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Creating a bridge between offline and online
I’ve pasted below a post from FourSquare.com on a promotion Starbucks is launching.
It is exciting to see how offline businesses can benefit from technology to market their businesses. What is not exciting is looking at all the small businesses that could do the same but just keep waiting to jump and try new ways of promoting their business until it is too late.
Foursquare is one way to bridge an offline business with online technology, but there are other things small business should look into like the QR codes.
These codes are an amazing bridge between offline media and online media and businesses in the US should be using them more. After all they can be easily created, can be free and be very effective. You might not be using it, but remember, you are not your audience.
Here is the post I mentioned earlier:
Facebook may be teaming with McDonald’s, but Foursquare refuses to be outdone in adding big brands to its portfolio. Starbucks is increasing their partnership with Foursquare by offering a mayor special at select locations across the US from May 17 through June 28. Mayors will receive $1 off a Frappuccino beverage by showing the unlock screen on their phone to the barista.
Starbucks is a frequent experimenter in the social media space, with a heavy presence on Facebook and Twitter. In fact, Foursquare and Starbucks have previously teamed to offer the Barista badge to users who check in to five or more Starbucks locations. At that time the NY Times’ Bits Blog reported Starbucks was excited about Foursquare because “it’s where the intersection between digital and physical starts to get interesting,” said Chris Bruzzo, vice president for brand, content and online at Starbucks. “Starbucks loves that, because we’re always looking for that intersection, which we think is the evolution of social networks.”
The biggest problem I see with this initiative is that Starbucks employees are not prevented from holding the mayorship of their stores. For instance, at one local Starbucks the mayor is an employee with 40 checkins over the past two months. It would be almost impossible for an honest-to-goodness customer to become mayor of that venue and unlock the mayor special. Starbucks has claimed most of their stores as the owner, but they haven’t added any of the local employees as staff, which would prevent them from holding the mayorship.
Starbucks becomes the largest major national chain to offer a mayor special nationwide. Partnering with Starbucks will certainly help propel Foursquare use into the mainstream as users at more than 11,000 locations will be exposed to the Foursquare concept for an extended period of time.
Local Business Marketing Domination
Most service professionals use only one or two ways to market their business and keep doing the same thing for years. Two examples are postcards and mailers. While these methods can bring good results, it is based on you having or buying a list every time you need new clients.
The internet receives millions of searches a day from people looking for specific services and products. These are very targeted prospects ready to buy.
When people look for you online, do you show among the first results without paying for clicks?
Have you heard of local search?
When people look for your services on Google, a Google map shows up showing the local results. Are you on Google Maps? Even if you are, are you showing for the different types of services you provide?
I’m asking you this because many businesses are listed on Google maps but they don’t show for their main search terms or show only for one of them.
There is more. When people are searching for a service like yours from their mobile phones, do you show up?
35% of all online searches contain a city, state or zip code. If you’re not showing up you are leaving a lot of money on the table.
The internet has now surpassed print Yellow Pages and newspaper as a primary source for local consumer service information. And the adoption of smart phones will only add to these numbers; 27 percent of all mobile searches are for local information.
When I mentioned that you can benefit from this without spending a penny, I refer to the fact that Google will not charge you for the listings, nor the directories that will help people find your business over the phone.
You just need to do it right and you can have your business showing for different search terms, have it listed on local directories that will drive traffic to your business and will show on smart phone applications that are geo-based, so people will find you when using their phones.
This is part of what Google calls Local Marketing and is one of the best ways to get more clients and spend less.
This is so important to Google that when you type a service on the search bar that contains a service that is supposed to be local even if you don’t type a city, it will provide local results only.
Go ahead and give it a try. Go to Google and type “Restaurants”. You will see that the results shown are all local.
You just cannot ignore the power this has and not have your business listed. Have in mind that 75% of all online activity is related to local. 54% of the US population has already substituted online searches for books, yellow, blue or any other color.
While the strategy here is a simple one, I can assure you that most of your competition is not paying attention to this and are still offering the same offers using the same channels they have used for years.
I know you are different and you want to stay ahead of the game. You want to attract clients without a lot of work and without spending a lot of money. You understand that things have changed, the economy has changed and the way people buy has changed. It just doesn’t make any sense to keep marketing to them the same way!
Did you know we can do the work for you and list you on the maps, on geo-based applications and local directories?
