Local Marketing Archives - Page 2 of 4

How to Use Facebook to Connect with Local Followers

You probably already know that Facebook has more than two billion active monthly users. Obviously, not all of them are in your target audience – but many of them are. For that reason, it’s important to understand how to use Facebook to encourage your existing customers to talk about your business and recommend it to their friends.

Facebook offers a variety of tools – some old, some new – that enable small business owners to connect with their customers. I It’s time for all small business owners to make full use of it to increase their visibility on social media and attract new customers. Here’s what you need to know.

Pinpoint Your Location on Facebook

Your customers can’t buy from you if they don’t know where you are. When you log in to Facebook, you’ve probably noticed that you have options when you post a status update. They include tools to tag your friends, post photos or videos, or express emotions. One of them is the Check In, which allows you to say where you are.

When Facebook users click the “Check In” pin, they get a list of nearby places. They can choose where they are or even add a new location if they don’t see their precise location on the list. People even add their homes to Facebook for fun.

When this option was first introduced back in 2010, Facebook called it Places. You’ll still see a Places tab when you do a search on Facebook. It’s a geolocational tool that pinpoints a user’s location and broadcasts it to their Facebook friends and followers.

Updates to Facebook for Small Businesses

In the early days of Facebook advertising, it was easy for local businesses to grab their share of organic reach on Facebook. The algorithm was simple and posts that got a lot of engagement got pushed to the top of the feed.

That’s no longer the case. Facebook’s algorithm now prioritizes contact from people, not businesses. It’s become increasingly difficult to get any kind of organic reach – which is, of course, part of the reason Facebook earned $16.6 billion from advertising in the fourth quarter of 2018.

In August of 2018, Facebook announced several key updates specifically designed to help local businesses increase their visibility and connect with customers. They included:

Redesigning mobile Pages so users can view Facebook Stories, make appointments, view recent content, and more.
Changing “Reviews” to “Recommendations” and making them more prominent on business pages.
Expanding their ‘Job Finder” tool to make it easier for Facebook users to find jobs with local businesses.
Expanding the “Events” feature to make it easy for local businesses to plan and sell tickets to events on Facebook.
Creating a standalone “Facebook Local” app to help users find and connect with local businesses on Facebook.

As you can see, Facebook has recognized that their algorithm changes, which have made it increasingly difficult for local business to get their share of organic traffic, had made Facebook a less attractive marketing option for local businesses. These updates alleviate those concerns by making it easy for your customers to find you on Facebook.

Facebook to Connect with Your Local Followers

That covers creating a Place, but you’ll also need to verify that you’re the owner. To do that:

Search for your business in the Facebook search bar and click the result in the Places tab.
Click the “Is this your business?” link on the left side of the page.
Follow the instructions to verify your business via phone.

If you try to add your business and discover that there is already a Places page for it – users can create them if they want to check in someplace – then you can simply click the “Is this your business?” link and follow the instructions to claim your business.

How to Make Your Business More Visible on Facebook

Once you’ve set up Facebook Places for your business, there are some cool features you can take advantage of.

Let’s start with the obvious. It’s great to encourage people to check in at your business when they visit. You can accomplish that with a sign in your store or by having employees ask people if they’ve checked in on Facebook.

You can also update your Places page with relevant information about your business. The main things to add are your address, phone number, business hours, a profile picture and a cover image.
You can also share photographs and general information about your business.

Facebook will create a map with your business pinpointed on it. It will show up on your “About” tab along with the “Get Directions” button.

Customer Recommendations on Facebook

When Facebook Places first launched in 2010, customers could leave reviews and star ratings on business pages. As of 2018, Facebook renamed this feature “Recommendations.”

Recommendations show up at the top of your page. Facebook displays customer recommendations, including brief written reviews. Your customers can also:

Upload photographs
Choose which things they recommend (for example, a specific service or product)
Write reviews within a set character limit

Facebook also displays a question underneath the Recommendations:

Would you recommend Business Name?

