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Local Online Marketing

Discussion in 'General Marketing' started by mekap04, Mar 11, 2013.

  1. #1
    When marketing an online business online, what would you consider to be the top three ways to get new clients for a local business. I have a potential client who would like me to build them a website but they also asked about marketing the website and getting them more online exposure.

    I am thinking about doing some video marketing, classified advertising, and maybe Facebook marketing. Are there any better methods for local businesses besides SEO and getting listed in business directories?
     
    mekap04, Mar 11, 2013 IP
  2. L3G10N

    L3G10N Well-Known Member

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    #2
    There are a million ways to skin a cat, but try to cover your bases the best you can. It all boils down to location and demographics. I doubt Joe Bob in a small farm town whips out his android to find the nearest barber shop. Without knowing the business situation, it is hard to say, but if you are just looking for general advice then you can try a number of these options.

    • Google Places - a great place to get traffic from. You will be amazed how many people pull out their cell phones and look for businesses using the map software, or look for businesses
    • Local Giveaways - ie. tshirts or even pens with the company site name on it
    • Press Releases - If the business is known locally and has value to add to the community then local papers are a possibility.
    • Videos - especially if there are viral possibilities with the business
    • Social Media - Facebook, Twitter etc.
    • Blogs - Targetted at local search results in the business niche
    • Adwords - or any ppc for that matter depending on the market
    • Local Link Partners - Make business friends!
    • Local Papers - Can even purchase ads in the free papers
    • SEO - You know the deal
    It is hard to give you proper advice without more information, every business needs a different strategy. Even dominoes has a different menu in India vs USA. My advice to you is try to be creative and think outside the box. Anyone can link a few websites, but marketing is a true art and takes good planning and execution.
     
    L3G10N, Mar 11, 2013 IP
    ArticleSpecialists likes this.
  3. affilorama

    affilorama Active Member

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    #3
    affilorama, Mar 11, 2013 IP
  4. ArticleSpecialists

    ArticleSpecialists Active Member

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    #4
    That is a stellar post! Great advice!
     
    ArticleSpecialists, Mar 12, 2013 IP
  5. esage

    esage Member

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    #5
    Local Marketing at Socially.Example Facebook
    With 845 million monthly active users, you’re bound to find some of your target audience on Facebook. Here are some ways to make sure your business gets found by Facebook users in your area.
    Optimizing Your Facebook Page for Local

    The best way to optimize your Facebook page for a local audience is to make sure it is set up as a Local Business. If you haven’t created your Facebook page, make sure to create your page as a Local Business.

    If you have already created it, you may be able to change the category, depending on your number of fans. To check to see what category your page is listed as, go to Admin Panel > Manage > Edit Page and then Basic Information. Here you will see a category and sub-category for your business.

    Once your Facebook page is set up as a local business, be sure to enter all of your local details including your street address, local phone number, and business hours. If you don’t want to list your exact street address, you can just enter the city, state, and zip code to give users an approximation of your location.

    You can make the area show your website by removing your phone number and business hours from your page’s details. You just have to decide which is more important for your visitors – seeing your phone number on your Facebook page or having the ability to click through to your website. If you do want your local business information to stay intact, you can also add a status update with a link to your Facebook page, then pin the status update to the top of the page so it shows in the top left column.
    Connecting with a Local Audience on Facebook
    • Invite Your Friends
    • Become a Fan of Local Businesses Pages
    • Target Status Updates by Location
    • Use Facebook Ads
     
    esage, Mar 12, 2013 IP
  6. ArticleSpecialists

    ArticleSpecialists Active Member

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    #6
    I decided to revisit this thread because one thing was really bugging me.

    When I work with clients promoting their local business, the plan always varies depending on their product line and target market. If you shared the type of business and the market they pursue, we can give you much better feedback.

    The methods you would use to attract women over 40, compared to attracting males in their 20's is dramatic. (Unless you are using women in their 40's to attract males in their 20's, then....oh wait..that's another subject entirely.)
     
    ArticleSpecialists, Mar 12, 2013 IP
  7. sameer_max

    sameer_max Active Member

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    #7
    sameer_max, Mar 12, 2013 IP
  8. L3G10N

    L3G10N Well-Known Member

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    #8
    Social Media is definitely cool and if you learn how to harness the true power behind social media you will find success. Just remember its not about spamming, its about engagement and who you have on these sites. I see way to many people just adding random people on facebook and thinking because they have 100k random likes they are the king of the mountain. Not, make sure your audience wants to like your company or share your company create value. I'm sorry if I get repetitive with the word value, but this is the number one key in business marketing.
     
