Local Business: Ignite Your Business in 2012 with a Custom Facebook Fan Page
January 3, 2012 by Lisa Santos · 1 Comment
If you are a local business owner, you may not want to hear this…
But it is time to get on board and ignite your business with a customized Facebook Fan page.
Doing so will bring you a lot more potential customers and provide an easy, simple way for you to engage with them and convert them into long-term loyal customers.
What better way to roar back to life than by using social media when dividing your marketing and advertising dollars?
I’m sure you’ve heard that social media usage is on the rise and is expected to grow at even higher levels within the coming months and years.
This means that business owners all over the world have to prepare themselves to move with this new wave form of marketing.
However, setting up a powerful lead funnel using social media is no easy task. It takes time to build the type of presence that will create long term income for your business.
But a custom-designed, lead capture Facebook Fan page can propel your company into bigger profits pretty quickly; so this is an ideal place to start.
Motivated consumers do not want to be overwhelmed with too much erroneous information. So bring your prospect to your Fan page and when they “like” you as a fan they are moved to a reveal page.
Here, you can reward them with an exclusive report and literally have a customer for life.
Providing your online followers with massive value along with a few promotions here and there is a great recipe for business success.
Social networking means big business and big income if you do it right. It can provide you with more leads, customers, sales, and profits beyond your imagination.
Don’t miss out on the enormous opportunity to take your business to a whole new level through Facebook Fan pages.
Attracting the “Instant Gratification” Generation
November 15, 2011 by Lisa Santos · Leave a Comment
Photo Credit: http://www.connectyourhome.com
Have you ever noticed that most people today want everything RIGHT NOW?
There’s no denying that we thrive off of instant gratification. What does this mean for businesses around the world?
They simply have to keep up with the marketing demands and give their customers what they want.
For instance, one way is to ensure that your business is moving in the right technological direction is by having a mobile-friendly website.
You already know that people search the Internet using their mobile devices today more than ever. But if your website is not mobile-friendly, your prospects and customers won’t be able to access it while on the go.
Don’t leave them hanging… Give them what they need in order to find and contact you on the fly using their mobile phones.
In fact, the market of the future is Generation Y – sometimes known as the Millennials, who were born between 1982 and 2001.
Larger than the Baby Boomers at a strong 85 million members, their spending power will increase dramatically over the next few years as they complete their education and enter a period of rising income and household expenses.
Capturing this discretionary spending could take your business to a whole new level; and it is possible with a little smart marketing.
Many businesses fear that they can’t keep up with the “new” marketing trends. So they keep doing the same things they’ve always done, which is simply bad for business.
Generation Y consumers grew up with technology and they consider it a necessity rather than a luxury. Unfamiliar with such old-fashioned tools as the Yellow Pages and newspapers, this group expects instant gratification in the form of digital, on-the-spot access to any nugget of information that comes to mind – anywhere and anytime.
Consider this: Wireless customers downloaded 7.9 billion apps in 2010. At current growth, expectations are that these downloads will increase to a minimum of 25 billion by 2015.
Companies that rely on traditional methods of reaching their customers will become extinct, as clients patronize businesses that speak their high-tech language.
What Are They Saying About YOU? (Online Reputation Managment)
September 22, 2011 by Lisa Santos · 1 Comment
Are you paying attention to what people are saying about your business online?
Along with social media networks, people will talk about your business anywhere online… both the good and bad.
Think about it… people do not hesitate to go online to voice their concerns about a business instead of contacting the business directly.
Even worse, sometimes business owners have NO idea that the content is out on the web. This can truly hurt a business’s reputation, which is unfortunately; especially when the complaints are not even warranted.
Imagine one of your potential customers Googling your business name and up pops a negative post from one of your customers about how much they hate your service.
If this is the first thing your prospects see, do you think they will be quick to do business with you? No, they won’t. In fact, most people will automatically decide against doing business with you solely based on this other person’s complaint.
It’s just a fact… people rely heavily on the opinions of others when deciding whether or not to do business with you.
