Do You Have a Shop Local Campaign Yet?

March 31, 2009

As I’ve previously mentioned in this blog, the majority of U.S. businesses are small businesses, and many of these small businesses greatly rely on local patrons. Therefore, numerous small businesses have started their own shop local campaigns.

If you are not already part of a community-wide shop local campaign, you should join one, and if there isn’t one in your community, you should start your own. A shop local campaign will remind local consumers why it is beneficial for them to buy from locally owned businesses. It will produce loyal customers who will consistently support your business and encourage others to do the same.

I found the links below while reading “New ideas for your shop local campaign,” an article by Becky McCray. These resources will help you create a strong and well-positioned shop local campaign.

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Reminder: Informative Webinar on Twitter™ is Tomorrow

March 30, 2009

Tomorrow we will be attending the “How to Use Twitter for Business Webinar.” For those of you who have already signed up, you’re one step closer to learning how Twitter can help your business. If you haven’t registered yet, don’t worry—you still have time. Visit our previous blog post on this event for more information, and then click here to sign up.

“See” you there!

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Find Locally Grown & Organic Food in Your Area

March 26, 2009

This morning, I stumbled upon a Web site that is going to change the way I do my shopping. LocalHarvest is a directory that connects Americans with organic and locally-grown food products in their local area. Simply type in your location, and LocalHarvest will provide you with a list of local farms, farmers’ markets, restaurants, and more that supply or use local and/or organic produce, dairy, meat, and other food products. If you can’t find a specific item in your area, have no fear: Local Harvest also provides a comprehensive list of Web sites that sell a wide range of natural, organic, and sustainable items from family farms cross the country.

Taking part in the “buy local” movement is now easier than ever. Simply visit http://www.LocalHarvest.org.

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Get Listed. Get Sales.

March 25, 2009

Earlier today, I came across an article written by Larry Small, entitled “Local Search Means Business.” This article includes several impressive statistics about today’s consumers and local search, including this one: “nearly half (45 percent) of Internet Yellow Pages and local online directory searchers went on to make an online purchase in the fourth quarter of 2008.” He also went on to say, “local search is less about browsing your options, and more about closing the deal.”

Obviously, local search is growing fast. Therefore, if you want to proactively compete, you must jump on the bandwagon and create your online yellow pages listing now. Quoting Small, “ignoring the Internet will catch up with a business, no matter how small or what niche it occupies.”

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Even Bad Customer Feedback Is Good

March 24, 2009

According to a Forrester Research report referenced in an article I recently read, 71% of online shoppers read reviews prior to making a purchase decision. This large statistic illustrates the influential power of customer reviews.

I must say I truly depend on reviews for a variety of reasons, not just online shopping. I use them to find out which Mexican restaurant in my neighborhood makes the best margaritas or which dry cleaner offers the fastest turnaround.  I also use them to determine whether a certain mechanic is trustworthy or if a particular spa is as luxurious as it claims.

As a business owner, you should encourage your customers to search for your online business listings and submit their reviews. Positive customer reviews are beneficial to your business because they give consumers who are leaning toward doing business with you the little push they need to finalize their decisions.

Sure, some previous customers may leave negative feedback. However, use their comments as constructive criticism. Once you fix your weak areas, you’ll receive good feedback that contradicts the bad ones.

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Do You Use Local Classified Ads?

March 24, 2009

Here at  ThinkLocal®, we’re always curious as to how our readers gather information about and from their local community. Today, we’d like to hear your commnets on local classified ads. Do you use classified ads? If so, do you primarily use them to find things you’re interested in purchasing, or do you use them to sell goods or offer services? Do you prefer to search and post classified ads in your local newspaper, or do you take advantage of online sources like Craiglist and Oodle? At ThinkLocal.com, we’re interested in all things local; any information you can share about your use of local classifieds is greatly appreciated.

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Local Search from Mobile Phones is Increasing

March 20, 2009

Doesn’t it seem like everyone has a mobile phone these days? And doesn’t it seem like every week we hear about new, more capable, more advanced phones? Mobile phones have changed the way we conduct our day-to-day lives. No longer are they simply the way we make calls away from home; today’s mobile phones even allow us to conduct business through our phones.

Over at SearchEngineWatch.com, Michael Boland recently posted an article on the future of mobile phones and local search. “Getting Closer to Mobile Local Search’s Day“ describes how today’s Internet-capable mobile phones are changing local search. The amount of Americans accessing local search through their phones is constantly increasing, proving that the appeal of on-the-go convenience is really starting to spread.

To take advantage of the increasing popularity of mobile local search, be sure to set up an online business listing for your business. Many local search engines, like ThinkLocal®, have mobile-specific pages that make accessing them with a phone even easier.

2 Comments | Local Search, Mobile, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
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Need Help Using Twitter™ as a Business Tool?

March 19, 2009

We recently came across a webinar on one of our favorite subjects, Twitter™. The “How to Use Twitter for Business Webinar” promises to be a good one. Not only will all attendees gather valuable information from industry experts, but we’ll also have access to a complimentary eBook that covers the reasons and methods behind using Twitter as a business application. The webinar is at 1:00 PM EST on Tuesday, March 31, so you still have plenty of time to sign up. Don’t pass up this free learning opportunity—you and your business will surely benefit from the presenters’ wealth of knowledge.

To sign up for this event, please visit:

https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=registration.jsp&eventid=137569&sessionid=1&key=D6205F9DF0C3A755F678D9183D690020&sourcepage=register

2 Comments | Small Business, Social Media, marketing | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
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Find Local Businesses Through Twitter™

March 18, 2009

Here at ThinkLocal®, we’re huge fans of Twitter™. We use Twitter to find new articles pertaining to local search; share information that can be beneficial to our followers; explore hot discussion topics via the Twitter Trends function; and get ideas on how we can make ThinkLocal a bigger and better local search directory. Twitter is also great for finding local businesses in your area. With their search function, you can enter a phrase like “St. Louis restaurant” to view tweets (posts from Twitter members) that contain those keywords. Your results will vary: One person might be notifying his followers that he is going to eat at his favorite St. Louis restaurant, while another Twitter user might be spreading the word about the new sushi restaurant she just opened in downtown St. Louis. You’ll also find posts that contain reviews of St. Louis restaurants, as well as tweets asking for restaurant recommendations from other Twitter users.

Next time you’re looking for a local business, point your browser to Twitter and take advantage of the information you can discover through a simple search. Once you’ve found a local business, visit http://www.ThinkLocal.com to view its online business listing, read reviews, find directions, and much more.

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Like Us? Hate Us? Have Suggestions for Us? ThinkLocal® Wants to Know What You Think.

March 17, 2009

We’ve made numerous improvements to ThinkLocal®, especially within the past year. However, we are willing to make more – many, many more. Therefore, we would like you, our readers, to go to www.ThinkLocal.com and evaluate our site. We want suggestions, criticism, any information that will help us better serve your needs.

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