One easy way locally owned business can get themselves on the map (literally) is by soliciting customer reviews for your business on geographically based review sites. Review sites are usually very large conglomerates with individual mini-sites for each geographic location. Often they’re divided by state or region, and then subdivided by city or township within that region. The bottom line in this uber-web-based world in which we live is simply this: If your business can’t be found through a quick web search – you’re business is going to die.

Use Geo-Based Review Sites to Grow Your Business

What’s great about these websites is that they allow brand-new customers to find you – and want to try your business out – when they may have known nothing about you before. These new customers are online searching for your type of business in your area; if you’ve set up your profile and garnered some reviews on any of these sites, they’re likely to run across your business. Suddenly they not only know you exist, what you do, and where you’re located, they also get to find out what your customers think about you by reading the reviews.

So how do you get into this action? It’s pretty simple.

Step 1: Focus on the major review sites.

The most important local review site is the home of the “red pin” – Google Places, formerly known as Google Local. Other review sites include the following:

• Yelp.com
• Local.Yahoo.com
• CitySearch.com
• InsiderPages.com
• CitysBest.com

There are more, but if you get set up on at least a few of these major websites, your information will get picked up by the other sites as well.

Step 2: “Claim” your business and/or set up your profile.

Once you’re at the website, search for your business. You may find it already listed; if so, you’ll see an option to claim the business or add updated information. Fill in all the information you can: physical address, phone number, email address, Internet information (email, website, blog, Facebook, Twitter), store hours, specialties, owner’s name, history. Some sites will give you more room than others. Some will also allow you to post pictures; I highly recommend that you post a few photos of the outside of the store, inside of the store and a sampling of available products.

If you don’t find your business, you’ll simply have to start the profile or information from scratch. Follow the same principle as above by including as much information as possible on each site. Remember, the more information you have, the more you will show up in search results and the easier it will be for people to find you.

Step 3: Ask for reviews.

The most important part of a business profile on one of these review sites is, of course, the customer reviews. So start asking for reviews. When your best customers come in to your business, make it a point to personally ask them to go online and submit a brief review to ONE of the review sites. Don’t ask them to submit reviews to more than one; that’s simply too much and too complicated, and most customers (even the ones who love you) won’t respond. All you have to do is say something like, “We’ve just set up our profile at CitySearch.com, and we’re trying to get some reviews up. If you have a moment when you get home, would you mind sharing about your experiences here? You’re one of our best customers, and we’d really appreciate new customers getting a chance to hear from you.”

Then hand each customer a card with the information printed on it, so they won’t forget when they get back home.

That’s it! The whole process is simple and can really make a huge difference in helping new customers find you, so get it started now and see what results you’re getting in a few months.

Image: dbking.

One complaint many small business owners have, once they launch into building up an online presence, is how long it can take to build up a good fan/customer base online. Fortunately, there are several good answers for that complaint, and one of them is to get more exposure online from other sources. Credible sources, such as news sites and popular blogs, can publish one story and link to your business’s website and cause a huge increase in the online interaction you’re getting. So, the next question is, how do you get to these credible sources?

Here’s a little secret you might not know about writers: they’re always looking for something good to write about. Many major news sites, especially the hyper-local ones such as Examiner.com, are written almost exclusively by freelance writers who are out there finding the stories and doing the research themselves. If you have a story ready to go, and it’s related to their subject area, pitch them. The same goes for bloggers who write reviews or write about topics related to your business.

Step 1: Find the contacts.
Go to any local news website and find the writers who specialize in a topic that relates to your business. Read several of their articles to get a feel for the kind of story or information they prefer to write about. Then think about how your business can fit into their writing.

Search for related blogs. Find review blogs, if you’re looking for product reviews. Or find topical blogs, if you’re looking for a news piece or a story to be written about your business. Most likely you can go to the blogs you’d be interested in reading from a professional standpoint. Read them and get a feel for the kind of posts they produce.

Step 2: Write a pitch.
Get the individual contact information for each writer you want to contact; this information is usually readily available on the site. All you really need is the writer’s name and email address.

Put together a brief pitch for each individual writer. Make it short, snappy, friendly, and related to what that writer writes about.

For example, a pitch for a local news writer who specializes in fashion and style:

Dear Sally Mae Writer,
I’m Ruth Johnson, the owner of the local business The Hattery. I noticed you recently wrote a series about new trends in local fashion, and I wanted to tell you about our spring event that highlights local fashions in a unique way. Each spring, we put together a fashion show with local models; other boutiques contribute the outfits, and The Hattery provides custom-designed hats and/or head wear for each outfit.

It’s a fun event that local women look forward too, and it really sets the trends in our local fashion arena for the season. I’d love to write a piece about this for you myself, or talk with you if you’re interested in an interview. Again, my name is Ruth Johnson; my contact info is…

Thanks so much for your time.
Sincerely,
Ruth Johnson

Step 3: Keep at it.
If you send out one pitch a week, you’ll soon have more online news and stories than you know what to do with (I bet that’s how the bloggers over at Young House Love got all the press shown at the bottom of this page??). Freelance writers and bloggers need relevant stories, interesting topics, and real people to interview. If you can offer any one of those elements, you’ve got a good chance of getting online exposure that can really increase your customer base in a hurry.

