Step By Step Local Marketing Action Guide

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Step By Step Local Marketing Action Guide
Tammy Hawk-Bridges
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Hi there! My name is Tammy Hawk-Bridges. I
provide marketing training and education for
entrepreneurs. I hope youll visit my website
Perfect Marketing Equation - www.perfectmarketing
equation.com and also follow me on Twitter
_at_THawkBridges.
Hi there Im Tammy! Ready to learn about
marketing?!
Content Intellectual Property of Perfect
Marketing Equation. All Rights Reserved.
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Local marketing is a gold mine to a business
that
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• 1. Learns how to leverage it.

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• 2. Develops a process businesses follow through
  without fail.

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• 3. Stays aware of new trends and integrates what
  makes sense for their business model.

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• This presentation will lay out the entire
  groundwork of considerations needed before you
  can develop an awesome local marketing strategy.

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Local Marketing Lets Cover the Internet Bases
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1. Your Website

• You must have a website that was built with the
  customer in mind.

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• How is it laid out?
• Is it user friendly?
• Do you have an idea of how people would search
  for what you sell?

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• Did you consider this when it was designed?
• Is there a place for clients to sign up to your
  email list?

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• Whats the incentive for clients to sign up?
• Is there valuable information that serves as
  answers to clients potential problems?

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• Do they see you as a leader in your space?

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• Important
• Is your website mobile?

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• Action Item 1
• Take out your handheld and look at your own site.
  
• What do clients see?
• Is it mobile friendly?

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• The whole idea is to use your local marketing
  efforts to drive traffic to your website.
• When they get there what do they find?

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• Action Item 2
• Look at your website from a visitor perspective
  and answer the following questions.

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• Is your website user-friendly?
• Is the content done well?
• Do people find what they need right away?

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• Is there a place for potential clients to sign up
  to your list, front and center?
• Is there valuable information for them?

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• Does your website make you look like a leader in
  your space?

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2. Search

• When people need what you sell they do a search
  on the Internet.

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• Your local marketing efforts are more successful
  when people can actually find you.

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• Action Item 3
• Type into Google what someone would type into
  the search engine if they were looking for what
  you do or sell.

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• What comes up on the first page? (Make sure you
  are logged out of any Gmail accounts while
  conducting this search, as it can create false
  results.)

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• If youre already on the first search engine
  page, that is a huge asset to your local
  marketing efforts. Huge points if you are!

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• If you arent on the first page your competitors
  are getting the action.

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• Make note of who is on the front page. Youll
  need that info for the competitor part of this
  exercise.

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• Dont type in the name of your business and find
  yourself on page 1.
• Most of the time nobody is going to search for
  you under your business name.

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• For example
• Search engine keywords will look like this
• Hairdresser Atlanta GA
• Restaurants Detroit MI

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Local Marketing and Geo-Targeting
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• Search engines now identify a visitors location
  according to the Wifi, IP and GPS data They are
  content specific to that location.

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• Check it out.

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Local Marketing and Yelp
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• 48 of mobile users have an iPhone. Thats almost
  half!

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• Apple has a partnership with Yelp, so when an
  iPhone user conducts a search for a local
  business the first resource offered up is Yelp
  pages.

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• Fact Most businesses have either claimed their
  Yelp page or completely ignore it and dont
  monitor the reviews.

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• Action Item 4
• Do a search for your business and find your Yelp
  Profile. Make sure there isnt one that already
  exists before you recreate one.

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• You dont want two Yelp profiles out there for
  the same business.
• Once you find your businesss profile, claim it.

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• Your Yelp Profile is crucial to your local
  marketing efforts.
• Never overlook profiles that carry this much
  weight on the Internet.

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• Next, make sure its populated with pictures.
• Now you will need to check your profile on a
  regular basis for good and bad reviews.

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• Respond to ALL reviews good and bad.

