Why Should Local Businesses Rely On Just Google And Facebook ##TOP##
Malvina Mago
Goochland County residents and visitors can now save money while supporting small businesses with the new Open Rewards program. Launched as a partnership between Goochland County Economic Development, Goochland County Economic Development Authority, and technology company BluDot, this customer rewards program encourages customers to earn cash back rewards while spending at local businesses.
The goal of the program is to incentivize shopping local for Goochland residents and help stimulate the local economy. Small retail and restaurant businesses need the support of the local community, and this program aims to drive more customers to these businesses. Open Rewards launches in Goochland today, Wednesday, November 1st and will continue as funds last.
There are no costs for businesses or consumers to participate, and local businesses in the retail, restaurant, and personal service sectors are automatically enrolled. Consumers will earn 5% in rewards for each transaction at local businesses, which can then be redeemed on a purchase at another participating business.
Facebook ads can be an effective way to generate attention from a specific, targeted audience. While ads can be created for a variety of platforms and mediums, a Facebook ad can provide your organization with an effective way to promote your brand to your target audience more effectively. In fact, According to Entrepreneur, with an effective Facebook campaign, businesses should expect to see as much as one to five times the return on their ad spending.
Marietta, Georgia-based Fleming Flooring & Design Centers has made cuts to its advertising budget like many local businesses contending with the coronavirus crisis. But those cuts have not come across the board. Instead of advertising on historically important local media channels like TV, radio and billboards, the family-owned flooring dealer primarily spends its ad dollars on digital advertising platforms, like Google, which would make the search giant a likely subject to the cuts. Instead, Google has benefited from them.
Fleming does not appear to be an outlier. While local small- and medium-sized businesses, such as restaurants, retailers and home service providers, are spending less money on advertising, many are still spending some money on advertising, especially as states like Georgia, Florida and California begin to ease lockdown restrictions on businesses.
In mid-March, research firm Borrell Associates surveyed SMBs about whether they planned to increase or decrease their ad dollars over the next six months. At the time, 51% of those businesses said they planned to spend less money on advertising. By mid-April, the figure dropped to 39% of local businesses that said they planned to spend less on advertising with the remaining 54% expecting to increase or maintain their advertising budgets. And those ad budgets are largely expected to go to Google and Facebook.
Local businesses are also relying on the platforms to build up the online businesses they are pivoting to in cases when their physical stores are shut down. A chain of tanning and waxing salons that works with digital marketing agency Wpromote had to close its physical locations. However, that company also operates an e-commerce store.
Facebook is particularly crucial for local, service-based businesses. A Facebook business page lets you keep your customers up-to-date about your company, allows you to interact with them, and enables them to leave reviews and feedback. A Facebook business page also improves your SEO rankings, making you appear higher on search result pages.
Small businesses worldwide rely on Facebook and Google reviews as the new word-of-mouth. Positive reviews on Facebook will increase your chances of getting new customers because online reviews build trust.
COVID-19 has been a significant economic challenge to millions of small businesses in the United States. It could threaten many more, particularly those with less resilience. Business leaders and governments that support these businesses can help them continue operating and put them on a more sustainable, resilient footing, so they can continue to anchor communities by supporting local economies.
In the age of social media dominance, it's tempting for small businesses to think that a Facebook page alone is sufficient to establish their online presence. While social media platforms like Facebook are valuable tools, they should complement, not replace, a dedicated business website. In this blog post, we'll explore the reasons why your small business can't just have a Facebook presence but needs a website.
Many small businesses and marketers, just like our baker, have faced this very situation. The changes to Facebook Ads Location Targeting may have made some feel like the rug was pulled out from under them.
Local businesses, like our Boston bakery, relied heavily on these targeting options to ensure their ads reached those within a stone's throw. They knew their best customers were locals - the people who walked their dogs past their window displays or those grabbing a quick treat before catching the subway.
Facebook Geofencing can offer a solution. With geofencing, your ads could appear on the feeds of potential customers who are just around the corner, giving your local targeting that extra precision. While geofencing is not a silver bullet for Facebook location targeting changes, it's an efficient tool for businesses that heavily rely on foot traffic.
In conclusion, Facebook's changes to location targeting have certainly created new challenges for local businesses, but these hurdles aren't insurmountable. Leverage Meta's algorithm such as creating custom and lookalike audiences from Facebook Pixel as it constantly learns and adjusts based on user behavior, aiming to display the most relevant ads to each user. Embracing the right tools can not only bridge the gap between your business and ideal local prospects but also upscale your Facebook advertising game in the long run.
Small businesses often have a small budget, so it might seem strange to have this as the first and foremost grouping of local marketing ideas. The truth is, thanks to the advanced targeting capabilities of online ads, they are a cost-effective way to get qualified exposure for your lcoal business. The key is to do it right. Here are nine ideas and suggestions to use it to get a solid ROI on your advertising spend.
Could you sponsor a local sports team, hold a fundraiser for a local youth club or support some other project or organization? Doing so would put your business on the radars of people who are involved with (or at least aware of) those projects and organizations. This might just lead to more business for you.
There are many resources available today for local business owners. Have you considered registering with your local chamber of commerce? A chamber of commerce is one of many a sort of business network with a focus on furthering the interests of local businesses.
The goal with all these local marketing ideas is that you are able to cut through the noise and stand out from your competitors. These creative advertising and marketing ideas should be tested and either put to rest or elevated into the hall of fame. Feel free to share your own local marketing ideas in the comments below, and optimize on!
This memo details the ways that Google and Facebook, respectively, harm small businesses. Policymakers should engage in robust antitrust enforcement and legislative remedies to reduce and eliminate these harms.
There are many other harms visited upon small businesses by these dominant corporations, so more research is needed. Regardless, policymakers should move to break up Facebook and Google and use other regulatory and legislative tools to ensure they no longer have the power to arbitrarily bury small businesses or force small business owners to pay ever-larger fees to access the vital networks necessary for modern commerce.
Our mission is to build vital connections, provide professional resources, and champion our local businesses in Chautauqua County. As a champion for local businesses, we are laser-beam focused right now on encouraging local people to support locally owned merchants.
On Small Business Saturday, November 25, we are incentivizing local consumers to shop at small local businesses, and do a check-in on Facebook or Instagram, and tag the Chamber of Commerce. You do not need to make a purchase for this contest. The tag on Facebook is @ChautauquaChamber and the tag on Instagram is @shoplocalchq. Each tag gets you entered into a drawing for a $150 ShopLocalCHQ Gift Card. Two cards will be given away with the winners to be drawn on Monday, November 27. This contest is about more than giving away gift cards. It is really about promoting those small local businesses throughout the day to draw more potential customers in their door.
The fiscal oversight provided by the State Comptroller is vital for the health of our municipalities, which is crucial to the operation of our local economies. Businesses rely on government operations that run smoothly.
Social networks and online marketing have revolutionized the way businesses sell products and services. They are critical for both local and global businesses. Marketing and networking rely heavily on Facebook, Google, and visual platforms like Instagram and Pinterest for branding and even e-commerce.
Use this guide to understand what marketing efforts are working for other small businesses just like yours, as well as which tactics have struggled. Read on to find out where other small business marketers are putting their time, energy, and resources.
Local businesses rely on Facebook Reviews to raise brand awareness, drive traffic to their stores and ultimately build customer relationships. The Smart Inbox brings reviews across multiple location Pages into a single, filterable stream. For businesses that operate more than one brick-and-mortar location, a unified inbox saves time by enabling teams to manage reviews more productively.
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