Social Media Is Important, But So is Local Search

With all the hype about social media and speculation that mobile is where everything’s moving, it’s difficult to determine what is most important to your Internet marketing strategy.

The most important thing you can do is allow your audience to drive your decisions and not the latest and greatest technology. While many businesses may be pushing their brands and establishing themselves in social media, research by the Kelsey Group shows that over 57% of people online are performing local searches. And if you’re curious about where those people are clicking, a research study done by Cornell University showed that the top 3 Google results get 79% of all of the clicks.

So, how do you get to the top 3 in Google?

In order to achieve high local rankings for each of your franchise locations it is important for the search engines to know about each physical location and that each physical location is relevant and popular enough to make the top 3 spots in the search results.

Below are just a few key strategies any franchise can leverage to ensure the localized search results that will produce the most local leads.

Local Websites

Consider having a unique website for each franchisee, with its own domain name and the ability for the franchisee to update it. By giving the franchisee control of a portion of the website allows them to tell their story and is enough information to make that franchise location’s website unique from other franchisee’s websites and stand out from their local competitors.

Domain Names

Also consider having a separate domain name per franchise location. By having its own domain name you can use a ‘keyword rich’ name which will garner you greater search relevance for your top keywords and also allow you to create a ‘back link’ strategy by linking all of franchise location websites to each other. There are several ways of choosing how to optimize your domain name for local search, but doing so is important because Google puts a lot of weight on a domain name when deciding where a website should rank.

Local Optimization

Another essential key to ensure high localized search engine rankings is optimizing the page contents of a website for product, brand and location.  This means that on your franchise location’s website you should include location keywords into appropriate links, titles, meta-tags and images.  Another great tip is to place the address of the franchise location at the top of every web page as it allows search engines to easily find that physical location and give your website higher location relevance because of it.

Off Site Localization

Lastly it helps to have other sites linking to your website and your physical location.  Get your franchise locations reviewed in Yelp.  Submit the franchise location to directories like Google Places, Yahoo Local and Superpages.com.  The more websites linking to your website and physical location the better as those links will help increase your stature as a local business that is both relevant and popular.

These are just a few tips on how to improve your local search. It can be overwhelming when dealing with hundreds or even thousands of franchisees and websites, but a properly developed local websites program that brings in more leads and provides other value added services such as email messaging and social media, is bound to have an extremely high adoption rate amongst your franchisees.

With over 80% of people searching online to find local businesses prior to purchasing goods and services, more and more franchises are responding by getting local with their franchise online marketing.

One way franchises are getting local is by having websites for each franchise location.  Using localized websites, franchise marketers are driving more and more traffic from local searches directly to the franchise locations their customers prefer.

However, large franchise systems run into “territory conflict” when they have multiple franchise locations in one densely populated metro area. This can cause confusion with consumers when they type in ‘hair cut Austin TX’ and find five locations near them. And what could be worse is if the first listing they find in the search engine is the furthest from them.

Elements, Inc., developers of the ElementsLocal™ software platform for franchise online marketing, has developed a new concept called “Metro Pages” to help avoid territory conflict.  By placing all of the neighboring franchise locations on a “Metro Page”, and placing a Google Map on that page, it allows customers to select the franchise location of their choice.  This drives more online leads to every franchise location, unveils more options   and simplifies the customer experience.

“One of the great things about our Metro Pages is that our system automatically creates the listings based on the pre-defined metro areas, or regions, of a franchise system.  This is just another example of our platform creating automated ways to increase organic, natural listings”, stated Jeremy La Duque, CEO Elements, Inc.  “Ultimately, we’re always looking for new ways to improve the expansion of a brand through online marketing while deepening customer engagement with that brand.”

Metro Pages will be released this month  as another valuable component of the ElementsLocal™ software platform.

 In a world where marketing messages abound in nearly every aspect of daily life, a new, discerning consumer has evolved – one adept at filtering and tuning out information irrelevant to personal interests. Rightly so, franchise marketing tactics need to also undergo a major shift, since traditional outbound techniques such as advertising and unsolicited email blasts are increasingly becoming blocked or ignored.

                “Franchises should focus the majority of their marketing budget on inbound, not outbound initiatives,” said Jeremy LaDuque, CEO of Elements Inc., creator of ElementsLocal™, a new software solution for franchises that increases company leads through maximized search engine results. “When you push your message out far and wide with little discretion, you’re essentially crossing your fingers that it will resonate with a few individuals. Inbound marketing generates leads that are more abundant and credible, as potential customers seeking your services have been attracted organically through search engines, blogs and social media.”