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• Important Trivia
• 1. 73 of consumers lose trust in your business
  if your online listings arent accurate. (Search
  Engine Watch)

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• 2. A one-star increase in a business rating can
  equate to a 5 to 9 revenue increase! (Harvard
  Business School)

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• 3. Apple maps are used 3 times as much as Google
  maps on iPhones and iPads. (Venture Beat)

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3. Reputation Marketing and Reviews

• When was the last time you did a search on the
  Internet to see whats being said about you?

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• When a searcher sees a bad review about your
  business, you have lost a potential customer.

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• Put a dollar sign on it How much is this new
  customer worth to you?

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• There are services you can pay for to keep a
  track of your reviews like Trackur, Reputology,
  and Review Trackers.

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• Step 1 Weekly check and respond to ALL reviews
  on the following websites
• Facebook
• Google
• Yelp

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• Step 2 Once a month type your business name into
  the search engine.

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• Go back at least 4 pages to look for any
  potential bad feedback on any websites or
  listings.

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• What if you get a bad review?
• Dont ignore it! Talk to everyone involved and
  get feedback from all sides.

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• Once you have researched the incident, contact
  the customer and do your best to smooth it over.

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• Most of the time people just want to be heard and
  have a feeling of resolve.

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• Try to reach an agreement and ask them to remove
  the bad feedback.

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• If they wont remove the review theres nothing
  you can do but strive to get more positive
  reviews to push it down.

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• Action Item 5
• Conduct a reputation search on your business
  using the steps I pointed out before. Do it on a
  regular basis.

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4. Directory Profiles

• Its important to look through any directory
  listings like Yellowpages, Merchant Circle, etc.
  to make sure your information is correct.

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• You can usually claim the free version of your
  listing page.

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• There are tons of obscure directory listings. It
  is their business strategy to populate your
  listings just enough so you will contact them and
  claim your business.

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• Then they will hit you with their pitch.

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• Does it help to rank better in Google if I am on
  all of these directories?

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• The answer is yes and no.
• No There is no value listing your business in
  every obscure directory listing out there.

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• Having a ton of links to your website used to be
  helpful but now it can actually be harmful.

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• It is helpful to have your link on high ranking
  on sites like Facebook, Yelp, LinkedIn, Google,
  Yellowpages, etc.

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• Its not helpful to have your link on directory
  sites no one cares about.

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• Yes Populate the top ranking directories that
  are on the first few pages of the search.

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• No matter what, make sure the information is
  correct.

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• Important
• Google looks to establish sources of data to both
  build their database and check for local business
  information.

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• Visit Moz Local . It grades your effort in
  completing your directories.
• Enter the name of your business and the city and
  it will do the rest.

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• Action Item 6
• Do a solid search 5 pages back. Look for all
  directories where your business is listed.

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• Claim listings and make sure information is
  correct.

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5. Competition
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• Know who your competitors are and how they
  position their business.

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• Are they communicating via social media?
• What does their website look like?

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• Where do they rank in your searches?
• Are they advertising on Google? Facebook?

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• But we are special in our space, no one is doing
  what we do and the way we do it.

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• The consumer decides who your competitors are,
  not you.

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• If they can get something you sell somewhere
  cheaper then you have a competitor.

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• Brick and mortar businesses are feeling the burn
  as people start turning to the Internet for a
  wider range of products, cheaper prices and free
  shipping.

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• The Internet is also your competitor.
• Competition is real.

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• Consider having some hard facts on your
  competition as part of your marketing strategy.

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• Action Item 7
• Competition Analysis Here are a list of actions
  to take to become more aware of your competitors.

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• 1. What would someone type into Google if they
  were looking for what you do or sell?

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• Type that into the search. List 10 businesses
  that are there.

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• 2. Visit the competitor websites in the search
  one by one. Write out observations. How good is
  their website?

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• 3. How are they positioning their business? Do
  you see anything they are doing that is different
  from you?

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• 4. Do a check on their online reviews.

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• This will give you an idea as to their customer
  service practices and how good they are at their
  business in general.

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• 5. Look up their Facebook page and see how well
  they are at social media efforts.

