local marketing Archives - Social Media Explorer

Enhancing Local SEO Through Social Media: Insights from Backspace Marketing

Headlines Team — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 08:51:37 +0000

Integrating social media into local SEO strategies has become an indispensable practice for businesses aiming to increase visibility in their communities. Backspace Marketing highlights the vital role social platforms play in boosting local search rankings and customer engagement. By employing thoughtful and targeted strategies, businesses can strengthen their online presence while reaching nearby audiences effectively.

Optimizing Social Media Profiles for Local SEO

The foundation of local SEO success starts with well-optimized social media profiles. Businesses should ensure that their name, address, and phone number (NAP) remain consistent across all platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Consistent NAP details not only build trust with customers but also signal reliability to search engines. This simple yet impactful step can significantly improve local search rankings.

Moreover, complete profiles with updated contact information, a compelling bio, and a clear link to the business website serve as a digital storefront. Social platforms increasingly factor into search engine algorithms, making this optimization an essential practice.

Leveraging Geo-Tagging and Local Hashtags

Harnessing location-based features such as geo-tagging and local hashtags allows businesses to connect directly with their community. Tagging posts with specific locations ensures they appear in searches conducted by nearby users. Similarly, using hashtags tied to local events, neighborhoods, or landmarks helps businesses gain visibility among a more targeted audience.

For instance, a restaurant in a specific area might use hashtags featuring the city name or a popular local event. These strategies increase the chances of being discovered by users actively seeking services in the area, providing both visibility and engagement benefits.

The Role of User-Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) is a powerful yet often underutilized tool for combining social media with local SEO. Encouraging customers to share their experiences, tag the business in posts, or leave reviews provides organic endorsements that boost credibility. When users post photos, videos, or testimonials about their experiences, these authentic interactions can increase trust among potential customers.

Additionally, search engines value the social proof generated by UGC. Reviews, in particular, play a dual role: they enhance online reputation and strengthen search rankings. Actively engaging with such content by resharing posts or responding to reviews demonstrates a commitment to the local community while amplifying reach.

Strengthening Local SEO with Location-Based Ads

Targeted advertising options on platforms like Instagram and Facebook provide another avenue for local businesses to enhance SEO efforts. These platforms allow businesses to define geographic parameters, ensuring ads reach audiences within a specific radius. This precision can drive both online traffic and in-person visits, creating a seamless integration of online marketing with local commerce.

Backspace Marketing emphasizes the importance of combining location-based ads with tools like Google My Business to present a cohesive online presence. For example, a well-optimized business profile linked to a local ad campaign creates a unified digital footprint, reinforcing credibility and improving discoverability.

Cross-Linking Social Media and Online Platforms

Effective cross-linking between social profiles and other online properties contributes to building a robust digital presence. By linking social media accounts to the company website, blog, or Google My Business profile, businesses can create a network of interconnected content. This network not only drives traffic across platforms but also supports search engine algorithms in validating the relevance and authority of the business.

Backspace Marketing suggests integrating calls to action within social media posts that encourage users to explore other platforms. Whether linking to a detailed blog post or encouraging followers to visit a special offer on the website, this approach amplifies engagement and fosters a cohesive brand presence.

Embracing Emerging Trends in Social Media and SEO

The dynamic nature of local SEO demands businesses remain adaptable to emerging trends. Advances in artificial intelligence and the growing use of voice search are reshaping how businesses approach optimization. AI-powered tools, for example, can provide hyper-targeted content recommendations tailored to local audiences.

Backspace Marketing notes that embracing these innovations early positions businesses ahead of competitors. By creating content optimized for conversational queries, which are common in voice searches, businesses can anticipate future search behaviors. Social media platforms also integrate these trends by introducing AI-driven features for audience targeting, making them essential tools for staying relevant.

Conclusion

Integrating social media into local SEO strategies is no longer optional—it is essential for businesses aiming to thrive in their communities. By optimizing profiles, utilizing geo-tagging, and encouraging user-generated content, businesses can establish a robust and credible presence online. Backspace Marketing emphasizes that deliberate and focused actions, such as location-based advertising and cross-linking, create a powerful synergy between social media and SEO.

