Often times, I find that the local business owner does an excellent job of setting up shop, getting their brick and mortar outfitting just right and making sure their product is outstanding as they back their services with excellent customer service. They wonder though, why they just don’t have more customers coming through the door. We are a local business and we serve the community! We should have more people buying our products! Ultimately, as shifts in how people consume content and make buying decisions occur ever more frequently, the often simple answer is, they just don’t know you exist!
More and more consumers are making buying decisions and pre-buying decisions and doing research, online! If consumers don’t know about you, can’t find information about you how can they find you and decide to buy from you! Here are 3 tips to help you get your business found online!
- Make sure your business listings are setup, correct and managed!
What is a business listing or citation you ask? It’s simple. Online business listings are the digital version of the yellow pages. In fact, businesses like Yellow Pages actually have take their model of data collection online. Business listings are simply aggregations of NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) that Google references when providing search results to consumers. If you data isn’t correct on these listings how can Google accurately provide information about you to the public? The pitfall here also, is that these listings are open and editable by the public, random bots, and data collection services. There’s no way to ensure they’re correct unless you take control of them, manage them and keep them updated. It’s an essential service you simply have invest in as a business owner if you want to be found online correctly.
- Setup, manage and nurture your Google My Business Profile!
I could write an entire article on the importance of Google My Business! I probably will. Google my business is your essential service to give the most accurate data to your customer. Not only can you harvest reviews, post content but Google uses this listing platform as its basis for finding information about your business. You simply have to have a platform if you’re to be found online. But having one and using the platform to its potential is another story! You need to maintain reviews on a timely and consistent basis, respond to all reviews, good, bad and ugly. You need to post cards and products (which can go direct to search) to keep your audience and potential audiences engaged. My recommendation is have someone dedicated to maintaining your social channels treat Google My Business as its own social channel with its own posting cadence and maintenance.
- Run paid ads!
This might seem like a no-brainer but how can customers find you if you don’t let them know you’re there! Brand awareness as you develop your business footprint is critical and news feeds are increasingly bombarded with information that is highly likely to push down “organic” content. As people move more and more online and especially in a changing environment like a global pandemic, you simply have to pay to play for space on channels like Google, Facebook and the like. You don’t have to spend a ton of money on ads to get exposure and it all comes down to who you’re competing with and how much traffic you are looking to gain. You might find that you don’t have to spend that much to get a high return if your space isn’t crowded online!
If you have questions about paid ads, social media, business listings or digital marketing, reach out to me at john@bluecomet.media. I look forward to helping you reach your target customers more effectively in the digital space!
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