There are Yes and No buttons right there, making it easy for your customers to recommend your business to their friends.

To turn on Recommendations, you’ll need to go to Settings, Edit Page, and then go to the section called Tabs. From there, you’ll simply choose the option to “Choose Default Tabs” and then add the Reviews tab to your page.

Going forward you can increase your visibility on Facebook by:

Asking customers to check in when they arrive at your business
Encouraging them to leave recommendations and upload photos
Include a Review button in your marketing emails and on your websites

Loyalty Program To Keep Customers Coming Back!

Local Marketing

Loyalty programs are everywhere. I’m willing to bet you have several loyalty cards in your wallet. You may even have loyalty memberships you’ve forgotten about. Customers love them – and with good reason.

A well-thought-out loyalty program provides benefits to customers that can range from reduced prices for products to giveaways to exclusive access to special events and offers. For businesses, they help with customer retention by incentivizing loyalty.

The trick, of course, is creating a loyalty program that does both. There are lots of different options, including referral programs.

So, with that in mind, let’s talk about loyalty programs. Should you create one? What benefits and features are best for your customers and you? Here’s what you need to know.

The Benefits of a Loyalty Program

Let’s start by talking about the benefits you’ll reap if you start a loyalty program that appeals to your customers. There are several that make loyalty programs a must for marketers and business owners.

They can help you retain customers. One study found that a 5% increase in customer retention led to an average 25% increase in profits.
60% of loyal customers say they buy more frequently and make more purchases from the brands they love.
Surprisingly, loyalty programs don’t cost companies as much as you might think. It costs far more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one. When you offset the cost of a loyalty program against the cost to attract new customers, it’s still a far less expensive option.
Customers who participate in loyalty programs feel valued and that triggers a cognitive bias known as Reciprocity. That’s the instinct that makes us feel that we should return a favor when someone does something for us.
Research shows that loyalty programs increase sales. According to one study, members of loyalty programs generated between 12% and 18% more revenue for businesses than non-members.
Loyalty programs can help you learn about your customers. It may take a bit of trial and error but creating a loyalty program allows you to collect valuable data about your customers and their buying habits. You can use what you learn to fine-tune your loyalty program and to create offers that will appeal to your most loyal customers.

Loyalty programs offer benefits to you as a business owner while also giving your most loyal customers a reason to return to your business, increase their purchasing, and recommend your business to their friends and social media followers.

What features should your loyalty program have? There’s no one correct answer, but there are some things that most successful loyalty programs offer. Here are the ones that you should seriously think about working into your program:

A structure that incentivizes customers to purchase frequently and spend more money than they normally would. A good example is the beauty supply store ULTA. Loyalty members earn one point for each dollar they spend and may redeem points for over 20,000 products. There are platinum and diamond levels with additional incentives.
Early access to special offers and products. A lot of loyalty programs offer members insider status where they get first access to new offers and a heads-up on the release of new products. It’s a good way to make your loyalty program members feel valued and special.
Ease of use. Providing a frictionless experience is a must if you want members to participate in your program. It shouldn’t be difficult to join, and you should make it simple to accrue rewards and use them.
Personalization. It’s a great idea to create a mailing list for your loyalty members and personalize what you send to them.
Freebies. Customers must accumulate points to earn rewards, but there’s nothing wrong with offering them something just for joining your program. A key example here is Sephora, which offers a free birthday gift to members every year. It’s a nice reminder that they care about their customers – and who doesn’t like a birthday present?
Brand relevance. Finally, your program should be relevant to your brand and deliver what your customers want.

“The key here is to think about your business, brand values, and customers and create a loyalty program that delivers on your customers’ expectations while helping your bottom line.”

Here are some suggestions for how to structure your loyalty program in a way that makes customers want to participate.

