by Chris Barnard | Oct 13, 2011 | Small Business Blogs
Carlsbad small businesses are feeling the economic crunch; we can probably continue this post with minimal blow-back from that claim.
But inside of all this doom and gloom, the smart San Diego small businesses are adjusting to change.
The smart small businesses in town are adapting to this transition, this shift in digital marketing communications.
They are actively overcoming the challenges a stymied economy and sky-rocketing unemployment rate represent to local Carlsbad small businesses.
And that’s only two challenges. (more…)
by Chris Barnard | Sep 28, 2011 | Local Search
In the past week we’ve examined, or at least loosely discussed, how all of this social media, local search, and mobile marketing buzz affects our local Carlsbad small businesses.
SoLoMo digital marketing is here to stay, embrace it sooner rather than later to save money and capitalize on opportunity while competitors languish or make excuses.
In Part 1 of our Google buying Zagat examination – we use that term loosely – we chose to highlight how that Wall St. acquisition impacts Main St. small businesses right here in Carlsbad. (more…)
by Chris Barnard | Sep 22, 2011 | Digital Marketing
Small businesses across the world all share one common need to sustain growth; new customers.
Communicating with these potential and existing customers within their local community seems to still be in the dark ages.
At least the analog ages.
Or, more often than not most small businesses rely on existing customer word of mouth to generate new customer referrals.
Never mind wasting unbelievable amounts of money on local newspaper, Pennysaver ads, or 15 different yellow pages books that find their way immediately to the recycle bin. (more…)
by Chris Barnard | Jun 14, 2011 | Digital Marketing
Social media for your Carlsbad business is an easy and cost-effective way to maintain communication with your customers when they are not in your store or business.
Local search is an essential ingredient to any business concerned with how people find them online.
And mobile compatibility should be on your radar if it’s not already generating return on investment and adding more local dollars to your small business’ bottom line.
For a lot of us, our business existed – and prospered in some cases – without (or before) all of this Internet mumbo jumbo.
Isn’t all of this digital marketing stuff for kids and geeky shut-ins who’d rather slam away on a keyboard rather than gulp some fresh air?
It is essential for us to realize this most fundamental and foundational element of local Carlsbad small business digital marketing success.
Like Lotto, we need to be in it to win it.
As local business owners we hear about all the advantages social media, or listen to a cross-section of customers, colleagues, family members, and caffeine addicted bloggers…but we don’t take action.
And forget about local search and mobile integration, those are otherworldly terms that spark feelings of dread from some local small business owners.
Dread because we don’t know what this stuff means, and think we’re getting shined on for useless services directed at making the ad agency or marketing company money, not the local mom & pop.
Online is where it’s at folks, and it’s not for just the kids and cool people trend setters any longer. Its soccer Moms, doting Dads, yuppies, students, thirtysomethings, and even formerly technically averse grandparents have jumped on board the SoLoMo train.
When we want a friend or family member’s opinion about a product or service, we ask – social media.
When we are looking for products or services, we search online – local search.
How we access this digital environment to search or speak, is shifting – mobile integration.
Communication used to be one to one. Now it’s many to many…and digital marketing is our force multiplier.
Technology + Communication = digital word of mouth for the local Carlsbad small business.
And word of mouth is as grass-roots and cost-effective as we can get.
Social media, local search, digital whatever, and mobile this or that, are all TOOLS allowing our local Carlsbad small businesses to effectively communicate using this digital medium we all flock to before the sleep is even out of our eyes.
In the last 30 days, how many people searched online for products or services you currently provide?
To further narrow it down, wouldn’t it be great if you could determine how many people searched online for similar terms right in our immediate Carlsbad area?
You can find the answer to dynamic keyword research here – at least according to Google.
Go nuts, play around…and envision your local Carlsbad digital marketing potential!
by 1localbusiness.com | May 10, 2011 | Digital Marketing
After not so much feedback concerning our last post, we decided to do a super simple follow-up examination of how to profit from local Carlsbad small business social media efforts.
While we’re at it we’ll throw in some local search for good measure, the two actually go hand in hand toward taking your marketing digital.
It’s still pretty amazing how many retail establishments and small businesses out there have yet to take advantage of the social media marketing and local search opportunities out there in today’s digital (and increasingly mobile) world.
Local business owners are concerned with how neighborhood mom and pop stores can possibly compete with big box retailers…social media and local search are a good place to start that battle.
Take advantage; develop, nurture, and continually participate in your social local small business identity.
Return on Investment
Return on investment (ROI) is probably the number one calculation most small business owners need to be concerned with when figuring the bottom-line long-term success of their business.
Although calculating and analyzing ROI is sometimes more than confusing, defining that magic number is essential to get an idea of how your products and services are generating profit.
Generating increased profits (more new customers) should be the end goal of any local retail or small business marketing campaign. When it comes to social media for local small businesses, calculating that profit is relatively simple.
A few benchmarks can at the very least give you a clearer picture of how well your chosen marketing avenues are performing.
ROI = (Revenue – Investment) / Investment * 100
For example, let’s say you spent $200 on your monthly Pennysaver advertisement. And taking into consideration the fact that you have accurately tracked the response from that ad…let’s say you’ve grossed $2000 in revenue for the given time period (say one month):
ROI = (Revenue – Investment) / Investment * 100
ROI = (2000-200) / 200 * 100
ROI = 1800 / 200 * 100
ROI = 9 * 100
ROI = 900%
Not bad for a $200 investment…let’s just hope your real Pennysaver ad delivers similar numbers!
Now that we can calculate our success with our Results Oriented Information, how can we go about obtaining it with social media and local search?
Get Started
In order to profit from social media efforts and local search visibility, you first need to be part of the community. Don’t delay any longer; use this simple 3 Step Beginner’s Checklist to move forward with your social local marketing plan. We won’t force you to…but if you like the checklist, then please ‘Like’ us on Facebook and let us know!
By simply initiating social media profiles for your local small business and confirming (probably existing) local search profiles, you are immediately increasing local online visibility for your small business.
But be careful, that’s only the beginning. Now that your business is part of the social media and local search community, you need to take advantage of every single opportunity the media outlets and search engines make available to enhance your listing.
A user-friendly, concise environment inviting conversion from prospect to customer is the end goal.
The key to profiting from social media and local search efforts is controlling your online business identity with a well planned course of action.
The first step in doing so is to join the community – get started with your social media profiles and confirm your local search listings if you haven’t already.
Then be sure to populate your listings and profiles with photos, website links, video, coupons, promotional offers, customers reviews…lather, rinse, repeat for all local search environments and chosen social media outlets.
If you want to start profiting from social media and local search efforts, first you need to start planning for success. Launch your business into the social local stratosphere, then accurately track and calculate your return on investment.
What is your second biggest fear when it comes to local social digital and mobile marketing?
We’re sure the primary fear is losing money!
