Are you a local business owner?  Are you on Social media?  If you are not, I bet you are thinking about it.  You probably already heard that75% of online business searches have local intent. You also noticed that news stories and Twitter posts are displayed at the top of the page of Google search results.  You would like to see your business in those real time results, right?  Right.  That is one of the reasons you want to be a part of social media.

Another reason is branding, of course.  You have heard many times, “people are talking about you on the internet” and “You have to join the conversation”.  Perhaps, you also wondered, what does it mean exactly – “join the conversation”?  In other words, what is it that you need to do?

Well, local business owner, let’s talk about strategy, shall we?  I assume, your website is already optimized for local search.  There are very few reasons why you should not invest in SEO.  I also assume, that you are serious about dominating social media in your niche and have allocated a sizable budget to this effort.

Lastly, keep in mind, that my main focus here is social media.  It should be incorporated into your overall online marketing strategy to help achieve main marketing objectives.

Local Business Strategy to Rule Social Media.

1. Know your audience.  Customers you meet in real life might have different personalities online.  You have to do some digging.

• Where are they on Social media?   Use tools like RapLeaf or FlowTown to find out.  If you can reach your customers where they are – learn their habitat and start participating.
• Who is an authority?  People who have established and trusted profiles on social media can be your biggest advocate on those channels.  Interact with them, ask for advice, listen and learn.
• What do they want to share with others?  Track your posts that people share with others.  Figure out, why and give them more.  It is all about what is interesting to your customers, not to you.

2. Set goals. Social media goals should be supporting your overall marketing goals. Decide what to measure to track how successful you are. Finally, set some realistic targets. For example, your goal could be to improve customer service. Tool like Twitter will allow you to provide almost real time support. Or your goal could be to improve your product. In this case you might want to use Facebook and survey your fans, ask them questions, find beta testers, etc. Put some human face on that logo of yours and interact with your customer.

3. Figure out what to measure. For crying out loud, stop counting your followers and focus on something meaningful and actionable.  Measure how much money you are saving for your phone customer support by incorporating Twitter.  Or, how many messages on average it takes to solve a problem and try to reduce the number.

4. Take Care of the Basics.

• <Claim your business everywhere. Most importantly, on Google Places.  Make sure you fill out all your business information.  Then, you can ask your customers for reviews.  Post pictures to your Google Places profile.  But don’t stop there.
• Get a Flickr account. Your community will comment on your pictures.  You will be able to include them in your Facebook profile.  Make sure you are doing it right – post good, professional looking pictures to represent your business.
• Not on YouTube yet?  Get there.  Don’t just tell the customer – show them.  Focus on “how-to” videos, answer frequently asked questions.  You do not need to invest a lot of money in video equipment, but make sure that the quality is good and your customers can watch your videos without getting dizzy.
• Mobile is the next big thing. But you already know that.  People are checking in on Gowalla and Foursquare.  Should you get on the band wagon?  The answer is, it depends.  If your business is in a hip and popular place (like New York), then yes.  People would want to check-in when they visit your business because they want to brag to their friends.  If you are located in the middle of nowhere or your business is boring, don’t waste your time.  Instead, post on your blog.
• Blog. Write about something  your customers are interested in.  Share your opinion about latest developments in your industry that affect your clients, not you.

5. Know where to focus. Always refer to your goals. Is your blog post or Facebook poll or new picture on Flickr going to bring you closer to your goal? If yes, absolutely do it. If not, reconsider.

6. Expand your social media horizons. You are building a community online.  Internet is global.  Think big.

• Do not just target your local market.  Global customers will help you get recognition and credibility.  Focus on the local community, but do not dismiss global opportunities.
• Start a meetup.  If your potential customers are united by a passion relevant to your business (love for a muscle car, cooking, running, etc.), you have a golden opportunity to channel this passion into sales.  Sites like Meetup.com will help you organize meetings on the cheap.  Local people will be there – I guarantee it.
• Seize the moment - utilize local events: marathons and walks, food drives, charity events, etc.  You can Tweet about an event, provide information that is missing (like, where to park), etc.  The information is already out there.  You can just put it all together for the customer’s benefit.

Takeaways

Know your customer, go to them on the internet and offer what they are looking for. Be a person, talk to people. Social Media is about relationships, interaction, and making friends. Social Media gives you an opportunity to become a celebrity to your customers – a trusted friend. Don’t waste it.

Lyena Solomon is an internet consultant who helps businesses make money through effective websites and profitable online marketing and advertising. Lyena is a website analyst and strategist with extensive development and website usability experience. When helping companies, her main focus is on return on investment, profitability, goals, targets and visitor engagement. She has been in internet business for 15 years.
Website: http://www.netspritner.com