• Get Local. Instead of relying on just one national web site for the entire franchise network, provide cross-linked autonomous and brand-compliant web sites for each location. As the franchisor, you benefit from:

o    A “network effect” of hundreds of web sites, each displaying relevant content about the company, being seen by search engines, which increases rankings and visibility

o    An ability to leverage each franchise by allowing franchisees to customize (according to franchisor specifications)  their web site with local content and local e-marketing campaigns

• Get Optimized. Some simple ways to get started with search engine optimization:

1)       Focus the attention of each webpage to just a few keywords

2)       Add relevant content about those select key words to that webpage

3)       Add those keywords to the title and meta tags of that webpage

Get Social. Social media is the fastest-growing segment of the Internet, and best of all, it’s much less expensive than most other marketing tactics. Get your franchise on board by:

o    Participating in social media sites such as Facebook and You Tube. Start a corporate Facebook profile and seek out fans or upload informative – or even humorous – videos that have “pass-along” potential, such as an engaging company story or client testimonials. This will help attract more visitors to your web site, increase your exposure within a larger audience and boost your search engine ranking.

o    Using a blog and/or Twitter to publish information about your business. Gaining “followers” or subscribers not only increases the audience for your company message, but also helps you gain valuable insight from the comments consumers leave on your posts.

• Get Efficient. Inbound marketing efforts are highly track-able, so employ various strategies to monitor the efficiency of your efforts. This will allow you to repeat what’s working, discontinue what’s not, and gauge what’s providing you with the best return on investment (ROI). Some helpful hints:

o    First, establish exactly what it is you want to track and make sure you have a way to measure what you want to track

o    Use statistical programs like Google Analytics to monitor web site traffic behavior – from number of pages viewed to length of time on the site

o    Use landing pages to track specific ad campaigns and/or marketing initiatives

o    Track throughout – from campaign to conversion to sale!

                “As franchises start to ‘think inbound’ in their marketing strategies, they’ll attract customers who are appropriate for and receptive to the company message,” said LaDuque. “This competitive advantage will not only save franchises money, but will also help them build lasting and loyal relationships with clients.”

Recession proof your business at the first Marketing Bootcamp. The Marketing Bootcamp brings together several top nationally known marketing experts and companies to help you stay the course while the economy gets back on its feet as well as stimulate business growth.

Learn how to use the power of the Internet and your website for more than just information exchange with Jeremy LaDuque, CEO of ELEMENTS, Inc. LaDuque will teach you to leverage your website to set and attain your marketing goals, analyze your statistics and tailor key performance indicators (KPIs) to fit your business and objectives.

INTERNET POWER TRAINING 1:50 – 3 PM

MARKETING BOOTCAMP- Learn Everything You Need to Know to Grow Your Business and Brand!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
8:00 am-4:30 pm
The Embassy Suites in San Luis Obispo

THIS EVENT IS SPONSORED BY: Central Coast Magazine, Mission Community Services Corporation, Central Coast Women’s Network, Pacific Coast Business Times, New World of Media, Elements, Inc. and Whizbang Ideas!

The International Franchise  Association’s (IFA) Annual Convention in San Diego, CA offered a wide variety of very relevant roundtable discussions to attendees. ELEMENTS Inc.’s executive team, Jeremy LaDuque (CEO), Michael Boyer (CMO) and Steve Bridge (CFO), participated in six of them covering topics such as lead generation, online marketing and optimizing follow-up on online leads.

Immediate follow through is one of the most powerful things franchisors said will help generate more leads and create more closed sales from those leads.

1. 24-Hour follow up

The number one most effective strategy is to follow up with in 24 hours of the initial contact with your potential client. Statistics show that the success of following up on a lead increases by 70 percent if you follow up within this critical time. The consensus at the Internet Marketing Roundtable showed that immediate follow up is the most effective way to guarantee positive results from internet leads.

2. Automate your response to customers

Use an auto-responder program. This program or function is usually offered by your email provider and sends an automated response when a specific email address receives an email., You may already use this for an automated reply when you’re on vacation. However, you can employ the same automated response system with your sales force. When a potential client emails sales@yourfranchise.com, they receive an automatic response thanking them for their inquiry. This provides your client with immediate assurance that you are interested in their business and will contact them soon.