Image: Charlie Brewer.

I teach a small business marketing seminar for locally owned businesses that’s called “EIGHT Ways to Make Your Cash Register Ring in Any Economy.” In this seminar, one of the eight strategies that we outline is what we call “Pursuing Partnerships & Alliances.”

There are several different types of partnerships or alliances that work really well and should all be used liberally in local businesses and restaurants.

1.  There is the alliance or strength gained from “riding the coattails of an industry elephant.” This happens when you carry a major national brand in your store that is doing national advertising – and you mimic elements of that advertising campaign in your own marketing messages or images. This same strategy can be accomplished when you ride the coattails of a major trend (such as the green or environmentally friendly movement) or a major cause or organization (such as a political, religious, or industry promotional campaign).

2. There are the partnerships that participate in cooperative marketing programs generated or promoted by local or regional organizations. This strategy is implemented when local businesses join together under the banner of a common cause or organization. This would be the case when a Main Street or Chamber pools your money or even fronts the money for a promotional campaign for all of the businesses involved or to promote a certain shopping district or event.

3. Finally, there are those alliance that businesses make directly with one another. These are created with the purpose of co-promoting one another’s business. This is best configured when two or more businesses are targeting the same demographic or target audience, but they do not have a competing product. (This works regardless of geographic area – it works if you’re close geographically – it works when you’re not.)

Think about it. Are you using all three of these Partnership/Alliance strategies to grow your small business? You might be blown away by the results. I know I have been in my own business and in the businesses of our clients. Think about how you can work with others and get started today!

Photo Credit: exfordy

Andy and I work with several media outlets – both traditional and new media outlets – to help them “do it better.”

There’s a lot that media can do “better” these days. Here are few ideas that come to mind immediately:

1. Connect & engage with consumers/readers/viewers/listeners better.

2. Provide better value to advertisers.

3. Distribute information better.

4. Build better communities.

5. Give better PR.

That’s right. There’s a lot that media outlets can do to make the event of giving PR – or media coverage, press mentions, etc. – better. Better for whom? Everyone. For the media outlet itself, for the business or person getting the coverage (assuming it’s positive) and for the consumer.

Now, keep in mind, I’m framing this in terms of what you, my readers, care about – and that’s getting or receiving coverage for your small, locally owned business. There are a million caveats to this situation, but for now, let’s focus on the “what if” of a media outlet giving a small business or local business owner some positive coverage of some sort.

One easy way that media can give better PR is to simply include the URL of the small business’ web site into the coverage.

For example, I was just reading a local magazine that had lots of fashion shots where models were dressed in clothing from many boutique shops around town. The brand of the clothing was mentioned and the name of the boutique was mentioned – the place where the model was posing was even mentioned. That leaves THREE opportunities to include three different business URLs in the caption as well. Why would including the URLs into this coverage have made better PR?

1. It would keep me, as a reader/listener/viewer from getting frustrated that I saw something I liked and then didn’t know where to go find it.

2. It would make the media outlet look thorough in its reporting (it is 2010 afterall).

3. It would make the small business owner very happy and even more likely to share the coverage with their network of customers and prospects (which leads to better circulation for your publication).

I think all of those boil down to the consumer having a better feeling towards the media. And when consumers love the media – advertisers love the media. It’s what’s good for the media outlet: to give better PR.

How can you give better PR while maintaining journalistic integrity? There are lots more that come to mind for me – what about you?

Photo Credit: xvaughanx

MyScoop is an entirely online magazine with editions in three markets, Birmingham, Mississippi and Nashville. MyScoop caters to Southern fashionistas and tries to capture the flavor of the south as well as let our readers know what’s going on in other parts of the world. MyScoop focuses on locally made or owned products that are sold nationally or internationally OR national trends that are sold locally.

If you are a fashion retailer in these markets, you want to know MyScoop as a media outlet. If you’re any other business owner, well, I’m here to tell you… Elizabeth Fowler is one of the smartest business women I’ve encountered in a long time, and she has some business scoop to share.

Marianna – How have you used the power of referrals in your business?

Elizabeth – When we expanded to Mississippi we used a referral program so our current readers in the state could tell their friends about us. We gained tons of readers through that web community. It is important to have a consistently email database and utilize Facebook so that readers are interacting with us and each other. My Scoop is the beginning of a very branded community. We have grown through Facebook and Twitter. We are currently growing by about 1,000 each month. All of the advertisements on our site are linked to that local business and we do the same with emails so there is constant exposure to My Scoop and the businesses.

Marianna – As a member of the media, how does a business get your attention?

As the media you can send out press releases. If business owners can promote a category as a whole and promote a trend and not just their store/product, we are much more likely to use that. Example: A boutique owner wrote an article for me on a summer fashion trend. She wrote about the trend as a whole, not just her business. She will gain attention to her business because of the article, but people are more likely to read it instead of just writing it off as advertising. Small business owners should remember that once you reach out you should continue to stay in touch. There are some business owners who will send me reports of new merchandise that they have just gotten in. That is very helpful because they have just saved me a lot of work in finding out what has come in.