As new trends like AI and voice search emerge, staying informed and proactive ensures businesses remain competitive. Local SEO, when bolstered by strategic use of social media, becomes a sustainable and effective way to connect with local customers and drive growth. Backspace Marketing’s insights underline the importance of adopting these tactics to maximize online visibility and customer engagement.

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Hootsuite CEO And Stuckey’s Owner Provide Insights On How Social Media Marketing Can Help Small Businesses Compete Successfully

Adam — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 16:26:18 +0000

The backbone of America is small business owners.

getty

Small businesses have the advantage of using social media to increase their chances of gaining local clients and revenues. You don’t need a big marketing budget or a large agency. It is important to understand how social media works and what tools you can use to your advantage. To gain more insights, I reached out to Tom Keiser, the CEO of Hootsuite and the current owner and CEO of Stuckey’s, Stephanie Stuckey. The continued growth of small businesses across the USA is reflected in her current revival of the long-standing small business brand.

Oberlo’s research shows that in 2022, the US had 33.2 million small businesses. As the 2022 increase in US small businesses is a sign of sustained growth, it represents a 2.2 per cent increase over the previous year as well as an overall 12.2 percentage growth from 2017 to 2022. There are 61.7 million US small businesses, accounting for approximately 46.4 percent of America’s workforce. How can small businesses be supported in their social media endeavors?

‘As an organization that connects with businesses of all sizes every day, Hootsuite has had the privilege of watching some of the brightest marketing minds at work, and what we’ve found is that some of the most creative and gritty are the small businesses,’ said Tom Keiser.

Tom has provided the following marketing tips for small businesses that he believes will help them increase holiday sales.

Demonstrate who you are and what makes your business stand out from other big box stores. Give a peek into your business and tell your story to establish your place in the local community with your customers.
Look to other like-minded business owners in your region to collaborate on a ‘buy local’ campaign. Promote each other on social media, and engage with each other’s content to extend your network and attract new audiences.
Your customers should have the opportunity to interact with you via social media. Ask for pictures of your products to be eligible for a prize or to promote hashtags.
You can create a unique event for your customers via virtual or real-life communication. Send your customers with special offers or promotions via DM.
Don’t be afraid to try something new. If you’ve been wondering if you should be on TikTok, try it. However, you should tailor your approach for each social media network. Customers will engage more with content that is appropriate to their platform (e.g., a short compelling video for TikTok or IG Reels vs. detailed product information in a Twitter topic).

The Stuckey’s story is as simple and complicated as perhaps any long-term small business. The Stuckey’s story is simple: start and grow the business. Partner with others to sell it and then buy it back when it fails. Stephanie made a huge investment when she purchased the failing business to bring it back in the family’s hands a few years earlier. Strategically she returned to the original product lines, imported the candy to the USA and started sourcing local suppliers. She also managed her supply chain, product distribution, and costs. It worked. Stuckey’s has grown from $2 to $13 million in sales in only two years with zero advertising budget.

‘As a scrappy comeback brand, Stuckey’s did not have access to marketing firms or a large advertising budget. We’ve relied solely on word-of-mouth marketing generated from our social media posts to drive sales,’ said Stephanie Stuckey. ‘We’ve effectively utilized multiple social media platforms and tools like Hootsuite to build our customer relationships and loyalty.’

The backbone of the economy and our country are small businesses. To get your share of the local market, you should use every advantage possible, including social media tools and content.

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Tackling The Challenge of Local With FanTools

Jason Falls — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 17:00:36 +0000

Four51, makers of FanTools, has joined the roster of sponsors at Explore Minneapolis. FanTools is a content management system for organizations across multiple channels (think Facebook and Twitter and so on) and multiple locations (think franchise or locations and the like). FanTools also provides support and managed services to businesses who don’t have the resources to devote to managing social with the tool.

Ryan Ruud, Four51’s director of marketing, and I caught up last week to talk a bit about the challenges his customers have. Ryan will be serving on our B2B panel at Explore Minneapolis and has some interesting perspective on the business-to-business space, but also has gained a wealth of experience helping brands solve social media marketing problems in the time he’s spent with the company.

