Buying Local Matters. Here’s Why

Save Local Now, a FREE chamber member benefit, is here to help small business drive consumer traffic. Now more than ever we see the value in supporting local business. At the most basic level, buying local ensures that more money stays in the community. In fact, for every $100 spent at a locally owned store, $45 remains in the local economy. By shopping at the local “mom and pop” style store, consumers can rest assured knowing that they’re doing their part of keeping their communities unique and thriving.

This highlights the vast importance of Save Local Now’s “Buy Local” initiative. What we mustn’t forget is that buying local actually saves money. Small businesses are often close to home, meaning that you don’t have to travel as far to get there. Products (like fruit and produce) are made or grown at local locations, meaning that they don’t have to travel as far to get to you. This means that, in many cases, there is no middle man (which translates to lower prices for the business owner and, of course, the consumer).

Save Local Now gives endless amounts of support to small businesses; more specifically the marketing tools they need to better promote their business. We know how busy the small business owner is; we know how little time there is for email marketing, social media, etc. The tools we give small business owners, such as free SEO services, deal and event publishing, email marketing, real-time analytics, etc. is so crucial to helping their bottom line. Essentially, Save Local Now created an easy way for small business to be everywhere consumers are today.

Interested in learning more? Schedule a time with Save Local Now: savelocalnow.com/training

Source: http://blog.savelocalnow.com/buying-local-matters-why/

SLN Tips and Tricks for Halloween Specific Promotions

The first major shopping holiday is upon us, and although Halloween is the fourth most popular holiday for consumer spending, 40% of consumers actually start their Christmas and Hanukkah shopping well before the most SPOOK-tacular day of the year.

SLN Tips + Tricks You Can Sink Your Teeth Into

While ghosts, goblins and ghouls may be popping up all around town, don’t be afraid to create Halloween specific promotions on your Save Local Now digital marketing platform! Use fun vocabulary when you name them, such as “Slashing prices!” “Eat, Drink and be Scary!” and “Join us tonight for some Fa-BOO-lous fun!” Whatever you do, don’t be a scaredy cat! Share what you create on social media and through email marketing to let your consumers know that they can find what they’re looking for – LOCALLY.

7 out of 10 consumers are more likely to use a local business if it has information available on a social media site, so don’t be a scaredy cat! Directly share what you create on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ using your SLN platform.

Check out some of really spooktacular deals and discounts here >>
 
Save Local Now: All treat, no trick.

Happy haunting!

Originally Published at Save Local Now

Instagram for Small Business

So you've got Facebook down, you’ve started the "Twitter" thing, and you've dabbled in the world of Google+ and Linkedin. With all of these social media sites already on your tool belt, why bother tackling Instagram? Well, if this interactive and creative platform doesn’t hook you like it already has so many other small businesses, maybe the following figures will:

1. 200 Million Users

Instagram is one of the hottest social sharing apps right now. With over 200 million users, their popularity (and most importantly influence) is unlikely to diminish in any foreseeable future. Getting an Instagram account and becoming familiar with the platform sooner rather than later is only going to be vital for your business as this number continues to rise. After all, 200 million users offers a lot of possibilities for you to introduce your business to new customers and solidify your presence within that customer base.

2. Daily Use

It’s estimated that 70% of Instagram users log in to their Instagram accounts at least once a day (38% of which are logging in multiple times per day).  With all this daily use, you can easily keep your followers up-to-date on what you’re doing, any new products coming through the door, upcoming events, and promotional deals. (Instagram)
Consistency and frequency are key when it comes to promoting your business on social media, so make sure you are keeping your material fresh and new so your followers always have something to like!

3. SEO

A solid range of outlets is crucial to creating a stable online reputation, and solidifying your company’s SEO. Being on sites like Facebook and Twitter is vital, but in order to further increase your SEO, you need to make sure you are active and visible on more than just a handful of sites. Instagram is another great site that can help bump up your SEO without requiring the time associated with traditional methods.

4. Even the Playing field

Instagram levels the playing field and allows you to show what your company has to offer. How is this possible? Well for one, it’s free. On Instagram, businesses don’t need to shell out hundreds of dollars on third-party marketing help in order to create custom content.

Instagram is also quick. Snap a picture of a new product, throw a filter on it, add some hastags, toss in a fun comment and you’re done. It’s that easy.