To get in touch with the media, introduce yourself at networking events. Email them and follow-up with a phone call. Ask for a media outlets editorial calendar. Most owners don’t think to do that or don’t know that you can. You can learn what they are going to be featuring each month. For example, if you see that the October issue is going to have an article on pumpkin carving and your store sells a pumpkin carving knife you can let the magazine know that and advertise more specifically.

If the media calls you, invite them to come into your business! Make sure you have the owner or manager there – someone who knows the business well and can answer questions. Show them your products and ask how you can help them.

The biggest faux pas when dealing with the media is easily that business owners aren’t responsive enough and miss opportunities.

Marianna – Partnerships are a critical part of what you do and what you sell to clients. How do you view partnerships in business?

I have a great quote that I took from a local business owner, “In today’s world there is no competition; there is only collaboration.” These are the business that will continue to be successful. You should be thinking, “How can we leverage each other’s strengths?”

Marianna – In your opinion, what’s next in new media/social media for businesses? What will they have to do to maintain an edge?

I think we are going to see more creative concepts coming out of media outlets. I think owners should let the media help create their advertisements. That way the ads are more targeted toward the audience of the publication. We need to see partnering with advertisers to create campaigns for a specific market. As a business owner, you have to know what you are trying to accomplish. You’ll use it differently depending on what you’re trying to achieve.

Catch up with Elizabeth at http://www.myscoop.us, Facebook, or Twitter (@myscoopus).

Interview with Serial Entrepreneur & Publisher, Jack Criss

Jack Criss chatting with ResultsRevTV hostess, Marianna Hayes Chapman.

Yesterday, I interviewed 20-year publishing industry veteran and serial entrepreneur, Jack Criss. Criss is currently publisher of locally-owned and operated Greater Jackson Business magazine. Here are some of the questions we discussed and my paraphrases to his answers. For precise quotes, please watch the full interview on ResultsRevTV here (30 minute video).

Marianna: As a news insider, explain how small businesses can get their business covered in the media? What approach would you recommend?

Jack: Realize that the media love to be contacted and love to have their ego stroked. Recognize their work. For example, “Dear Jack, I read the article you wrote about the Two Lakes project – incredibly well written piece! I love what you’re doing with the new magazine… I have a story idea I think would fit well…” Address press releases or story ideas to specific people. Find their real name and correct spelling and send a personalized e-mail directly to that person’s e-mail address.  Be personal and find ways to connect with them unrelated to the need. Don’t mass send information to 50 journalists and address it to “Dear Sir/Madam” – those messages get trashed immediately.  If you don’t personalize a press release at least make sure it’s well written and correct and keep the information to one page as much as possible.

Marianna: How has technology played into having a successful business?

Jack: The demographic that the magazine is geared towards calls for a print magazine in addition to the website.  Jackson isn’t ready for a 100% online magazine yet, in my opinion. However, corrections can be made online within hours instead of waiting for the next edition to be printed.  We can supplement the print magazine stories, post video and photos not in the magazine and much more. Also, GJB is really a multi-media effort with the print magazine as the cornerstone providing readers and advertisers with a valuable and interesting long shelf life. But we supplement that with Facebook, a weekly radio show and vide on the web site.

Marianna: How have you overcome your fear of technology to keep up with the speed of news?

Jack: Facebook is often primarily used to communicate, network and make deals, in many cases more than e-mail. You have to get over your fear and get on Facebook.  Your competitors are on and you have to be too.

Marianna: How do you use Facebook to network while balancing your personal and professional life?

Jack: I’ve used it in incorporating my business and personal life. I’m just an ordinary guy who likes to run and has two daughters. I love being a father and a runner and a member of the community. I think being who I really am on Facebook helps me connect with others who share my interests and builds deeper relationships.

Marianna: How do you make time to do it all? Facebook, web site updates, sales, writing, events, networking and Twitter, too?

Jack: One way is that I’m leveraging the technology so that some things just happen automatically without me spending any time at all. For example, whenever a news article is posted to the web site, Facebook and Twitter are automatically updated with that information. You can leverage technology to make time to do it all without a big staff.   Facebook and Twitter all point to the magazine and help promote it.

Marianna: What do you do in your business to give back, even when cash is tight?

Jack: I can’t always give cash, but I can always give space in the magazine. Of course, certain “restrictions apply,” but non-profits that need advertising get free advertising in Greater Jackson Business – always. You’ve talked a lot about generosity in recent weeks, and this is how we do it at Greater Jackson Business – it’s important.

Marianna: What have you learned from failure?

Jack: Learn from your failures and be humble. You have to appreciate your customers more than ever.  Make friends with them and take time to develop a friendship. See them face to face on a daily or weekly basis as much as possible. Also, know when to say no and know when not to expand.

Jack talks much more on each point in the 30 minute ResultsRevTV broadcast…watch it now.