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• Does it look like they care about what their
  business looks like on social media?

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• If not, then this is a big opportunity for you!
• Do they share useful information and really
  engage with their followers?

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• 7. Look around for evidence of email marketing
  efforts.
• Are they offering discounts or other incentives
  to get people to sign up?

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• If this is something they are doing and you
  arent they are more aggressively getting new
  customers and staying in front of their customers.

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• 8. Do you see evidence of a customer loyalty
  program in place?

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• Customer loyalty programs enhance the customer
  experience and provide incentives for clients to
  come to you versus going to a competitor or on
  the Internet.

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• In todays world if your business directly deals
  with the consumer, a customer loyalty program
  needs to be a part of your marketing strategy.

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• Consider all these points. How do you fare?
• Make a list of action items and list them in
  priority.

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• These are the types of actions that are the
  difference between growing your business and
  losing new customer opportunities to your
  competitors.

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Local Marketing Google Places is an Important
Tool
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• Utilizing Google Business Places is just as
  important as having a website.

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• When your customers go to look for your business
  online Google Business Places is the first thing
  they see.

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• Did you know Google Places can give you a huge
  Internet ranking boost?

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• When people go to the Internet to conduct a
  search Google Business Places takes up a large
  portion of the landscape.

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• A greatly optimized Google page with lots of good
  reviews has 2 major benefits to your local
  marketing strategy

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• 1. It helps you to rank higher in organic search
  results.

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• 2. It shows people who find your business online
  how well you conduct your business.

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• Remember a 1 star increase can increase revenue
  by 5-9!

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• On the next slide there is an example of a client
  of mine. We are on top of all their keywords and
  they are on page 1 for their search terms.

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• We started focusing on their reviews. Now for the
  first time in 2 years if you type handyman
  Alpharetta their Google page ranks 2.

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• My goal is to get them to 1!

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• When someone conducts this search on a mobile
  device there is a call option in addition to the
  website and directions. A huge boost to our
  marketing efforts!

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• Some interesting facts
• 73 of all online activity is related to local
  content. (Google)

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• 82 of local searchers follow up with a phone
  call or show up on your doorstep. (TMP/comscore)

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• 66 of Americans use local searches to find local
  businesses. (comscore)

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• Action Item 8
• If you havent claimed your Google page, find it
  and claim it today! Its critical to your local
  marketing strategy.

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• Action Item 9
• Populate your Google Business Page until it
  reaches 100.

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• Action Steps

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• 1. As before mentioned, you will want to make
  sure your profile is at 100.

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• 2. Include product or service keywords in your
  listing description.

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• List one or two of the suburbs/cities where your
  target market lives. DO NOT overuse keywords.

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• 3. Once your page is completely finished and
  optimized then encourage all your best customers
  to leave positive reviews on your page.

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• 4. Consider launching a campaign with an
  incentive for customers who leave feedback for
  you on Google.

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• It can be a coupon, a special discount whatever
  you want it to be.

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• Remember those reviews revert back to sales!
• Its worth a well thought out effort to create a
  marketing strategy that increases reviews.

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• 5. Include your Google page link on your
  newsletters and your website.

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• 6. Once you open up this effort you cant just
  leave it!
• You should be checking your reviews weekly.

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• Even when you get positive reviews respond and
  say thank you, it just looks good.

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• When you have a bad review address it
  immediately!

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• Nothing is worse than when people see bad reviews
  on your Google page that go ignored.

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Local Marketing Facebook is a Crucial Element
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• Facebook is a huge part of your marketing puzzle.

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• If your customer is 35-55 years old, this happens
  to be Facebooks largest demographic, so you
  definitely want to be there!

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• You actually wont get a whole lot of engagement
  just doing regular posts. But that doesnt mean
  you shouldnt do them.

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• If you write something great and people start
  liking it, that will give it more views in your
  fan feed.

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• I feel every business no matter what you do and
  who your customer base is should be spending a
  small amount on Facebook ads.

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• If you are promoting a special product or sale,
  the best thing to do is write a post and then
  boost it that way you can decide how many eyes
  see it.