You won’t want to miss the business insights Ryan Ruud has to give at Explore Minneapolis. He’ll be on the B2B panel there, speaking along with an all-star lineup that includes SME Digital’s Nichole Kelly, The Now Revolution co-author Jay Baer, Edison Research’s Tom Webster, Ad Contrarian Bob Hoffman and more. Yes, I’ll also be speaking, as well as hosting. The event will also feature a number of excellent software providers and companies to help you navigate the waters of digital marketing. They’ll bring their knowledge to share as well as their products. This is a must-attend event, so register now!

The two-day event, incredible content, breakfast, lunch and a cocktail reception is $450, but if you’re a member of a professional organization (IABC, PRSA, AMA or similar), ask if they have a discount code for you and save big! (Shhhh … you can save $200 by using the code ILOVESME … pass it on!) Learn more about the speakers, their topics and more at the Explore Minneapolis registration page!

Or register here:

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Explore is a five-city conference event series from Social Media Explorer and presented by Expion and Raven Internet Marketing Tools. Learn more and sign up for email updates for the city nearest you at GoToExplore.co.

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SoLoMo Show Episode 20: BIG Announcements (and Social-Loco Ticket Giveaway)

Adam Helweh — Sat, 26 May 2012 06:00:31 +0000

The SoLoMo Show is a weekly podcast hosted by Adam Helweh and Cory OBrien. Each week they discuss topics, trends and tactics related to social, local and mobile marketing. Every weekend we will publish the latest episode, related show notes and links to all of the topics discussed on the show here on Social Media Explorer.

This episode Adam and Cory discuss BIG announcements about the SoLoMo Show, including an appearance at the Social-Loco conference, a weekly feature on Social Media Explorer, and the availability of the show live on Google+ Hangouts On Air, an infographic that compares marketing and advertising people to ‘normal’ people, a new tool for Pinterest called Pin My Info that lets you build an ‘about me’ board, an interview with Jay Baer, the MLB’s Fan Cave and their big bet on content production, Pitbull on the Today Show, and #CamryEffect, one of the biggest social media fails of 2012.

Show Notes:

Connect and Subscribe:

SoLoMo Show on iTunes (For those that prefer their Podcasts straight up) – http://linkfrom.co/AvNgOH
SoLoMo Show Blog (For show notes per episode and to subscribe to episodes via RSS or email) – http://linkfrom.co/zYlOrE
SoLoMo Show on Facebook (LIKE us and join the discussion) – http://linkfrom.co/wRjP0x
SoLoMo Show on Google+ (For the hardcore geeks and those who want to “Hang Out”) – http://linkfrom.co/wufUGF
SoLoMo Show on Pinterest (Each video episode available for your repinning pleasure) – http://linkfrom.co/Hx219T
SoLoMo Show on Twitter (Tweet us before, during and after the show to contribute) – http://linkfrom.co/wo5igw

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Social Media Explorer Welcomes the SoLoMo Show on Weekends

Adam Helweh — Fri, 25 May 2012 10:00:47 +0000

Well if you didn’t consider all of the great social media and digital marketing goodness here on SME enough to wet your whistle, I’m happy to share some great news with you. A little backstory first. Since January 1st 2012, friend Cory OBrien and I have been hosting The SoLoMo Show a weekly podcast where we discuss the intersection of social, local and mobile marketing and advertising. Cory and I are both incredibly passionate about these topics and in late 2011 decided we wanted to share our thoughts with passionate professionals and practitioners. Where better to find said awesome crowd than here on SME?

So with the kind blessings of Mr. Jason H. Falls, we will be syndicating our episodes each week right here on this very blog (not really sure if his middle name starts with an “H”, but for those aware of his trademark “Heh” it was as good a guess as any). We will be what you might consider the “SME Weekend Edition” and which will be published here every Saturday starting tomorrow.

Now, I have to tell you… we are still quite rough around the edges. After all, this simply started as a spontaneous labor of love for Cory and I, but with 20 shows under our belt so far, already I have to say… we really enjoy producing the show each week and are always tweaking it in an effort to improve. That said, we still want your opinion. What good is any show, let alone one taking up space here on SME, if it doesn’t provide any value to its audience? So my request to you is that you take a listen to one or two of our past episodes (conveniently posted below) and tell us what you think. How could we better provide information you find interesting and valuable? What would make the SoLoMo Show a part of your weekly content consumption routine? You can let us know in the comments or preferably directly on one of our SoLoMo Show social channels listed below.

