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Social Media Local Marketing Tips

By Julie Lyons

We tend to hear more about the large companies out there who are really making their presence known on social media. But social media marketing is imperative for the local market as well.

 

In fact, a report put together by BIA/Kelsey for Surefire Social showed that 60% of franchise businesses use their Facebook pages for local promotions. This well surpasses the percentage of national brands that use other promotional efforts to target the local space, with 43.2% saying they use newspapers and just 36.8% indicating they use email marketing.

Listed below are a few basic tips to get you started. 

Claim Your Local Profiles: 
There are many social sites dedicated to providing information about local businesses. You need to obtain control over your profiles on these sites to ensure the information that’s out there is correct and up-to-date. This will also help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO), since these sites tend to rank high on the results pages, especially when a user is typing in “city name + industry” search queries.

A few sites you need to sign up for and claim your profiles include:

There are also various websites that apply to your industry, you can typically find those by doing a search in google or yahoo.

Facebook Page:
A Facebook Page for your business is vital in today’s world. Select “Local Business or Place” and you’ll be on your way.  The more complete your page information is, the more it will appeal to your target audience.You can also update your Page at any time. Facebook is a great platform to post coupons or discounts. Consider setting up a contest for people who share a photo or video advertising your business – those sharing the content receiving a chance to win a gift card or item from your store. Social sites also allow you to interact with your fans and followers. 

Twitter:  
Having a Twitter business page is yet another way for you to catch your customers’ attention with special offers or provide announcements of online or offline events and contests. You can direct people to your store, company website or even Facebook page to get more information or to sign up, leave comments etc.  You can also interact further with your customers,asking them, for example, how they like a certain new product your store is carrying, or a new item on your menu if you’re a restaurant owner. 

LinkedIn:
Consider creating a LinkedIn Company page. It’s yet another place online where people can find out about your company and another place where you can include the location information for your business.

 
Flair Interactive provides online marketing services including managing business social media sites. For additional details and pricing, contact us today!