Use a simple point-based system. I’ve seen some loyalty programs that are convoluted. Here again, ULTA’s “one point for each dollar spent” is a role model. Nobody’s getting confused about how their system works.
Charge a fee for access. This option might seem counterintuitive but it’s often quite effective. Two examples are Amazon (Amazon Prime) and REI, which charges a $20 fee for lifetime access and pays dividends to customers based on how much they spend during the year.
Build your program around shared values. Not every reward needs to be monetary – and some can be both monetary and do good in the world. A great example is Patagonia, which offers a “Common Threads” program that allows members to resell their used clothing on the Patagonia website. Since their customers care deeply about sustainability, this offer makes sense for them.
Gamify your loyalty program. Everybody loves a game and there are lots of ways to make loyalty fun for your customers. For example. Safeway offers an annual Monopoly game that gives shoppers game pieces based on how much they spend. They can earn rewards including free groceries, prizes, and cash rewards.
Create a tiered system to further reward big spenders. It makes sense to give your most loyal customers – the ones who buy the most from you – additional rewards. Creating different reward levels (Gold, Silver and Bronze, for example) will incentivize people to buy more to earn the extra rewards you’re offering.

Different products require different structures. A restaurant owner might choose a straightforward “Buy 10 meals, get one free” approach, while a retailer might be more interested in a points program.

Once you get your loyalty program going, track the results and use what you learn to fine-tune your structure and rewards. Your customers will let you know if something’s working – and your bottom line will reflect their increased loyalty.

AdWords is D-D-Dying. Hello Google Local Services!

Local Marketing, Small Business

I’m sorry that I have to break it to you but… AdWords is dying.

Well, I’m not that sorry. I’m eager to tell you because Google Local Service Ads are a better option for local businesses than AdWords ever was.

Why? Because AdWords was an advertising tool that could be adapted for local businesses – with the right local keywords, it’s been possible to get to the top of Google’s SERP. But it was never intended specifically for local service based business.

That’s not the case with Google Local Service Ads. It’s designed especially for local businesses. Let’s talk about it – and about the Google Guarantee Badge.

Why is Local Search a Must?

Simply put, 75% of all local searches result in an in-store visit within 24 hours. This one statistic demonstrates the importance of local SEO. If you can attract a lead through a search, the odds are in your favor that the searcher will come to your business.

As Google focuses more on local SEO and searches, it’s natural that they’ve decided to offer searchers a way to verify local businesses. And that’s where Google Local Services comes in.

Google Local Services got its start as Google Home Services in 2015. It was originally a pilot program in the San Francisco market. It offered consumers some detailed and useful information about local businesses, including:

Confirmation that the business is properly licensed
Confirmation that the business is properly insured
Confirmation that all employees have passed a criminal background check

That last requirement was part of the screening process for any company that made in-home visits. The intent was to provide customers with some peace of mind before they contracted with a business.

Once a business has passed Google’s screening, they’ll get a badge with a green checkmark next to it and the words “Google Guaranteed.” That’s a signal to potential leads that your business is trustworthy.

What Does the Google Guarantee Offer Consumers?

The Google Guarantee offers two things to consumers: peace of mind and financial protection. Here’s how it breaks down.

The first thing is that, as I mentioned before, the Google Guarantee tells potential leads that your business is licensed and insured and that your employees have passed a criminal background check. That’s essential in the home services industry.

The second thing the Google Guarantee offers is financial protection. Google will reimburse money paid for a job when the consumer is dissatisfied. There’s a lifetime cap of $2,000 and the service must be:

Booked through Google Local Services
Unsatisfactory in quality
Submitted within 30 days of the work being completed

Per Google, “Add-on or future projects, damages to property, dissatisfaction with price or provider responsiveness, and cancellations aren’t covered.”

If one of your customers files a claim, Google will contact you to let you know. You’ll have a chance to work things out with your customer first. If that fails, Google will reach a verdict about how to handle the claim.

Where Do Google Local Services Ads Appear?