5. Interaction

There are 8,500 likes per second on Instagram and 1,000 comments are made per second. With all of this customer engagement you can create lasting impressions on your followers. Developing relationships through personal interactions is a fantastic way to create loyal, repeat customers. Follow our Instragram page

First Published at http://blog.savelocalnow.com/instagram_for_smallbusiness/

Keep Your Marketing Fresh on the off Season

Many companies experience their best profit margins in the summer. However, and more often than not, when the warm weather starts to fade so do the customers. For many small businesses, autumn means a drop in profit and a noticeable slowdown in overall sales. We’ve put together a list of tips for keeping your marketing fresh, so you can avoid the dreaded "slow season."

1. Never forget the power of "free." Offering your customers something for nothing is a great way to keep them coming in through the door. Whether it’s free samples, a loyalty program, or free swag; if you give it, they will come.
2. Don’t skimp on social media. It’s easy to update your Instagram when it’s bright and sunny out, but the veteran social media user knows that consistency is key when it comes to adding and retaining customers. Try to stay as active on your various networking sites in the fall and winter as you are in the spring and summer. This will keep you fresh in your customers mind.
3. Use the holidays to your advantage. Taking advantage of all the holidays and festivities in the fall and winter months will help you maintain a steady buzz about your business. Offer holiday themed deals, have seasonal sales, and orient your product for specific seasons to drive business. Are there any local harvest festivals in your area? Getting involved in seasonal community events will keep business flowing.
4. Get Interactive. Giving your customers the ability to interact with you and your business will create a sense of loyalty. By reaching out to your customers online (via email, social media, etc.) and in person you give them a personal reason to keep coming out in those cold months.
5. Have fun with it! Just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean you can’t be just as motivated and excited as you are in the summer. Your mood will be infectious and will get passed on to your customers. This could be as small as making sure your employees are offering a warm hello as your customers walk through the door to an extravagant winter advertising campaign. Stay cheerful and your customers will thank you.

Save Local Now provides everything you need to create a profitable and meaningful marketing strategy for your business.

First Published at Save Local Now

About Sarah Alessi

Sarah is one of $LN's Digital Marketing Consultants. When she isn't collecting antique Wedgwood pottery or eating hot dogs at the baseball stadium, Sarah is helping local businesses thrive! sarah@savelocalnow.com

Have a Big Event Coming Up? For Successful Promotion, Think Like a Millennial

Young people these days…always submerged in their smartphones, tablets and laptops for hours on end – never taking time to appreciate the world and all it has to offer. Well, not only are these young people ("Millennials") accessing more content and learning more information than ever before, it turns out they have something to teach us about marketing and publicity. Thinking like a Millennial can actually help promote your business’ next event or outing.

Here are some tips to harness the marketing power of the Millennial:

1.) Millennials like short and sweet messages

The reason so many younger people are flocking towards Twitter and away from Facebook is because the platform offers concise content with less clutter. Millennials know how to tweet something catchy and bold in 140 characters with smart hashtags to emphasize their message.

Use Twitter to build excitement around your next event and engage your community. Create a hashtag for the event that people will begin to recognize and repeat. Smart, short tweets with clever hashtags will intrigue your target audience and create a buzz around your event.

2.) Millennials are anywhere and everywhere online

So why shouldn’t your business be, too? Millennials have shown us that using one social media platform to get out a message only covers a small portion of the audience and restricts the type of content they can post.

If you have the means to do so, use different types of social media to promote your next event. Post pictures, messages, hashtags and links to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. If the Ice Bucket Challenge has shown us anything, it is that video content is a great way to get attention and support. Post a short video about your event and business to show your audience what it’s all about!

3.) "But First, Let Me Take a Selfie."

We all know of the obsession younger people have with taking selfies, but let’s be honest, you’ve probably taken some too.

During your event, take pictures of what’s going on and post it to social media. Even commission one of your employees to go around and take pictures of themselves or other people doing various things at the event. A live stream of activity will encourage more people to come and check it out.

The bottom line here is to be engaged in and passionate about your event. People will notice your enthusiasm if you post correctly. It will increase community engagement and heighten curiosity about your business and the event. Be smart. Be clever. Be excited. And embrace your inner Millennial!

Check our Save Local Now facebook, twitter and instagram page and feel free to share any of our posts. You just might find some inspiration there. Be social !

Citation: DiRoma, CJ. "Why You Should Think Like a Millennial to Promote Your Next Event". 17 Aug. 2014. http://smallbiztrends.com/2014/08/millennial-promote-your-event-online.html

About Tracey Willmott

Digital Marketing Consultant tracey@savelocalnow.com From a small town in Western New York, Tracey knows how to keep things local. If she's not eating, she's usually doing something outdoorsy or teaching spin class....or binging Netflix. Most importantly, she loves being a member of the engagement team, helping $LN businesses and chambers thrive! #shoplocal

First published at : http://blog.savelocalnow.com/think-like-a-millennial/

Become a Digital Marketing Superhero: It’s as easy as 1,2,3……and 4

Would you like to know how to get that competitive edge and take digital media two, three, even four steps ahead of just simply using social media? Of course you do! It would be silly not to, so sit back, relax and learn your way to the top of this crazy digital world of ours.

