facebook: New graph search feature allows users to search for businesses according to both location and recommendations from friends.  Keep your Facebook page is categorized correctly and consistently updated with new and relevant information.

Foursquare:  Allow users to check in, find specials and rate your business.  Users can share offers with their friends, extending your message reach.   Ask for feedback from your most loyal patrons, and pay attention to which offers customers have responded best to, and keep them coming back!

Twitter:  With the new ‘anyone know” search, Twitter has become closer to a search engine tool.  Your twitter activity can boost Google search results for your business.  But, you have to do a little bit of work here; converse, respond, talk and interact!  Connect with relevant friends and industry peers to get the most out of it.

YouTube:  Did you know that the second largest search engine after Google is YouTube, yet the tool is often underutilized by businesses?  This could mean big opportunity for you!  In terms of SEO, titles, descriptions, and tags are the most important content elements.  And, of course, video…