If you haven’t taken part of Google Local Service listings yet, you might be wondering “Why do I need to jump through hoops to complete Google’s screening process?

Well, there’s a couple really good reasons. Let’s discuss.

First, if you’re properly licensed and insured, the only other thing you need to do is get background checks for your employees. And frankly, if you’re sending your employees into people’s homes, that’s a good idea for every business.

Second, it’s all about the ad placement. Businesses that pass Google’s screening process get preferred placement on the SERP on both desktop and mobile devices.

On desktop, business with the Google Guarantee Badge appear in a box above both the traditional Google 3-pack and the regular organic search results. The display will list:

Your company’s name
Your rating (from one to five stars)
Your Google Guarantee Badge
Your city and state
Your telephone number
Your business hours

Typically, the three companies with the highest ratings for the search term will appear at the top of the SERP. There’ll also be a link underneath the top three business that consumers can click to see more businesses.

On mobile devices, the Google Local Services ads appear above the SERP, too. Typically, the top two results will appear along with the name, badge, rating, and a call button that mobile users can click to contact you directly.

Potential leads will know that your business has been guaranteed by Google. They can access reviews easily and be confident that you’re someone they can trust with whatever work they need.

Remember, in any sale process there’s a need to overcome buyer objections. One of the biggest objections when people are looking for home services is safety. They want to know that you’re reliable and that your employees can be trusted. The Google Guarantee Badge provides some peace of mind and takes the guesswork out of hiring you.

But here’s the best thing – While traditional ads operate on a pay-per-click basis, Local Service ads run on a pay-per-lead basis. That means you’re only charged for the leads you receive through your Local Service ad.

And, compared to regular search ads, Local Service ads have a pretty simple setup. No keywords, research, or creative to manage.

Are There Any Downsides to Google Local Services?

I can’t say that there are any real negatives to qualifying for the Google Guarantee Badge, but FYI not every business can take part of this program. Google’s Local Service Ads cater to local service-based businesses in specific industries, such as locksmiths, plumbers, garage door professionals, electricians, and HVAC services. To find out if you can connect to your customers with Local Service Ads, first confirm your business type and location here.

So if you’ll jump through some hoops – Google’s Local Service Ads can give your business a big leg up on your competitors and drive more high quality leads to your business.

Conclusion

Google AdWords is dying whether you’re ready or not. This is the perfect time to embrace Google Local Services, go through the screening process, and get that coveted green checkmark next to your name – so if you own a local service based business – what are you waiting for?

Why Your Competitors are Thriving and You’re Not!

Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Local Marketing

What are your competitors doing that you don’t know about?

That might sound like a paranoid question, but it’s not. It’s a marketing must. If you don’t know what your top competitors are up to, you can’t beat them. It’s that simple.

Of course, you can’t expect the competition to turn over secrets to you – but you don’t need them to do that to be informed. All you need to do is observe, think, and ask a few key questions about what they’re doing.

Where Are They Marketing Themselves?

The first thing you need to know is where and how they’re finding customers. You don’t need a copy of their marketing blueprint to figure it out. Here are some suggestions.

Check out their website and make note of their most important keywords. You probably have some keywords in common, but you should still look at their content to figure out which words they’re targeting.
Search the keywords you’ve identified on Google and Bing to see if they’re advertising with either search engine.
Search social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn to look at their profiles and see the kind of content they’re sharing. Your Google search may also turn up a few retargeting ads for you to check out.
Track their social media mentions.

You may want to create a spreadsheet to track who’s marketing where – and how they’re doing it. Don’t forget to check sites like Tumblr, Snapchat, and Reddit. They don’t get mentioned as often as Facebook and Instagram, but they still offer marketing opportunities.

What Makes Them Unique?

You’ve spent some time figuring out how to distinguish yourself from your competitors – but how do they distinguish themselves from you?

