Being online during the pandemic has been essential for businesses. For businesses that were not online, the scramble to find an avenue to market, sell, and be found online was stressful. For some, it was thought to be a short-lived lockdown, a few months to weather the storm and then find their way back to “normal.” But for many, the reality of finding their way online has become more important than ever and the struggle to do it is real. Whether it was a website update, Facebook Ads, or updating their Google My Business so they can be found, doing it alone as a small business owner can be overwhelming.

On this new day of a new year, Metron is bringing you some simple ways to be found quickly and at NO COST.  We feel it’s time to get Back to Basics and allow your amazing product or service to be found, shared, and engaged without spending money that you might not have. Take some time this week to do the following 3 things and feel confident that it will kick off a fresh year with fresh hope.

Google My Business – Organic Searchability This is the EASIEST way to get found locally and quickly. Google will honour your location and your work when it comes to your GMB, (google my business) profile. If you do not have a GMB CLICK HERE to set it up. If you do have one, log in and ensure the following items are completed and updated:

  • Google Address Confirmation – Google will want to confirm your address via a postcard or an email. Once you confirm your address they will start showing you in maps when someone is near your location looking for your product or service. It’s the most effective way to be found.
  • Images and Content – Google has areas where you can update images and videos. If you have not updated or ever added to this DO IT! They want the user to know that you are active, available and REAL. Team members, products, location inside and outside are the main items to add here. If you need to fill in or update the INFO tab that will also help Google when deciding you fit the search category. Hours, Payment Methods, Services, Links etc. are all very important factors when they are deciding to show you. Fill in EVERYTHING you can to give you the best shot to show up.
  • Website – Google now has a WEBSITE area that you can create a Google My Business Website that you can use for better searchability and updating. Go ahead and quickly put it together and add it to your profile.
  • The More the Better – In your Google My Business you have several tabs. It is in your best interest to fill this in and take the time to complete each section. The top 3 are the ones you can focus on but Google honours the work and information and you would be surprised how quickly you can show up on a local search when you start to honour their processes.

 

Email Marketing – Referral Based Promotion This is one of the BEST ways to connect and engage people who trust you and believe in your product or services. If you do not have a email program to add addresses CLICK HERE to create an account with Mail Chimp for FREE to get started. Email Marketing is a quick and effective way to spread information about sales, new products, or company news. We do not encourage daily emails but weekly or monthly work depending on your service or products. Brand your emails with your logo and even throw in an image of yourself welcoming people to your list. If you are going to send out an email to kick off the new year, we would encourage one of the following:

  • Google Review – Now that you have your GMB set up it’s time to ask for some reviews. If you already have one set up – you already might have some of these. Google Reviews are GOLD and sometimes difficult to get but an amazing tool when people are searching and need some assurance in choosing your company. Shoot an email out and thank your clients for choosing you and add a link to give you a google review. You could even do a giveaway and offer a free dinner, coffee card or free product or services contest to encourage the reviews. In our experience these work very well and your clients want nothing more then to support you and this way is FREE and EASY!
  • Offer – to revive your audience or engage a new one you will want to promote an offer to your clients. Free Delivery, 50% off or BOGO (Buy One Get One) are amazing offers that usually convert. 10% Off is not a good offer – if you are going to take space in their inbox be sure the offer is amazing. If you have an ecommerce site be sure to use a coupon so you can track the offer to see how many times it was used.

 

Social Contest – Friends and Family Organic Promotions Facebook and Instagram can be amazing tools. The only issue is with new algorithms, many businesses are having issues with their posts being seen and it is difficult to get the engagement and promotion that you require to increase sales and recognition. Sometimes the best way to promote online is through a contest that would bring attention to the posts. You will want to send out some texts and messages to your friends and family to share the posts to give the contest a boost and be able to do this without paid ads. Below is the suggestion on how to get engagement on a contest in an environment where getting noticed is difficult:

  • Giveaway/Tag a Friend – DO NOT SHARE! Because of people’s privacy settings “share this post” can be missed on many levels. If their account is private them sharing the post will only be seen by their friends and sometimes the business cannot track the share because of those settings. The best way to do a Giveaway is to do a Tag a Friend in the comments and like the post. This way you can track the tags and the likes. The likes will show Facebook that the post is getting engagement and show it more often in peoples feeds, the tags will get more people to notice the post and engagement themselves.
  • Hashtag/Photo – this is a great way to track and promote a service or product. Creating your own Hashtag is an excellent way to find the entries and a photo of the person with your product or services. Post in Comments using the Hashtag is the best way to get the best engagement on the contest post. Again because of people’s privacy settings, posting the photo with the hashtags in the comments ensures high engagement for the contest and creates a feed for others to notice. Many times, the friends of these entries will see “Jane Doe Commented on Business Names Page” and they will head over to see what they are up too. People like to snoop so this engagement on your post can also create a notification to their friends which brings them to you!

 

We realize that marketing your business in a pandemic world requires creativity and outside of the box thinking. Every business is trying their best to survive and be found. We believe that some of the basics of marketing can be applied and can make a difference. If you are needing assistance with being found online or need a fresh creative look Metron is here to help! We LOVE small business and have many success stories even during a pandemic. If you want to engage with us, we offer a free 40 min consult with no strings or expectation. Sometimes you just need an outside look and a fresh perspective.

Click Here to Book.