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• Before you decide not to pay 10-20 to boost
  something you feel should be free just remember
  to always be focused on the result.

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• If you pay 10 to boost an ad and it brings in
  more traffic to your store and increases sales
  thats a win!

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• You should ALWAYS think of the benefit and value
  of investing money to market your business versus
  cost, especially if its a tiny cost.

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Example
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• It is most important for your Facebook to be
  fully optimized and look professional.

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• Important
• More people will engage with your Facebook page
  from your handheld so make sure it looks good
  from all points.

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• Action Item 10
• Lets do a Facebook checkup!
• 1. First, take out your mobile. See what it looks
  like to experience what your visitor sees.

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• Do you have your call to action set up properly?

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• For example if your call to action is contact
  us or email us make sure its connected to the
  contact page on your website.

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• If you have a consumer driven business my
  favorite call to action is Call Us Now.

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• If someone clicks that from their handheld your
  number will pop right up.

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• Look at the example from my client on the next
  slide. See how their call to action is call now?

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• One of my other clients has a retail store. Her
  button says Buy Now and it goes straight to her
  online store.

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• Make sure you make the best call to action
  decision for your particular business model.

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• 2. Get Verified. If your Facebook page isnt
  already verified get that done right away.

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• Getting verified gives your page more
  credibility.

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• According to Facebook, getting verified will give
  your posts more advantage in your fan feeds more
  so than pages that arent verified.

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• Look at the white arrow on the next slide that is
  pointing to the verified symbol.

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• To Verify Your Page
• 1. Click Settings at the top of your page.
• 2. From General click Page Verification.

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• 3. Click Verify This Page then click Get Started.

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• 4. Enter a publicly listed phone number for your
  business, your country and your language.

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• 5. Click Call Me Now to allow Facebook to call
  you with a verification code.

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• 6. Enter the 4 digit verification code and click
  Continue.

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• 3. Fill out your information completely. Remember
  people go here to read about your business, so
  you want to treat your Facebook page like a
  website.

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• Make sure all your information is filled out in
  full like general information, hours of operation
  etc. Every single tab should be filled in.

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• 4. Set up your automatic messaging options.

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• People can now send you messages through Facebook
  and because you cant always respond right away
  you want to look professional.

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• Facebook has some great options for you. Go to
  SettingsgtMessaging. Your options should pop up.

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• First set your response time. Let people know how
  long it typically will take for you to get back
  in touch with them.

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Example
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• 5. Below you can enable an away message when your
  business is closed. See example on next slide.

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• Here you can set up instant replies so when
  someone sends you a message they receive one
  back.

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• In the example on the next slide, we provide
  clients with our phone number so they can call
  for immediate assistance instead of waiting for
  us to get back to them.

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• 6. Scheduling Facebook Posts- What if you are
  busy during the week and dont have time to make
  posts?
• Easy! Schedule your posts in advance.

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• Write a post like you normally would then click
  the upside down triangle you see the short arrow
  pointing to, then choose schedule.

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• Once you choose Schedule, a box will pop up.
  (Example on next slide)
• Set it up for when you want it to go out and
  click Schedule.

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• I could go on about Facebook but I have already
  written a novel.
• I hope you have found this marketing guide
  useful.

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• Dont forget to sign up to download your action
  sheet in a PDF format. That way you can do your
  checkup at a later time.

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• PLEASE get it done! It is CRUCIAL for your
  business!

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• Once you set up your local marketing online
  presence, make sure you take care of it. Cheers!

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Please visit www.perfectmarketingequation.com
for many other marketing lessons for
entrepreneurs!
Content Intellectual Property of Perfect
Marketing Equation. All Rights Reserved.
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Connect with me! Twitter www.twitter.com/THawkB
ridges Facebook www.facebook.com/TammyHawkBridge
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gle https//plus.google.com/u/0/TammyHawkBridges

Content Intellectual Property of Perfect
Marketing Equation. All Rights Reserved.