How to go local with social media

Is there a place for a small neighborhood business like yours on the global sites of Twitter or Facebook? Business-wise, are there any advantages? Of course there is. The beauty of online marketing through social media is that it gets your sales pitch across the world. This means that you can launch a local social media campaign to attract local customers, with the help of these global catering sites.

Local Social Media Success Stories

Here are some of the entrepreneurial spirits who grew their business with the help of clever local social media campaigns:

1. Coffee Mars. They used Twitter and MySpace to establish a smooth relationship with University of Iowa customers. A “Twitter Tuesday” promotion for students and teachers can be claimed with a school ID. $1 coffee deals can be claimed when customers meet the keyword previously posted on Twitter.

2. Expedia. Online travel booking company Expedia operates globally, but maintains numerous local accounts. Expedia Chicago tweets the best round-trip travel deals to and from Chicago every day. Twitter customers also get last-minute travel and hotel deals that are cheaper than standard rates.

3. Studio movie grill. This Dallas-based movie theater operates an online ticket reservation system. They use Facebook and Twitter for local social media campaigns filled with announcements about special movie screenings and promotions.

4. Dunkin’ Donuts. Their local campaigns are a mix of Facebook offers at the corporate and branch level. Customers get a closer look inside their kitchens, learn about their chefs, and get a constant dose of news from local shops everywhere.

The best places to run your local social media campaign

Social networking sites may be the microcosm of the world, but they actually cater to local online marketing. Here are some of them and how they can help localize your campaign:

1.Facebook

Each user who registers with Facebook fills out a profile information. The hometown or city portion of the profile is useful in local marketing. Your business Facebook account automatically places you on the same network with users from the same location, city, or hometown.

2. LinkedIn

Entrepreneurs use LinkedIn to gain connections with companies in the same location or industry. Your product, skill, or service gets broader local coverage. LinkedIn users are potential business partners, employees, or customers.

3. Twitter

Twitter’s near real-time, conversational tweeting capability allows businesses to communicate directly with local customers. It has a search feature that returns users to particular locations, based on the search keywords used.

Local social media earnings tracking

To make sure your local social media campaign is actually helping your business and not a complete waste of time, here are a few things you can do:

1. Set a goal. This can range from reaching out to customers, increasing sales online, or simply monitoring brand popularity online. Goals serve as a reference to track the progress of your local campaign on social media.

2. Track your milestones. A quarter later, did you achieve your goal of getting a thousand followers on Facebook, for example? Take stock of your current progress relative to the past, to stay on track or make corrections when necessary.

3. Use tools to measure performance. It can be Google Analytics to measure traffic, a PR checker, or a customer satisfaction survey form.

4.Keep it up. The benefits of local social networks do not come overnight. Followers, fans, and your entire customer base are carefully nurtured with patience and time.

Remember that there is no such thing as instant success with local social media campaigns. Good business sense plus a well-designed campaign will go a long way in increasing your business reputation and attracting customers online.