Local Marketing | Catalyst Marketers

Posts Tagged ‘local marketing’

It’s Important to Create a Google Local Listing for Your Small Business

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

If you’re a business owner who’s looking for ways to attract more web prospects to your small business website, then Google Local is a MUST. Local Search is really beginning to build momentum. Next time you use Google Search, add a location to your search term, such as “Social Media Marketing Doylestown” and notice the listings that come up next to the Google Map. This post will help you list a business on Google.

Why is this important? It’s important because as a small business, you can start outranking large organizations on Google. If you notice, the local listings appear at the top of your search page. This means that those businesses who used to rank 1st on Google, are now ranking 4th or lower.

Having a Google Local Business Listing for your small business can greatly increase the traffic to your website. Setting up a listing is actually pretty easy. The only pre-requisite is that you have a Google account. If you don’t already have one, simply create one and then get started on your Google Local Listing – it’s FREE. Here are a few steps to help you out:

Navigate to the Google Local Business Center and click “Add New Business”
Fill out your profile as completely as possible, the more details, the better
Add your business listing
Add your business information – TIP: Add a few custom fields and insert relevant search terms for your small business. This will help you rank for those search terms
Last, but not least, claim your new Google Local Business Listing – You can claim your listing by phone, text message, or postcard

Montgomery County, PA Social Media Marketing Agency

Not only will having a Google Local Business Listing help increase traffic to your small business website, but there are also a number of other benefits. Here are just a few:

You can add coupons for your small business to your Google Local Listing
The Google Local Business Center allows you to track stats for your Local Listing
You can provide your business contact information on your listing
Customer Reviews can be added to your listing to help build credibility for your small business

If you don’t already have a Google Local Business Listing for your small business, definitely take some time and add one today. You’ll be happy you did.

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Tags: google local, google tools, local marketing, local search
Posted in Online Marketing | 1 Comment »

LinkedIn Discussions Can Generate Sales for Your Small Business

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

LinkedIn is an online social networking tool that’s been around for years, yet doesn’t get as much hype as it deserves. Personally, I think LinkedIn has been the best prospecting tool for Catalyst Marketers to date. Some say LinkedIn just isn’t as “sexy” when compared to other giants like Twitter and Facebook. Here’s a great back and forth between two big time thought-leaders in the social arena. This conversation took place on Twitter this morning.

@TheRiseToTheTop Think we should all spend more time on LinkedIn? For some reason I just don’t find it sexy.
@lewishowes You know that pushes my buttons when you say Linkedin isn’t sexy. I’ll do a vid just for you my man
@TheRiseToTheTop Don’t worry Lewis, you are sexy. I see the usability of LinkedIn but I love Twitter/FB. Show me the light!

It sounds like Lewis is going to make a video for David, which I’m sure is going to be really informative. I’d recommend following both of these guys on Twitter and on their other social platforms as well. With the above being said, the reason for this post is to shine some light on a LinkedIn Discussion I’ve been having for the past week. LinkedIn Discussions through LinkedIn Groups can be AMAZING platforms to spread ideas, establish partnerships, and even drive sales.

UPDATE: This post sparked a Skype debate between Lewis Howes & David Garland. Check out their debate on, Is LinkedIn Sexy Enough to Spend Time With?

I recently wrote about Cross-Promotion on this blog and to help promote that post, I started a Discussion in many of my LinkedIn groups. I made sure that each group I chose contained audience members that would find the topic interesting, relevant, & valuable. The question I asked was, “Have you considered partnering with other local businesses to cross promote each others products & services?” I then explained my idea of Cross-Promotion and how it can work for small business owners.

This discussion topic really hit home as I had numerous responses within several different LinkedIn groups. Alan Openshaw, a Mortgage Consultant at Cornerstone Lending Inc in Philadelphia responded to the discussion from within the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce LinkedIn group. He weighed in on Cross-Promotion and then left this little gem, “By the way, by responding to your last discussion, I started dialogue with a local Realtor and am currently assisting one of his clients….so Thank You!”

By participating in a previous LinkedIn Discussion that I started, Alan built a relationship with a local Realtor, and was able to land a new client through his relationship with that Realtor. So, not only should you be using LinkedIn Discussions to spread your ideas and start discussions, BUT you should be responding to discussions within your LinkedIn Groups. You never know who’s listening…

Subscribe to our blog to read an upcoming post on How To Start a LinkedIn Discussion.

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Tags: linkedin, local marketing, relationship building
Posted in Online Marketing, Small Business | 3 Comments »

Cross Promote by Partnering with Local Businesses

Monday, January 18th, 2010

Are you constantly looking for new ways to build awareness around your business, your products, or your services? If so, congrats! Small businesses in today’s economy should always be pressing forward in trying to find creative ways to get their name out there.

Is your business located in a small town? How about a big city? Either way, I’d imagine that the majority of readers who own and operate a small business have it located in an area close to other businesses. With that said, have you ever considered approaching any other local business owners to see if they’d be interested in doing a cross promotion with you and your small business?

Cross promotion involves two or more parties who setup a program where each party helps promote the others’ products & services. I had the idea the other day when I was meeting Steve Keib, owner of Tranquility Life Spa & Salon, for lunch at Spatola’s Pizza in Lansdale, PA. He and I were discussing creative ways to market his business when the idea hit me. Steve should have a flier on each table at Spatola’s. In exchange for space at the tables, Steve could offer to put coupons & a menu for Spatola’s at his cash register – persuading each and every customer to take one with them as they pay for their Spa services.

How much do you think a promotion like this costs? If you said almost $0 then you’d be right. It takes a creative idea, a little time and networking, some printing costs and that’s it. You now get access to all of Spatola’s customers and vice versa. Each small business owner is happy and hopefully traffic increases. Definitely be sure that you setup some measurement tools, such as adding a unique code to each coupon you put in someone’s store OR by having your flier say “mention that you saw our flier at Spatola’s and receive 10% off”. For each customer who mentions it, be sure to track that sale in your computer/register so that you can go back to see just how well the promotion is working.

The best part about this idea is that you don’t have to limit your partnership to one other business. You can work with many different businesses in your local area. Just be sure the customers who come into your partner’s store are the same target customer who you want to attract.

Is anyone currently running a cross promotion strategy like this? If so, how’s it working for your small business?

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Tags: local marketing, Small Business Marketing, small business marketing strategy
Posted in Small Business | 3 Comments »