Okay, so you have a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and a website. Do you think that is enough to separate you from the millions of other small businesses? (Psst….probably not). However, the fact that you are reading this blog tells me that you are ready to take things to the next level.
So let’s cut to the chase and jump right into the four steps that will create this much needed separation.

STEP 1: STRATEGIZE TO RISE ABOVE THE OTHER GUYS:

Ask yourself the who, what, when, where, why and how.

• Who are you trying to appeal to? (Target Market)
• In what ways can you effectively appeal to the right clientele?
• When does your customer base most frequently use social media?
• Where are the right places to post your content?
• You are on social media platforms, but why?
• How can you creatively use social media to engage with your customers?

These are the sort of questions you need to ask yourself. It is not enough to simply be on social media, you must have a strategic plan in place to achieve the results that you want.

Whatever you do, don’t be this guy!

STEP 2: UNDERSTAND THAT SOCIAL MEDIA IS ONLY ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE:

Be proud that you have a great Facebook page, Twitter account, Google plus, Instagram, etc. However, to be a big hitter in the game of business and the digital world you must establish something beyond that of social media. Jump on the email marketing boat (Helpful Hints for Email Marketing), become a blogger, create powerful networks with LinkedIn, stick your business logo/icon wherever you go, literally…..be everywhere. Make your name unforgettable!  In fact, “companies that blog 15% or more times per month get 5x more traffic than companies that don’t blog” (30 Digital Marketing Statistics You Can’t Afford To Ignore). Whether it be social media, email, or blogging, those without this online presence are at an obvious disadvantage. Bypassing digital marketing is like saying, “I’m not really looking for more customers.”

STEP 3: ANALYTICS IS KEY TO TRACKING SUCCESS

Whenever someone asks me what analytics is or why it is so imperative for businesses to utilize its greatness, I always respond with this analogy: “when you throw spaghetti and meatballs at a wall some of it may stick and some of it may fall miserably to the floor.” Meaning that some things that you post (whether it be deals, events, etc.) get noticed while some may not. Without the analytics, how will you ever know if that 2-for-1 deal you have going on is getting the recognition you’ve hoped? When push comes to shove, analytics will save you time and money!

For a more in-depth look we recently dedicated a post that deals with everything you need to know about analytics and its significance to the business world. Check out the Top Three Reasons you Need Analytics (I am looking at you, small businesses owner).

STEP 4: PIECING IT ALL TOGETHER

You are so close! You have established a presence all over the web; social media, email, blog, LinkedIn and you now have the analytics to track its success. You are not finished just yet, so don’t quit on me!

When it comes to digital marketing the most important thing to remember is to link the pieces of the puzzle together:

• Post everywhere because “distributing your content across multiple social media platforms and utilizing multiple touch points is vital to building brand awareness and connecting with your audience in ways that seem natural to the people you want to reach.” A Social Media Strategy on Multiple Platforms
• To effectively engage with your customer base you need to create the perfect posts.
• Make sure your social media pages are appealing, here’s 5 things you need in order to do that.

Some of the more popular ways that businesses try to establish an online presence is through the use of Constant Contact and Groupon, which are both a good place to start. While they all can help you achieve a pretty decent online presence in their own specified way, it will make your wallets bleed. But if you are looking for a digital marketing platform that can do it all in one attractive and easy to use place then check out Save Local Now……oh, and I forgot to mention…ITS FREE to chamber partners and their members! To learn more, sign up for your free 1-on-1 training! If you’re looking to create that competitive edge I talked about earlier, I know you’ll make the right choice!

First Published at Save Local Now

About Sawyer Dina

Intern Extraordinaire (sawyer@savelocalnow.com). Sawyer is currently a student at John Carroll University, where he studies Marketing & Entrepreneurship and plays on the Varsity tennis team. He loves to travel the world (has been to 15 different countries), gain knowledge, and experience all that life has to offer.

Content Marketing for Small Businesses

A common stereotype linked to content marketing is that it’s only for big business. While this stereotype is….well, a stereotype – it’s a stereotype for a reason. At this point, mostly big businesses are taking advantage of content marketing. So what gives, small business? Take your piece of the pie! The flavor? Mixed berry with a heavy side of SALES.