The normal investment is only $350, but just for my subscribers i’m offering the same package for $250 for the next 24 hours. After that, it goes back to normal.
Dominate local marketing
How FourSquare and Mobile Marketing Benefits Users and Businesses
I’m not a game person but FourSquare caught my attention since the beginning. Some call it a game but I see it as a location-based application that works with most smart phones.
Nashlah started using FourSquare on its first moments. She just loves it. Even though, right now, there are a lot of professionals saying they know all about it and are super users, you should take a look at what she’s done in a small place like Salt Lake City: Nashlah on FourSquare
Most social media gurus focus on tactics and telling people how to use the tool, but they seldom talk about business strategy.
Let me show you how businesses can benefit from Foursquare. Have in mind that the application is addicting because users will compete for mayorships and badges which is something that ends up benefiting businesses. The app promotes exploring the town and trying new things which is great in itself. It will tell you if a place is trendy by the number of check-ins, and if you accomplish some requirements that vary from business to business you may win a badge.
Why is all this important to businesses: visibility, popularity, more customer loyalty, more business.
Why do people do it? They like to compete, they have ego, it is fun and they can promote your business even though you might not be aware of it happening.
Have in mind that people want to become mayor of locations and oust previous mayors. When this happens they get posted publicly to twitter and Facebook with your business name and a link to your business’ profile page on foursquare.com. The same may happen when they arrive at your business.
Well, there are already savvy businesses using Foursquare to promote their business. A bar in San Francisco gives free drinks to the mayor of their location, and gives $2 off any performance night for those that show the phone and prove they checked in. This obviously motivates people to come back to the business and to use even more the application. In Las Vegas if you become the Mayor of the Miracle Mile Shops you’ll get your face and name on the 126-foot LED video screen. Big companies like Brave network, Pepsi and the New York Times are also using Foursquare. AJBombers a restaurant, did a Foursquare party and increased business in 110%.
Foursquare is already working on showing banners with the promotions.
The other day we were checking in at the movies and a message popped up telling us to try a restaurant around the corner with a coupon for us to use. What a proactive way to promote businesses in nearby locations!
The application allows people to recommend the place and suggest favorite dishes. It allows businesses and people to connect, bring foot traffic to the place and recommend to others. What more can a business wish for?
Badges for your business and badges to sponsor events is another possibility. For the users the more badges they have the more fun it is.
So, to put it into perspective, here are a few things you can use Foursquare in your business for:
I always say that the gold rush today is for being found, and getting attention.
About the being found part: Google and Bing maps are showing Foursquare venues when people search locally. Foursquare pages rank on search engines which means your business name, phone number and link come up.
Foursqare has the potential to revolutionize social media and turn it into a form of currency.
Out of the over 1.4 Million venues, only about 1200 venues have special offers. Less than 1% of businesses are going after this amazing opportunity. It is free.
Remind me how much you’ve spent with advertising that didn’t work? So what are you waiting for?
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Web Coupon Power
With the economy still shaky at the moment, internet coupons are in an all time high. This is not only good for people looking to save some money on their purchases, it is also an great opportunity for businesses because they not only attract new customers, they also solidify relationships.
In the last year alone, searches for coupons increased 41%.
One great advantage of using web coupons is that you can easily track conversion and forwards.
If you use a shopping cart like 1shoppingcart, you can easily create a coupon code to add to your pages or you may want to go with companies that specialize in coupons and offer more tracking possibilities.
Some of these companies are Couponsinc.com, miva merchant and e-centives.com
After you decide which system to use, you need to create and “give” coupons away. One way of doing that is to add the coupon to your existing e- newsletter or printed newsletter. You may want to add the offer to the subject line since it tends to increase response up to 24%. You should offer coupons in your newsletters on a regular basis. You may even have coupon newsletters (just with your deals) going out once a month.
You may send coupons using RSS feed .
There are hundreds of websites that allow you to post coupons for free. This will also increase traffic to your website that is an added benefit.
Add your coupons to Facebook, Twitter, pay-per-click campaigns and other social networks you belong to.
Look for companies like Cellfire.com where you can have coupons send to cell phones.
Depending on the coupon system you are using, you may even accept your competitor’s coupons. How sweet is that?
When creating your coupons don’t forget to clearly state the offer and have a deadline. The deadline creates a sense of urgency. Express the exact amount very clearly.
Don’t forget that coupons offer value, help people make a decision and improves the shopping experience. Coupons will improve conversion and will help your business a lot.