A brand’s Unique Value Proposition tells you a lot about how they see themselves. Are they branding themselves as innovators? Solid and reliable? Affordable? Luxury?

You can pick up a lot of clues about your competitors’ unique qualities by looking at their websites and ads. What you learn can help you figure out how to be more competitive.

What Marketing Techniques Are They Using?

It’s not enough to know where your competitors are putting their marketing dollars. You also need to know what they’re doing with it. It can take some time to get a handle on their strategy, but it will be time well spent.

You may notice that they’re running both search engine ads and retargeting ads. That may indicate that their target audience requires a lot of nurturing before they buy. Or, you may notice that they’re relying heavily on customer-created content on social
media, and that could inspire you to create some brand ambassadors of your own.

You should also make note of the kinds of content that performs best for them in terms of engagement. Are they posting lots of videos or sticking mostly to photos? Are they using infographics or instructographics? Every technique they use could point in the direction of more effective marketing for you.

What Are Their Strengths and Weaknesses?

As you observe your competitors’ marketing and check out their websites, you’ll probably notice that there are some things they do exceptionally well. Maybe they’ve got killer blog posts that fans love and that get tons of shares on social media. Or, maybe they’ve got a YouTube channel with hundreds of useful videos.

At the same time, you should look for things they’re not doing so well. Maybe their website’s out of date or their social media posting is irregular. Maybe they haven’t done a good job of differentiating themselves in the market.

Make note of anything that might be helpful. Your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses can help you fine-tune your own marketing strategy.

What What Are Their Values?

It’s become increasingly important to consumers to know that the brands they buy have a moral center. You know that because you’ve seen the way brands can suffer when they misbehave. Customers can turn on brands in a flash if they feel they don’t share their core values.

If your competitors are affiliated with causes or charities, it’s important to know about it. You should look especially hard at any marketing efforts that tout their involvement and values. It’s quite common for brands to dedicate pages on their websites to their charitable efforts and values.

Millennials put a very high premium on corporate values both when they seek employment and when they shop. If you’re not clearly articulating your values and your competitors are, you might be at a disadvantage.

Keep in mind that when you express your values, you should look for causes that align with them. For example, a lot of food manufacturers and restaurants get involved with local food pantries and soup kitchen or sponsor food drives for hungry families.

How Do They Engage Fans?

Perhaps the most important question to ask is what your competitors are doing to engage their followers and fans. Engagement can mean a lot of different things from reading a Facebook post to creating unique, brand-based content – but it matters at every level.

One of my favorite ways to track engagement is to look at my competitors’ CTAs on social media. What are they asking fans to do? They might:

Ask fans to vote by asking them to like a post for one option and share it for the other.
Ask a question and encourage fans to answer in the comments.
Sponsor a contest and give entries to fans who like, comment, and share their posts.
Ask fans to create content and use a special hashtag they’ve created for that purpose.

You can also make note of the kind of content that gets the most engagement. Do they get five times as many likes on the videos they share as on photographs? Are they sponsoring contests to incentivize engagement? These are all good questions to ask.

7 Ways You Can Market Your Business Better

Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Local Marketing

Is your marketing strategy helping you accomplish your goals?

I’m willing to bet it isn’t – at least not all of them. And, if it’s not, that means there are things you could be doing better.

The tricky thing, of course, is figuring out what those things are. It’s not like they’re going to walk up and announce themselves to you, right? (But wouldn’t it be great if they did?)

Since you can’t count on marketing suggestions knocking on your door, let me help. Here are 7 things you can start doing right now to market your business better.

#1: Identify Your Unmet Goals Where You Expected to Do Better

The first step is to review your marketing plan and business plan and figure out what you still haven’t accomplished. You might have specific goals that remain out of reach, like attracting a certain number of new customers this year or passing a profit milestone.

Even if you haven’t articulated a goal, you might still feel disappointed about some of your marketing. Maybe readers aren’t finding your blog or you’re not getting as many people to sign up for your newsletter as you’d hoped.