So, what is content marketing? Content marketing is a technique; it allows you to create and distribute valuable (and relevant) content that will attract a specific audience and, thus, create new business. Why do we need it? Well, today’s modern marketer knows that “selling” doesn’t work the way it used to. These content marketing tips will help ensure that you stay on top of your game, and ahead of the curve.

Now, we all somewhat remember the “four P’s” of traditional marketing (let’s be honest here, I had to look them up): product, price, place and promotion. However, there’s nothing “traditional” about content marketing; in other words, the “P’s” have been updated: plan, produce, publish, promote, and prove.

1. Plan: Decide what content formats make sense for you and your audience. Blogging, infographics, social media, and video – these are content formats that Save Local Now uses because they make sense for the company and contribute to our overall marketing objectives.
2. Produce: It’s time to create the content. Put together a detailed content strategy behind Wlleverything you create. Trust me – it will help.
3. Publish: The home for your content should most obviously be your company website. Share the content on your blog page and your social media sites.
4. Promote: Your content needs eyeballs on it; reading it, learning from it. Post your content on social media, drive traffic to your blog and your website; make it easy to understand and easy to share.
5. Prove: Content marketing is an investment; it takes time, hard work and dedication to make it effective. Therefore, analytics are crucial. Track your website and page views, your time spent, search engine results, etc. and compare your results.

Content marketing is an open-ended conversation that you’re having with people who are genuinely interested in what you have to say. CHERISH IT. And have some patience! Like traditional marketing, this will take time. BUT – your content, so long as it is high-quality, valuable and relevant content, will appeal to your clientele; they will begin to trust you, start citing you in their own content, etc. When you push it to your social media outlets you will earn shares, “likes,” and retweets. This will help spread your brand; it will allow you to create relationships with people you would have otherwise never reached. Content matters, people – but only if you do it right. And if you do it right? Well, that pie that you’ve been missing out on will soon be yours to share.
Carpenter, Tom. “The 5 P’s of Content Marketing.” Business to Community. 9 June 2014. Web. <http://bit.ly/1n462t3>.

View Original article here.

About Author

Director of Sales + Marketing - (avid lover of beagles) - keri@savelocalnow.com - Put your money where your home is. Keep it local. Trust the experts.* - *We're the experts.

Top Three Reasons you Need Analytics (I am looking at you, small businesses owner)

The good news is that there are plenty of ways to dive into analytics as a small business owner. The hardest part is to decide where to start and how much time to spend on extrapolating data. My advice would be to start small and work your way into platforms with more advanced metrics (MailChimp). There are enough free sites out there (Facebook for one) that can help you understand your customer just a bit better. As far as time commitment goes, after you learn how to use the analytic tab in Facebook, you can check it once a week to see what trends are developing and what messages are working the best. Ah, but let’s get down to why you need to spend time, and possibly money, on all of this collected data.

1. Big box companies are kicking your butt.

Hell, baseball teams are using analytics to get better. Just ask Brad Pitt…er…Billy Beane from the Oakland A’s (Moneyball, a great movie). My point is that smart people with a ton of resources are killing it in the real world and you are quickly being left behind. You’re probably thinking to yourself that you are totally screwed. If you are lazy and hate technology, you are totally screwed. BUT – if you are an entrepreneur, and you need to get your marketing nerd on, then check out these 10 places to analyze web data. If you want to analyze a whole marketing campaign then try Save Local Now (cough, ahem, shameless plug).

2. Big data will grow by 44% over the next decade.

This report suggests that data will soar 44 times over the next decade. Cloud adoption is exploding and more and more data is available to be analyzed.

This represents both an opportunity and a challenge.

The Intuit 2020 report and many other sources support that “those who become proficient in collecting, managing and analyzing this information will gain competitive advantage.” INTUIT 2020

Of course by definition, those that don’t will be left behind. Someone once said “knowledge is power.” It’s at our fingertips, people. Go get it!

3. You can can save yourself a ton of time (eventually).

You must give a little to get a little. It takes money to make money. Okay, you get where I am coming from. In order to harness the power of analytics, you must take time to learn how to use platforms that track data (Facebook, Google, Constant contact, Save Local Now, Hoot suite, etc.) Then you must learn how to use that data to your advantage.

Think of your data as a report on your virtual storefront. You can now see which device people viewed your product or service on. Email analytics will let you know what time of day it was opened, from which device it was opened, and in some cases, it can tell you where they opened it (which town they opened in or the location of the IP address …but lets not get into that). With just a few pieces of data you can begin to paint a picture of your audience and the type of interaction they are having with your digital store front.
In short, analytics allow you to

• gain invaluable insights into your customer’s behavior;
• examine facts rather than assumptions or guesses;
• make educated decisions on how to improve to your website, App, Email marketing campaigns social media post, daily deals, events calendar, etc.

