Building a local presence online is key – it allows you to stand out in your local area, showing up in Google search results, on social media, and on other platforms to help you find new customers or clients.
Often, many local businesses neglect building an online presence and instead stick to the age-old method of Facebook updates and the occasional AD. However, while this method may work to some extent, there are better ways to build your local presence online. Shock, right?!
So, this blog post will explore a few of these methods in more detail, allowing you to further increase online exposure and presence. But first, a little on local presence management.
What is local presence management?
Before we discuss new ways to increase your online presence, we need to answer the following question: what is local presence management?
Local presence management is the administration of your social media, blog posts, Facebook updates, and everything else.
Managing your local presence is all about keeping up appearances, increasing brand exposure, and showcasing what you can do and how you can help people.
All businesses should have some kind of local presence management strategy.
Building your presence is one thing, but managing it is a whole different ball game.
How to build an online presence
Okay, now that you know a little more about how to manage your presence, how do you actually increase exposure at a local level?
There are numerous methods, but typically, the following are proven to work for most local and small businesses:
- Social media posts
- Monthly blog posts
- Register your Google Business profile
Keep reading to find out more about each method below.
Social media posts
A huge part of your local presence online should be made up of social media posts.
These posts will most likely include updates from your store or business, details on what you do, current offers you’re running, and more.
You can even post industry tips to help others out.
Monthly blog posts
Many local business owners think that monthly blog posts and blogging are only for larger and perhaps global businesses – your Nike’s of the world.
This is not true!
Monthly blog posts allow you to target local keywords to help others find you in the search engines.
For example, let’s say you manage a local gym.
If you write blog posts on workout tips and sprinkle in a few local keywords and call to action buttons, then you’ll increase your online presence locally.
You can also re-purpose your blog content into social media posts. We don’t recommend posting the whole thing on social media – post a snippet and share the link to the full post to get people onto your website.
Register your Google Business profile
Finally, it’s paramount that you’ve registered a Google Business profile.
Setting up a Google Business profile increases local search optimization and exposure – you’ll be shown on maps, your contact details will be easy to find, and those searching for your services in your exact area are more likely to find you.
For example, when someone searches “gyms in London, Kentucky,” if your profile is set up correctly, you should appear with all the necessary contact details (location, contact details, and link to your website).
Alongside setting up your profile, you’ll want to manage reviews. Respond to all comments (positive and negative) to further build your presence.
If you have no reviews, don’t be afraid to ask customers for a review. Maybe you could offer a discount on their next fitness class in exchange for an honest review of just a couple of lines? Get creative with it, and you’ll be well on your way to building an impressive local online presence.
Are you ready to build your local presence online?
If you’re ready to build your local presence online but don’t have the time, which, let’s face it, is most local business owners, then the ATW web presence management package is for you.
We help you stay on top of your presence online, creating monthly blog posts and social content to elevate your brand.
Let us do the heavy lifting for you!
For more information, don’t hesitate to contact the team.