Last updated 1 year ago
Welcome to another installment of Ask ReachLocal, where we answer local business’ questions about online marketing. This week, we’re answering a question from Rick Vasquez of Chaplain for Today in Houston, TX. Rick asks, “I have tried Facebook Business pages and have had only two likes. Can you give me advice on how to engage more people locally on my business page or website that are seeking my services?”
We often get questions about how to get more likes on a business’ Facebook page, as well as how to keep fans engaged once they like the business. Check out this video to see what we (ReachLocal bloggers Angela Epley and Tamara Weintraub) suggest to get more Facebook fans and increase customer engagement on the site.
Do you have an online marketing question you’d like us to answer? Whether you want to know more about online advertising, social media marketing, customer engagement, or something else, leave us a comment or find us on Facebook or Twitter. We might just answer your question in the next Ask ReachLocal video.
Last updated 1 year ago
To get more customers online, you need a holistic web presence optimization strategy that includes online advertising, social media marketing, and search engine optimization, for starters. But you also need to optimize your website to convert those potential customers into leads for your business. To increase conversion rates, your website must engage consumers while driving them to take action, such as calling, emailing, or completing a web form.
Some conversion best practices may already be familiar to you. For example, when it comes to online marketing campaigns, you should create optimized landing pages with a clear call to action, a prominent phone number and email address above the fold, along with a key message that matches your advertising. It’s also extremely important to maintain consistency between your marketing efforts, ad design, and your landing pages. But there are also a few other best practices you can follow to increase website conversions, no matter how visitors come to your site.
Add Videos to your Website
An online video is a great complement to your online marketing tactics because it’s more engaging than static text and images. Introducing your business to potential customers with a short video is an excellent way to showcase your brand authority and personality without taking up valuable real estate on your website. You can even highlight your products and services with videos of customer testimonials or instructional videos that will encourage more consumers to contact your business. Here are a few tips to get started creating online videos for your business that can help you increase conversions from your visitors.
Engage Visitors Immediately with Live Chat
To capture visitors’ interest as soon as they arrive at your site and entice them to convert, implement a live chat widget on your site. Live chat boosts conversions by proactively inviting customers to chat with a live agent while they’re on your website. Website chat technology has shown to create a positive customer experience because it enables visitors to get their initial questions answered without feeling like they have to take time out of their day to call or email you. But, more importantly, it’s an affordable way for the visitor to convert, and you can follow up with them personally after they leave your site to close the sale. Remember to make sure someone is available to monitor and respond to incoming chat requests to ensure a smooth user experience and generate viable leads for your business.
Optimize your Site for Mobile Conversions
Google has claimed that 16% of searches this year are mobile searches, and with the prevalence of Smartphones and tablets, more and more consumers are visiting websites on their mobile devices. Plus, research has shown that mobile sites get more engagement than standard websites. So optimizing your site for mobile will no doubt increase your ability to convert customers who are on the go. Make sure you include a well-placed phone number and email address, and use the “click to call” feature, so prospects can contact you on the spot, which will help you boost your conversion rate.
Use Remarketing to Keep Your Business Top of Mind
If potential customers don’t convert into leads the first time they visit your site, make sure you stay top of mind with them after they leave. Remarketing is an easy and cost-effective display advertising tactic that targets previous website visitors as they surf across the Web. In addition, enabling visitors to subscribe to your blog via an RSS feed or opt in to your mailing list is a great way to regularly share content with potential customers after they’ve left your site. Then, create great content like tips, videos, and how-to articles that drive home your credibility in your industry and show potential customers that you’re interested in more than just pitching them a sale, so they’ll be more inclined to return to your website and convert.
Measure the Conversion, not the Click
If you’re running online search or display advertising, chances are you’re measuring how many people click your ads and visit your website. But do you have tools in place to measure how many people convert? In other words, how many visitors actually contact your business via phone, email, web form, or other method? With analytics tools like Google Analytics, you can track the conversion paths of the people who visit your website and complete an action – as well as the ones that bounce during the process. Call recording technology is also available to help you glean insight into your prospects’ behavior. Tracking your conversions will help you see the effectiveness of the elements on your site, like the placement of your phone number, clarity of your call to action, or ease of completing a form submission that may actually be hurting your website conversions.
What best practices have you found that help you increase conversions from your website? Have you implemented a video, live chat technology or a mobile site to engage customers and help them convert? Share your experience in the comments!
Tamara Weintraub helps equip small business owners with information about local online advertising, social media marketing, and more as a blogger for ReachCast and ReachLocal.
Last updated 1 year ago
Whether business is booming or times are tough, focusing time and money into acquiring customers isn’t enough. You also need to build existing customer loyalty. Although it is a time-tested cornerstone of any local business marketing strategy, a focus on customer retention can be eclipsed by exciting, new products and platforms (like Google Plus). But it’s just as critical to invest in building customer loyalty, because existing customers are worth more to your business than just the initial sale.
So here are some online and offline tactics that will help you build customer loyalty and hold on to the fans you’ve already got!
Create experiences worth talking about. Focus on making a lasting, positive impact with each and every customer so when they talk about your business on social media, online review sites, or in their circle of friends and family, their story is one you want to be seen and shared.
- Online: Create and share content that existing consumers find interesting, engaging and shareworthy. Offering helpful how-tos and tips related to your industry will reinforce your commitment and passion to your customers. For example: if you’re a plumber, advising customers on how to deal with seasonal changes, like dripping faucets in the winter to prevent freezing is helpful to your customers and builds your brand. Anything you can do to position yourself as the trusted authority in your industry will make you a valuable resource your customers will value, helping build customer loyalty and potential referral.