In the long term, this means more of the right traffic, sales and profit. And more time to enjoy your entrepreneurial success.

You’re welcome.

First Published at Save Local Now

 

About author

Cody Linck
 
Regional Sales Director

My passion is growing local communities, and empowering them with the tools to succeed. My mother and father each own small businesses and have been involved with chambers their whole life. I want to help people like my parents grow into the digital era with a platform that is easy, fast, and FREE to use!

3 Business Trends for 2014

Marketing your small business can be tricky. As marketing trends change and change again and platforms offer you more and more options, you may be wondering, what are you supposed to focus on?

Well, let’s take a look. These are some of the upcoming trends in marketing for 2014.

1. Mobile Marketing - You might already know this one. You should. Mobile marketing is still on the rise and will continue to be for some time to come. As more and more people own smart phones (147.9 million people in the U.S. by the month of September), social media, email marketing, and GPS location features will also continue to rise. Mobile marketing ads are also cheaper and easier on companies with small budgets and can have a lot more impact than television or other traditional advertising methods as they are often seen repeatedly.
   
   Save Local Now strives to continually update our mobile app. Providing sharing features to both the business and the consumer, and streamlining the way a customer finds your business are just some of the ways we put your business on top of mobile marketing. Best yet, our app is top rated and available for both the iPhone and Android market! There really is no need to go building your own app these days when you can use ours for free!


2. Geo Targeting - As mentioned above GPS locating features will continue to rise with mobile. Geo targeting is similar in that it pays (literally) to target people within a few miles of your business. This has been true especially in retail where targeting audiences within a two mile radius can help the business create marketing campaigns that are current and relevant.
   
   We offered Geo location mapping on your mobile and browser from the beginning, and as always we remain a tool for local businesses only. However, Geo targeting at Save Local Now came about a year ago with one of our app updates. With users being able to sort Deals and Events by clicking “Nearby” we give you the opportunity to create custom actionable offers specific to the customers who might be looking for you right around the corner!


3. Image centric Social Media - Twitter and Facebook are not the only Social Media that matters anymore. In fact as Facebook usage declines newer networks are getting a lot of buzz. Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, and Vine are among some of the top players even though some of these are still very young on the scene. Whats the draw? Large images or videos dominating the page with short descriptions and hashtags to browse other posts. Sites like Buzzfeed, Imgur, and Tumblr also play a part in this. We can expect to see a continued growth in image sharing as 2014 rounds the bend.
   
   Save Local Now was onto this when we updated the site in early 2013 to create more focus on your images. With larger placement for your logos or Deal & Event images, we really recommend you take advantage of this trend by updating your images with higher quality photos that pack a lot of punch. Even if you are just starting out and don’t have a logo, we have some suggestions on how to start building one for yourself!
   
   This year, why not make it your resolution to check in with the blog for more tips on how to stay current and relevant in your small business? We are going to make it ours to continue to improve ourselves for the benefit of YOU the local business!
   
   One more thing. As the year wraps up, we’d like to say thank you. We are working hard to help your local businesses thrive and though we might not be local for all of you, we are a small business that values local business being great business and we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. Please stay happy, healthy, and remember to support your community. We wish you all a thriving, busy new year!

View original article here

About Alicia

Alicia is the Brand Curator and Marketing Manager for Save Local Now. Alicia hails from Northeastern Ohio, but spent a few years after college living like a gypsy and pursuing her diverse interests. She is part of the production team, which helps to make $LN "fun and cool". alicia.busa@savelocalnow.com

10 Ways to get More Business During Christmas

The madness of Black Friday may be over but there are still many consumers running around getting last minute Christmas gifts. Here are some tips to help spread holiday cheer and get more shoppers this year.

1. Decorate the store and show how festive you are!

2. Put together a holiday gift baskets for shoppers to buy

3. Crank up that Christmas music and get people in the holiday spirit!

4. Offer gift wrapping with purchase

5. Offer small stocking stuffer items

6. Decorate your businesses Christmas tree

7. Plan a fun holiday Event and upload it on $LN

8. Don’t forget to smile!

9. Post a Christmas Deal on $LN to get them excited!

10. And of course, wish all your amazing loyal customers a Merry Christmas!

About Grace

Grace is our Production Manager. She received her degree in video production and communications from Ohio University. She is part of the production team which helps to make $LN "fun and cool". grace.roulston@savelocalnow.com