3. Use a drip campaign

By putting together a drip campaign, your franchise will send out emails on a predetermined schedule automatically. For example, you may send out an email every two weeks for several months. Your email topics would provide your target audience with more in-depth information about your franchise; then a customer testimonial; followed with news or an update on your products, its use or your community participation. There are several great reasons for a drip campaign:

• You keep your name fresh with your users, prospects and clients
• You proactively provide news and updates to your users
• Your target audience continually sees that good things are happening with your company.

One franchise owner said that he has used drip campaigns for many years and swears by them. He referred to recently closing a deal with a client who had submitted an inquiry on their website four years ago!

4. Spend time on those that matter

In order to use your time efficiently, invest in some type of sales automation software to qualify leads from the internet. Automating the first few steps to qualify prospects is key. For example, if your automated reply asks a question or prompts the user for more information and they respond, you can qualify that person as a more serious prospect than someone who does not follow up with you.

5. Think like a buyer, not a seller

One of the main issues discussed throughout the IFA convention was that marketers typically think as sellers of their products and services. The consensus solution was by thinking creatively, sales and marketing need to think as buyers of their products and services. This manifests itself in many ways. One primary example is focusing on your benefits instead of your features.

6. Social Media

Social Media…one of the hottest topics everywhere. We discussed obvious heavyweights such as Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn and concepts like blogging (with WordPress or BlogSpot, for example) and micro-blogging with Twitter. Taking the time to participate in this huge and growing phenomenon seems to be universally beneficial, both for your website and for business. Ideas about social media include

• Starting or investing time in your Linked In profile to connect with others
• Starting a corporate Facebook account; creating a Myspace account.
• Upload videos about your company story, or client testimonials to You Tube.

By doing this you can provide links to these rich and engaging videos in your auto-responders and create drip campaigns from any social media sites.  And most importantly was to provide links to your social media and networking accounts on your website, email and any other forms of electronic communications.

7. Start your own blog

One of the easiest ways to get involved with social media that seemed to be prevalent amongst franchises was blogging. There are many services that will allow you to create your own blog. An even easier way to participate without maintaining your own blog is to comment on other blogs and include links back to your site.

8. Per Click Advertising

Pay per click (PPC) advertising is an Internet Marketing strategy that everyone has obviously been using for several years now. The advantages are that you can control it, measure your return and track everything. However, as more and more people use PPC it gets more competitive, thus more costly. The most frequently asked question was ‘how do we continue to use PPC and get the most return from this strategy?’ We had the opportunity to discuss how to optimize marketing dollars with a few franchises and suggested a simple but more effective way of devising pay per click terms.

First, use what are called ‘geographic’ and ‘long tail’ terms. Start with geographic terms. For example, ‘closets san diego.’ This will cost less than ‘closets california’ or ‘closets new york’. Then, as geographic terms become more competitive start to look for ‘long tail’ terms. A long tail term is one that takes advantage of the 80/20 rule. This rule suggests that 80 percent of people look at 20 percent of search terms. This leaves 80 percent of search terms available and the other 20 percent searching them. Another way of putting this is to devise longer keyword phrases, like ‘closest installers san diego’  because they cost less. Research also suggests that the more people think about the terms they type in the more serious they are about buying and not just shopping.

9. Use Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to the fullest

Research shows that over 70 percent of people on search engines such as Google will chose an organic listing, or one that shows up naturally, that’s not listed under ‘sponsored links’ over paid-for links in the sponsored areas. So, logically getting your website ranked organically using SEO techniques is one of the best methods of online marketing. The challenge most franchises face is understanding SEO is laborious and confusing and often they don’t know where to turn for help. Our ElementsLocal software provides our clients with a solution that helps them take full advantage of natural SEO. Let us know if we can provide you with SEO services.

10. And always track

The saying is ‘you can’t manage what you don’t measure.’ You can rinse and repeat what is working, what’s not and what’s getting you the best return on investment (ROI) if you track your online marketing. There are many different, yet effective, methods of tracking their online marketing. Solutions ranged from: Google Analytics, custom in-house solutions, fully outsourced solution providers who deliver reporting monthly and systems that leverage off-the-shelf software like SalesForce.com.

Use these techniques to boost your marketing campaigns and online marketing strategies. All marketing programs take time and effort, but your work will be rewarded when you can measure that investment and see a return. Employing even a few of these strategies should help decrease your costs and increase your success.