This is why customer reviews and testimonials are so powerful in converting prospects into buyers. When people see that others love your products, services, or business, they will have no problem doing business with you.
On the flip side, as soon as they see unhappy customers, they will avoid you like the plague.
Is this something your business can afford during these tough economic times? You probably answered, “absolutely not” and you are correct.
So how do you, as a business owner, defend yourself from the negativity surrounding your business online?
One way is to do a Google search for your business name to see what type of information is coming up.
Another way is to join and engage in social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter. People will definitely say what they feel there.
But it’s up to you to catch it and do something about it – even if it’s just to post a reply to the complaint to defend yourself. If not, you are leaving your business vulnerable to negative publicity, which is not good.
One way to combat a negative online reputation is to get your happy customers to post more positive reviews and testimonials about your business online.
This will help overshadow the negative comments and help you clean up your online reputation.
Let’s look more deeply into Online Review sites right now…
Online Review Sites
As mentioned earlier, online reviews are powerful when it comes to purchasing decisions.
People are careful when selecting businesses and if they see negative reviews about a business, they are not likely to go that way.
Think about yourself and your own online searching habits…
Let’s say you are looking for a plumber online and you come across a customer review tearing them apart.
You would probably move on to the next plumber – as would most people.
On the flip side, if your prospects see a bunch of glowing reviews about your business, they are more likely to do business with you.
Imagine having the MOST positive online reviews in your local industry?
Can you see the powerful impact this can have on your business?
Wouldn’t it be nice to knock out your competitors just by having a few extra positive customer reviews?
Therefore, online reviews are extremely important when it comes to connecting with your local prospects and customers.
You may be wondering how you can get more positive online customer reviews…
There are several local business directories where people can post reviews about businesses – this is a great place to start.
Some of the most popular are: Google Places/Maps, InsiderPages.com, Yelp.com, Yahoo Local, and Citysearch.com.
You should visit your business listing on these sites frequently to stay on top of what is being said about your business.
Not only that, but you should also direct your happy customers to these sites to post reviews about your product or service.
In addition to gathering customer feedback, these review sites are also good places to offer coupons and special promotions to help attract new customers.
Think about it… if you were searching for a local flower shop and one listing had a 50% off coupon and the other ones don’t, which one would you choose?
I hope you enjoyed this article. If you would like professional help implementing any of the methods you read about in this article, please contact me us at http://lsvirtualassistant.com/contact to setup a free consultation.
Google’s Local Business Center: A Major Update & A New Name – ‘Places’
June 2, 2010 by Lisa Santos · 1 Comment
If you have a brick and mortar store, and rely on walk-in traffic for your survival, you may be wondering what the Internet can do for your business. Believe it or not, a lot – and you don’t even need a website.
In the “old days”, the bulk of businesses relied on the Yellow Pages to get the phone ringing. The majority of marketing dollars were spent getting listed in this ten pound paperweight. With the popularity of the Net, less people let “their fingers do the walking” when they need something, and more are letting their mouse do the talking.
Online search has gone mainstream when it comes to searching for local businesses. Google states that 73% of searches are done for local content. Another study by BIA/Kelsey and Constat report that 97% of consumers use online resources when doing research for products/services in their local area. See www.kelseygroup.com/press/pr100310.asp.
Google has always understood the power of local search, and years ago launched its Local Business Center where any business can get a listing for free. Recently, they’ve done a major overhaul and have re-launched with a new name of “Google Places”, showcasing a host of new features. The name change was done to tie in with Google’s Place Pages which were launched over a year ago and include over 50 million places worldwide. Official Google Blog
If you want customers to be able to find you, and haven’t listed your offline store here yet, you need to get with the program. You are missing out on the chance to reach millions of Google users, including Google Map users, Google’s 800 Voice Directory Search and even Google Earth. And all of this exposure won’t cost you a dime. It’s totally free.