Whatever it is that isn’t meeting your expectations, write it down.

#2: Update Your Market Research

The answers to marketing difficulties are nearly always found in the data. If it’s been a while since you conducted any serious market research, it’s time to retest those waters and see what’s new.

You should be gathering two sets of information about the people in your target audience. They are:

Demographic information, including age, gender, marital status, education, income, and geographical location; and
Psychographic information, including likes, dislikes, problems, concerns, and preferences.

The information you collect is what you’ll use to revamp your marketing to connect with the people most likely to buy from you.

#3: Sneak a Peek at Your Competitors’ Marketing

Competitor research doesn’t get enough attention, and if you’ve never checked out your competitors’ marketing for ideas, you’re missing out.

You should be looking to see:

How they differentiate themselves from their competitors
Which keywords they’re targeting
Which social media sites they’re using
How many followers they have
Where they’re spending money on advertising
How they get customers to engage with them

This is such an important topic that I wrote a whole article about it this month. Make sure you don’t take your competitors for granted.

#4: Find Out Where Your Target Audience Is

Once you’ve evaluated your competitors, it’s time to start thinking about where to focus your marketing efforts to reach your target audience. For example, if your customers are mostly women and you have an aspirational product, then your marketing budget will be well spent on Pinterest. If you’re a B2B company, you should focus on LinkedIn.

You’ll also want to think beyond social media and ask how your target audience will find you. Remember that voice search is on the rise and think about where people are going to look for your products – and how they’ll do it.

#5: Revamp Your Marketing Plan

This is step is a big one – but it’s necessary if you want to achieve your marketing and growth goals. Take all the information you’ve gathered and sit down and rethink your marketing plan. You should be planning:

Which short-term and long-term goals are most important to you
How much money you’re prepared to spend to achieve them
What methods you will use to reach your goals (content marketing, email marketing, retargeting, etc.)
Which platforms you want to use (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google, Bing, etc.)
What kind of content you will create
How you will track your results and measure your goals

In other words, this should be a complete, soup-to-nuts plan of how you will achieve your goals.

#6: Automate as Much as Possible

Marketing automation can save you a ton of time and money as you work to achieve your goals. If you try to do everything yourself, you may wind up missing deadlines or failing to keep up with your intentions.

I’m a big believer in email automation for marketing. There are tons of good marketing email providers, including companies like AWeber and Constant Contact. You can use them to create email sequences to send out to your subscribers – or hire someone to create them for you.

I also suggest using automation to monitor your social media mentions and post on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites. You’ll need to set up the posts and schedule them, but the beauty of this approach is that it means you don’t need to worry about remembering when to post something. The automation will do it for you.
You may also want to consider setting up automatic replies on your Facebook page. Lots of companies use bots to handle customer questions and increase engagement – and you should think about it, too.

#7: Test Everything (and I Do Mean Everything)

The final step is not to assume that your new marketing plan is perfect. Even seasoned marketers make mistakes. They guess wrong and need to correct course.
Tracking your results will help you figure out what’s working and what isn’t. You should know:

How many people open the emails you send
What your click-through and conversion rates are
Which social media posts get the most engagement

Once you know which efforts aren’t delivering, you can test new versions of them. For emails, it might mean testing new headlines, content, and calls to action. Or, if you notice that video content gets three times as much engagement on Facebook as everything else you do, you may need to revisit your marketing budget and allot more resources to video.

And there they are…

Marketing isn’t an exact science but doing these 7 things can help you realign your marketing strategy with your most important business goals – and at the same time, increase your profits and help you attract new customers.

Here’s Why Your Business Isn’t Growing!

Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Local Marketing, Small Business

Your business is in a rut.

And guess what? Even if it isn’t right now, it will be some day. It happens to every business. The marketing techniques that worked last year, or last month, are no longer as effective as they used to be. You try everything you can think of, but it doesn’t work.