- Offline: Make a good impression from the get-go by delivering a solid product with excellent service each and every time a customer interacts with your business. Think of each customer interaction as a defining moment that will determine whether that customer comes back to you or tries a competitor the next time they need your services, or whether they write a positive or negative review online.
Stay in touch after the sale – without being too salesy. Following up with customers in a friendly way sends a message that you see your customers as people, not as dollar signs. If you want to build your lifetime customer base, focus on building personal relationships with each customer.
- Online: Share important information about your industry, community, and customers on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. You can spread the word about local news and events, or comment on customers’ status updates, photos and more. When speaking as your business brand online it’s best to stick to a light, upbeat tone and topic.
- Offline: When entering customer details in your system, be sure to track birthdays, anniversaries or other relevant events that would be appropriate to celebrate by mailing an occasion card or offering a special discount
Reward loyalty. Customers know they have a choice when it comes to purchasing goods or services, so find ways to thank them for choosing you.
- Online: Highlight a customer of the month on your business’s social media pages, featuring their name, a picture, and other fun details about their personality and interests (especially if they can relate to your business, product or service). And be sure to offer a special gift (like a discount or freebie) to show how much you appreciate the unique people who support your local business.
- Offline: Customer loyalty programs like traditional punch cards or keychain attachments with bar codes are a great way to reward repeat customers. Try offering discounts or freebies once customers have spent a certain amount of money with your business, or have made a certain number of trips to your store in a given time frame.
Get involved with your community. Reassure customers that your business is here to stay and that supporting your business also supports your local community by strengthening your neighborhood presence.
- Online: Highlight all the great work you’re doing in your community by promoting it with stories, pictures and videos across your social media profiles. Include your business name and geographical keywords, and tag local faces and places to make sure to spread the word about your involvement online.
- Offline: Host special events at your business with your local Chamber of Commerce, sponsor local sports teams, or donate your time by volunteering for non-profit organizations around town and sporting a company t-shirt to show your business’s community spirit. Choose activities and affiliations you’re proud to align your business with (this is great visibility for your brand, after all!), and be sure to cast a generous net to make sure you’re not missing some great outreach opportunities.
There are many ways to build customer loyalty, but they all have in common one thing: adding value to your customers’ lives. Whether that value comes in the form of helpful content, special discounts, or public recognition, staying top-of-mind in meaningful ways is how you’ll encourage customers to return to your business again. And with all the additional lifetime sales, word-of-mouth referrals and social buzz these programs can generate, it’s just good business sense to give some of that value back to your customers.
What customer loyalty techniques have worked for your business in the past? Will you try any of these suggestions in the near future? Share your thoughts in a comment!
Angela Epley writes about online advertising & web presence for the ReachLocal blog, which focuses on small business online marketing strategies.
Last updated 1 year ago
An important part of optimizing your local business web presence includes claiming and creating Internet profiles on popular social sites. That way, wherever you consumers search, surf and socialize online, they will be able to find you. With the latest addition of games to Google Plus, the new social network continues to fuel comparisons with Facebook (which still has more users than Google Plus). But even as each site continues to add similar features (like video chat and social signifiers across the web like “+1” and “Like” buttons), the sites are still distinguishable from one another. This handy infographic from SingleGrain does a great job comparing Facebook and Google Plus stats and features side-by-side:
(View the original here.)
If it isn’t already, your Facebook Business page should be a core component of your web presence optimization strategy. And while Google Plus has not yet released official brand or business pages for now, it’s still a good idea to use your personal Google Plus profile to promote your business for now. Maintaining an active web presence and sharing dynamic content on both social networks will help you dominate the social space and engage more customers.
How are you integrating Facebook and Google Plus into your local business web presence optimization strategy today? Does your target consumer base interact more on one site than the other? What is the future of these two powerhouse social sites? Share your thoughts in a comment!
Angela Epley writes about online advertising & web presence for the ReachLocal blog, which focuses on small business online marketing strategies.
Last updated 1 year ago
At ReachLocal, we have helped thousands of local businesses - from doctors to lawyers to plumbers - reach more customers online. And nothing makes us happier than to hear it straight from the businesses owners themselves via ReachLocal Review videos. Hear what three local businesses had to say recently about their successes and experiences using ReachLocal:
1. Local Heating & Air Conditioning Company Sets Record Sales
Memorable Review Quote: “This business has grown tremendously! The first quarter, which was January through March, we had an 18% increase in service. Most of those were new customers. The second quarter in June, we had the best June for AOR sales that we’ve ever had. ” – Michelle Jakubiak
2. Local Air Conditioning & Heating Company Blasts Page One of Search Engines
Memorable Review Quote: “Estes has grown from a 9 million dollar company to a 20 million dollar company in a process of only about 3 years. Our business has benefited greatly from using ReachLocal.” – Tommy Estes
3. Animal Emergency Service Gets Thousands of Phone Calls
Memorable Review Quote: “ReachLocal has brought so much to our business – we have grown beyond expectation since our campaign last year. Over the past year we have received 6,000 phone calls and 1,700 emails or contact forms directly from ReachLocal.” – Jodi Mackinnon
We’ve been keeping busy over at our YouTube channel, adding videos about search engine advertising, the art of responding to negative reviews, and more - so be sure to subscribe!
Wondering how ReachLocal can help your business? Visit our website and contact us to learn more.