Now that I have your attention, let’s go over the steps for inclusion. As with all things Google, you’ll need to sign into Google Places with your Google Account. Up to 100 single locations can be added but, if you have more than ten to list you’ll need to use their “Bulk Upload Tool”.
There is a verification process that must be done to prove you’re the owner of the business being listed. The choice is yours, it’s by phone or mail. Once this is done, your listing goes live.
Now in case you’re thinking all that’s included in a listing is an address and phone number, hold onto your hat. Here are some of the listing options.
1) Show the geographic area you service.
2) Photos: Upload yours, up to ten images per listing, in JPG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, BMP. A professional photo shoot can also be requested for your business.
3) Place Page Posts: You can post real time updates here, up to 160 characters, announcing special sales, events, and new products. One post appears at a time.
4) Custom QR Codes: For use with smart phones to take users to your mobile website.
5) Advertise: They do have a “Tags Program” in select cities for $25.00 a month where your business will be highlighted on Google.com and Google Maps.
6) List your operating hours. Biz description and even reviews.
7) Post Videos: Up to five videos can be posted, but you’ll need to publish them to YouTube first, then include the URL’s on your Place Page.
Payment Types Taken
9) Coupons: Create online coupons to give people incentive to visit your site. There’s a separate “coupon tab” that appears on your listing page.
10) Privacy: If you work at home and have no storefront you can choose to make your address private in your listing.
At this point you should be realizing how important being listed in Google Places is to your business. If you’d like to see what your listing looks like to a searcher, log into Google Places and click on “see your listing on Google Maps”.
Now remember, search results are based on relevance and “geographic distance”, so you can’t buy your way to the top of the list as with pay-per-click advertising. As previously mentioned, the “tags program”, if available in your area, can be utilized for having your business show up highlighted for $25.00 a month.
If you’re interested in paying for your links to show up on the Google Maps search results page, if related to the search terms and location searched, that can be done using Google’s Adwords program with what’s called “Local Targeted Ads”.
By the way, Google also includes a “Reporting Dashboard” that will tell you how people find you, and what keywords they used to search. It’s powerful stuff that can also be used in your local search engine optimization work.
Do yourself a favor – if you’re not listed with “Google Places”, now is a good time. It’s targeted, free traffic. Now where else can you say that when it comes to marketing on the Internet. People are looking for your business online and with Google Places you can make it easier for them to find you. Website or not – it simply doesn’t matter – but getting people in the door does, and Google is there to help.
About The Author
Merle’s Mission Blog – “Rants, Raves and Random Acts of Kindness”. A self-proclaimed “Internet Junkie” with a passion for net marketing, affiliate marketing, and social networking. An avid Blogger and writer with several niche sites. Find out more at merlesworld.blogspot.com . Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/msmerle
Should Your Local Business Have An Online Presence?
March 9, 2010 by Lisa Santos · 3 Comments
Many local business owners overlook one of the best forms of advertising today and that is a website. If you want to attract customers, then there’s no question that having a website for your local business is your best weapon.
It doesn’t matter what kind of business you have whether you’re a retailer, dentist, lawyer, accountant or dog groomer. Every business needs a website. Do you realize that more and more people each day turn to the internet to look up businesses than the yellow pages? If you aren’t online, they can’t find you.
Here is a brief list of the reasons why you should have an online presence:
- You can better serve your existing customer base.
- Your customers can have their questions answered 24/7.
- Your customers can set appointments with you online.
- It provides instant credibility.
- You can display customer testimonials for more interest and credibility.
- You will be able to target your market of choice using built-in advertising tools.
- You can showcase your work to prospective clients.
- You can offer specials, hot deals and online coupons.
- You will have a second storefront, virtually speaking, where you can display your products or services.
- You can sell your products online and it’s like having a 24 hour salesperson working for you.
- You can capture customer leads and email them anytime with special offers and information.
- Best of all you’ll stay ahead of the competition.
As you can see the benefits of having a website far outweigh the traditional yellow pages. Your customers are online and they are looking for you. Will you be there?
Need a website for your business? Check out these special website packages.
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