You’re stuck.

But, the good news is that it doesn’t need to be that way. When your business gets stuck and stops growing, there are things that you probably aren’t doing that you can do to kick things back into high gear.

Ready to get things going again? Here are some of the most common things that cause business to stagnate.

You Don’t Have an Email List

This one’s a biggie for me – so much so that one of the first questions I ask new clients is:

Do you have an email list?

I’m always amazed when people don’t. It’s so easy to do and email marketing earns great returns. There’s really no excuse for skipping email marketing as a method of growing your business.

And, here’s the thing. It is very easy to build a list. All you need to do is come up with a lead magnet that’s designed to appeal to your target audience. It could be a short report or eBook, a cheat sheet, a tip sheet, a value-packed video, or even a template.

Then, you create a landing page around your cheat sheet, advertise it, and boom! You’ve got an email list.

You’re Dialing in Your Marketing Strategy

Let’s face it – most small business owners don’t have a ton of time for marketing. They might set aside an hour or two to deal with it each week, but it’s often the first thing to get pushed aside when time is tight.

I get why that is, but it’s a mistake. A big one. Why? Because marketing is one of the best ways to engage with your existing customers and attract new ones.

If it’s been a while since you revamped your marketing strategy, here are some tips to help you get back on track.

Analyze your current marketing campaigns to see which ones have stopped working. If you’re not getting a great conversion rate, then keeping a campaign running is a waste of your money.
Come up with some killer content that’ll appeal to your target audience. It could be a video, a blog post, or an infographic. Just make sure that it’s irresistible and actionable.
Build a marketing campaign around your new content. Use whatever platforms will allow you to reach your target audience. They could include Facebook ads, Google AdWords, or even native advertising.
Test each element of your campaign and track the results. Testing can be time-consuming, but it’s truly the best way to fine-tune your campaigns until they’ve delivering the results you need.

Most importantly, make tracking your campaigns an ongoing concern. When a campaign stops delivering stellar results, make a change immediately.

You Don’t Have a Referral Program

If you’re not asking your existing customers for referrals, you’re making a big mistake. Referrals are a great way to attract new customers. They’re free (or pretty close to it) and they allow you to turn your valued customers into ambassadors for your brand.

It doesn’t take much to create a successful referral program. You’ll want to start by deciding how to incentivize referrals. Your customers are more likely to help you out if there’s something in it for them. It could be a free product, a discount on your services, or even a cash incentive. Figure out what’s most likely to appeal to them.

Then, you’ll need to tell your customers about the referral program. If you have employees, get them involved. Make sure every one of your existing customers knows about the program. Then, when you get new referrals, make sure to deliver your incentives immediately.

Your Brand Messaging isn’t Consistent

What do people think of first when they hear your brand name? If you’re not sure what the answer to that question is, it’s a sign that your brand messaging is falling short of the mark.

Consistent brand messaging is one of the cornerstones of great marketing and business growth. If your brand message is diluted, then it’s time to tighten it up.

Let’s start with some of the most common ways that a brand message gets diluted:

Your brand message has evolved but you haven’t had the time, money, or inclination to update your website to reflect the changes.
You’ve updated your website but haven’t bothered to update your social media pages and other online content to match.
You’ve added new products that have expanded your brand beyond what your website says.

The key is to identify how your brand has changed, refine your message, and then standardize your branding across all platforms.

You Aren’t Using Social Media to Your Advantage

How are you using social media? If you’re not regularly getting leads from social media, then you’re probably not using it to your best advantage.

Your social media posts should be engaging and shareable. That means that you can’t simply post a sales pitch and call it a day. Your social media content must be:

Tailored to your target audience
Valuable and actionable
Designed to be shared

Every post you put out should include a specific call to action. Not every CTA should be sales-oriented. Some can encourage readers to comment or share your content. The key is to use every social media post as a way of expanding your reach and attracting new customers.

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