Online Local Marketing: How Companies Can Get Started In 5 Simple Steps!
Social media, Google — I don’t need it! My customers live nearby and know me anyway! Does this way of thinking sound familiar to you? You’re not alone, because many local businesses share your view, but unfortunately, they often miss out on new customers, and thus sales.
That’s because consumer behaviour is currently changing dramatically, especially with the smartphone always at hand, as well as increasing mobility and spontaneity among customers. As a result, potential customers are increasingly no longer automatically going to the companies they already know, but are using their smartphones to search for relevant companies, offers and services near their current location. That’s why local marketing exists.
But what’s the best way to get started for your own company? The range of possible measures and tools for local marketing is large and can seem quite confusing, especially for beginners. We will briefly show you 6 simple strategies for beginners, with which you can already significantly improve the online visibility of your business with a small investment of resources:
1. A well-maintained company website
Nowadays, a website is a must for every ambitious company and is also the basis for numerous other online marketing measures. Because often you can only briefly present your company and its products in other channels and ads and therefore need the website as a basis. Important: It should definitely be optimized for mobile use and all important information such as contact details or opening hours should be easily and clearly accessible and always up to date.
2. A well-cared page on Facebook
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat — where do you need to be and what can you disregard for now? Our recommendation: start with a Facebook page for your business. Of course, the other networks have lots of users, too, but Facebook dominates in the corporate space, and you want to use your time efficiently. Even if you’re willing to invest 10 minutes every other day or so in maintaining your Facebook page, you can accomplish a lot.
3. Google My Business
For some time now, Google has been making it easy for you to provide your business information in a way that is easy to find in Google searches. The Google My Business listing brings together all the information Google has about your company in one place, and lets you manage and edit it centrally. Your advantage: Your company gets a uniform appearance in Google search, Google Maps and Google+ with little effort, and is often rewarded by the search engine with better rankings.
4. Entries in directory media, web and business directories
Google My Business is one of the most important, but by far not the only relevant address for a business listing. You can also get the coveted citations — i.e. mentions of your company, through listings in a variety of directory media, and through other web and business directories. These can be national and cross-industry, but can also be much more specific to an industry or region.
5. Monitoring and maintaining rating portals
Reviews play an important role in the purchase decision. Therefore, you should understand customer reviews as an important component of the customer journey and attach great importance to them. Continuously check the most important review portals — including Google+ local, Yelp, but also various industry-specific portals — for new reviews for your company. In the case of negative reviews, you should never hide, but take them seriously and respond to complaints in a constructive, customer-friendly manner.