Lastly, as I said, we will post the latest fresh episode of the SoLoMo Show here tomorrow and you won’t want to miss it. We are giving away a ticket a week starting this week to the Social-Loco conference in San Francisco. Interested in Attending? Then listen to the show to find out how to get your free ticket.

Thanks in advance for listening to the show and a big thanks to Jason for allowing me to share our show with

Connect and Subscribe:

SoLoMo Show on iTunes (For those that prefer their Podcasts straight up) – http://linkfrom.co/AvNgOH
SoLoMo Show Blog (For show notes per episode and to subscribe to episodes via RSS or email) – http://linkfrom.co/zYlOrE
SoLoMo Show on Facebook (LIKE us and join the discussion) – http://linkfrom.co/wRjP0x
SoLoMo Show on Google+ (For the hardcore geeks and those who want to “Hang Out”) – http://linkfrom.co/wufUGF
SoLoMo Show on Pinterest (Each video episode available for your repinning pleasure) – http://linkfrom.co/Hx219T
SoLoMo Show on Twitter (Tweet us before, during and after the show to contribute) – http://linkfrom.co/wo5igw

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Can Big Brands Go Local?

Jason Falls — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:00:38 +0000

I’ve argued recently that we are entering the Age of Relevancy in Marketing. The more relevant your message is, delivered to the more relevant audience at the more relevant time and in the more relevant place, the better your marketing will be. One critical element of that Relevancy Bullseye is location. Local is better because local is more relevant.

But corporations and brands struggle with local. It’s hard to sit at corporate headquarters and be connected on a 1:1 basis with every single customer, worldwide. It’s not just hard, it’s impossible. Or is it?

Kevin Magee will be bringing a very interesting talk and research to the table at Explore Dallas-Fort Worth that will dive into that topic — Can Big Brands Go Local? I sat down with Kevin recently to talk about the problems brands have and the solutions they should seek.

You won’t want to miss the business insights Kevin has to give at Explore Dallas-Fort Worth. He’ll be speaking there, along with an all-star lineup that includes Copyblogger’s Brian Clark, Zena Weist of Edelman Digital, Tom Webster of Edison Research, Aaron Strout from WCG, Nichole Kelly of Full Frontal ROI, DJ Waldow from Waldow Social and more. The event will also feature a number of excellent software providers and companies to help you navigate the waters of digital marketing. They’ll bring their knowledge to share as well as their products. This is a must-attend event, so register now!

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The first 100 registrants get the full day’s content, breakfast, lunch (by Wolfgang Puck Catering) and a cocktail reception for just $250! The full price of the event is $400, so save $150 now and reserve your spot.

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Should Big Brands Go Local?

Jason Falls — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:24:07 +0000

We’ve talked before about the relevancy bulls eye. The more relevant your message is, delivered to the most relevant audience at the most relevant time and (perhaps most importantly) the most relevant place and you’ve hit the bulls eye to optimize your marketing. With larger brands, though, this becomes quite a challenge. Large businesses, especially franchise and national consumer product brands, almost have to trust hundreds or thousands of local store managers and franchisees to carry their brand forward.

In the social media space, this challenge is no different. In fact, it’s a microcosm of the greater challenge. Do large brands have one Facebook presence or dozens? Who is in charge of that content? Approval? It can be a mixed back of frustration.

But we come back to the relevancy bulls eye. If you want to hit those four points of relevancy, big brands have to be local.

Image via CrunchBase

Next Thursday afternoon, Expion‘s Kevin Magee and I will explore five strategies to take your big brand local in a free webinar. We’ll look at the challenges of doing so and how your business can address them.

And the ideas we’ll share aren’t exclusive to big brands, but also smaller companies that happen to have multiple locations. A five-location local coffee shop will benefit from these ideas as well as the actual size of your business and whether or not you’re “big” is certainly relative to your challenges.

Jump over, register and join us Thursday, Nov. 17 from 4 p.m. until 5 p.m. ET. We’ll have some fun talking about how your company can taclke the challenges of becoming local.

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