Start your coupon program today.
Here are some sites where you can add your coupons:
Retailmenot.com
Couponmom.com
Couponcabin.com
Coupons.com
10 ways to bring traffic to your website
by shahar
If you have a website, and I hope you do, you need traffic to be able to convert leads or sales. The traffic you bring to your site needs to targeted. You don’t need a lot of visitors, but you need visitors that buy. Here are a few ways you can get more traffic.
1. If you use Facebook, use the notes aplication to pull your blog feedto your profile or fan page.
2. When writting anything on your site, don’t forget to insert a keyword that could bring a targeted buyer. The title is usually the best place to do this.
3. Use videos on all video sharing sites. Don’t forget to include a link to your site and a compelling offer.
4. Google profile. You need a Google profile with links to your site and blog.
5. Include a link in your signature in your e-mail
6. Have a form on your site or blog where people can subscribe for your tips and come back often.
7. The more focused the topic of your blog or site, more likely to bring the right kind of people.
8. Add a ReTweet button on your blog. Get one at Tweetmeme.
9. when you have a very good article or blog post, submit to places like Digg and StumbleUpon.
10. Constantly update your blog or website. Treat it like a living being and remember, if you don’t feed, it will die.
Local Search Marketing and Mobile Marketing for Small Business
It is really important for business owners to understand the power of local and mobile marketing.
Remember search engines and people want you to be hyper relevant, hyper targeted and hyper local.
You might not think that a strong presence online is important for your business or maybe you don’t go to a search engine to find a restaurant, a plumber or an accountant, but remember you are not your audience. Millions of people use search engines every day and if you rank well you don’t exist.
Not only that, try to type a business on Google that is supposed to be local, but don’t type the city. You will see that Google will deliver only local results. The search engine assumes that if you are in a specific area and type a business that is supposed to be local, you most likely want to see local results even if you don’t type the city.
There is also the fact that many people use their smart phones not only to find businesses but to recommend them to others. Some even play games where they tell other people which businesses they visited.
You better start paying attention to this before it is too late.
Here are a few things you can do:
Make sure you have your state and city on your website title bar. Have the same on every page of your site.
List your business on Google maps, Yahoo local and Bing local. Don’t forget to add photos and videos if you have them. You want to be on the maps for local search and because mobile applications will pull info about your business from these maps.
Make sure you also list your business on Yelp and in local directories like WikiCity, Business.com, BOTW.org, InfoUSA.com, InsiderPages.com, Local.com, Kudzu.com.
Because Google now pays a lot of attention to your social graph, your social presence, it is important that your business has a presence on social networks like Facebook and Twitter and if possible have some videos on YouTube.
For the mobile marketing part, set up an account on FourSquare and list your business in the app’s directory.
Gowala is another one you want to have an account and list your business.
Creating an application for smart phones like Google phone or the Iphone is easier and less expensive than you think and can create a lot of traction for your business too.
Local search and mobile marketing will only increase in importance for businesses and even though listing the business in the above mentioned places may take a couple of hours, it will not cost a lot and will bring over time a lot of people knocking at your door.
So don’t waste time or find excuses. Just do it.
If you have questions or want someone to do it for you contact our social media agency
Buy attention x social media marketing
You can buy attention (advertising)
You can beg for attention from the media (PR)
You can bug people one at a time to get attention (sales)
Or you can earn attention by creating something interesting and valuable and then publishing it online for free: a YouTube video, a blog, a research report, photos, a Twitter stream, an ebook, a Facebook page. David Scott
5 ways a small business can benefit from Twitter
1. Awareness and visibility. Many people that never heard about your company will find you on Twitter and will start interacting with you. Most social media tools helps a lot in creating visibility for your business.
2. Connections. One of the biggest benefits of social media is the phenomenon where people connect with your company and feel they are part of the company and today, they are. They want to be a voice, be heard and Twitter makes that possible.
3. Personality. Businesses today need to have a personality and a face. Twitter facilitates this process since it allows people to connect with your business and have an interaction. It also gives your business a channel to show your personality.
4. Trust. We live in a time where people don’t trust companies. Because Twitter allows you to do all of the above, it leads to people trusting your brand. If people trust what you do, they stay close to you and become loyal which is every business owner’s dream, to have a loyal audience.
5. Leader of the tribe. You are there, you are talking and interacting, giving your two cents about your market and slowly you become the intentional choice of your market.