    L3G10N, Mar 12, 2013 IP
  9. David Holland

    David Holland Active Member

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    #9
    Read this thread it may help you with ideas. https://forums.digitalpoint.com/threads/how-to-market-a-new-local-business.2643016/
     
    David Holland, Mar 12, 2013 IP
  10. qwikad.com

    qwikad.com Illustrious Member Affiliate Manager

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    #10
    You/your client should definitely try Manta.com. Good for local businesses. It covers many countries worldwide.
     
    qwikad.com, Mar 12, 2013 IP
  11. mekap04

    mekap04 Active Member

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    #11
    Thanks for all of the great advice. I don't want to state the business but it has to do with lessons and the service is aimed at both male and female teens. Are there any more free or cheaper methods? I'm not sure if the client wants to invest a bunch of money in PPC ads. They seem to be on a strict budget.
     
    mekap04, Mar 12, 2013 IP
  12. ArticleSpecialists

    ArticleSpecialists Active Member

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    #12
    Teens = Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Mobile optimized, online chat, etc... (In other words, focus on fun.)

    How can you create a fun, easy to use, forum, video chat, or fun service to attract this young crowd to their site? Something they want to do for fun.. What local sites attract that crowd? What local businesses do they hang out at?

    I'd create a Facebook Group that is localized to the community. I don't know their budget, but here is a fun idea. Try to discover who two or three popular, outrageous, or intriguing people in your target market. Pay them a small fee to help you add members to your Facebook group, do YouTube videos talking about your service, and help you create a Twitter following. It will be cheaper than PPC and probably get you more leads.

    Maybe the business already has employees who fit that profile. They might want to consider setting up a computer in their business and assign their young employees to each spend 15-30 minutes daily engaging other members in that demographic via those social platforms. You might even talk to them about doing Google Hangouts and posting the resulting videos on YouTube.

    Can the business afford to run a contest in their community? Suggest they run a contest offering their service for free to 1 male and 1 female randomly selected from their Facebook followers. (Even better if you could get them to sign up to an autoresponder, but you'll get more followers on Facebook.)

    Draw them a picture of the website you design as the central hub with spokes coming in from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube.

    Press releases, most blogs, and the local newspapers are probably going to be a complete waste of time with that audience. They are not entertaining enough to grab the interest of your market.

    One last thought...Could advertising on "Plenty of Fish" be effective to your market? You can target your ads to zip codes and use demographic info to narrow who sees the ads. It would be cheaper than Adwords, and may be a better match to your market.
     
    ArticleSpecialists, Mar 12, 2013 IP
  13. sameerbhide

    sameerbhide Greenhorn

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    #13
    video marketing, classified advertising and Facebook marketing will be good ways for online marketing you can use reddit , pinterest, stumble, G+ too.
     
    sameerbhide, Mar 12, 2013 IP
  14. BarbieJolly

    BarbieJolly Peon

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    #14
    Local online marketing helps you increase your ranking for results where your business is located. As you can see on the right, local results in search engines look different than regular results.

    Local online marketing is now more important than ever as more people are turning to the internet for the things they want to buy locally. In fact, 31% of consumers turn to a search engine first when they’re on the hunt for local products and services.
     
    BarbieJolly, Mar 18, 2013 IP
  15. ArticleSpecialists

    ArticleSpecialists Active Member

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    #15
    No...Local SEO does that. Local online marketing drives traffic to your door and usually includes local SEO. A big difference. Local SEO is just a small piece of a local market plan.
     
    ArticleSpecialists, Mar 18, 2013 IP
  16. Valeriy

    Valeriy Greenhorn

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    #16
    Thank you! )) Er...could you recommend any marketplace where people can make money on posts/backlinks?
     
    Valeriy, Mar 18, 2013 IP
  17. L3G10N

    L3G10N Well-Known Member

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    #17
    Do you mean where to get clients? Locally? Not sure where you are and what your market is like. Will need more details to give you sound advice. Shoot me a PM if you dont want to give it away.

    Remember anyone can post backlinks, you have to be truly valuable to keep clients happy and returning. Give them true results and you will grow your client list quicker. When a service is good, it gets around well by word of mouth and word of keyboard.(WOK)
     
    L3G10N, Mar 18, 2013 IP
  18. kps

    kps Greenhorn

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    #18
    What about submissions to local directories and classifieds?
    Creative Group Head
     
    kps, Mar 19, 2013 IP
  19. freeadstime

    freeadstime Well-Known Member

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    #19
    If you have a local business, posting a local phone number within a site sends a signal to search engine saying that you work in that particular area. Your chances of showing up when searching for local business will increase. Same goes to your business address.
     
    freeadstime, Mar 21, 2013 IP
  20. mbanj

    mbanj Active Member

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    #20
    You've got what you need to be successful
    i your local market in this tread.

    Great response above...
     
    mbanj, Mar 22, 2013 IP