Tweet

Online PR: The free local business booster

Written by: Wes Upchurch

Article Overview: If you own a local business, even if it’s just a small mom and pop store, there’s good news when it comes to online PR. You can win big with online web marketing and localized public relations to generate free messaging or promotion for your business.

Online PR: The free local business booster

If you own a local business, even if it’s just a small mom and pop store, there’s good news when it comes to online PR. You can win big with online web marketing and localized public relations to generate free messaging or promotion for your business.

When a local organization produces it’s own online news content, it almost always results in increased search engine rankings, traffic, and business. The more education and informative the content is the better your results. Here are three easy ways to get started with local online PR:

Put a News Section on Your Website

If your local business has a news section on it’s website, you’ll have a place to publish and manage content about events, new products or services, and community involvement of your business. It’s unlikely to gain mainstream attention of major media outlets, but it does help improve your repeat business and build a loyal following of customers. They like being informed. In addition it boosts search engine rankings, especially if you are using keyword-rich titles and writing news tailored to the region you do business in. Before you know it, you’ll organization will be known for it’s great communication and you’ll be ahead of your competitors in the search engines.

Use Press Releases To Generate Buzz

Think you can’t have a news section on your website, because your company hasn’t been in the news. Wrong! You can always write your own news. In fact writing press releases about your website is one of the best ways to generate a buzz for what you are doing. It gives reporters a story. Even a charity cakewalk could be newsworthy for your local newspaper. Yeah it might not land you on the front page of the New York Times, but it could gain exposure for your company in the community section or events of your local small-town paper.

Connect With Your Customers Socially

With the ever-increasing popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, you can place your company’s name in front of a captive audience absolutely free. The key here is to be personal and provide value to your friends or followers. Of course creativity helps too. Here in Columbia, I’ve seen a local pizza chain have great successes with Twitter. Instead of just sending out offers, which people see as spam, they’d wish Mizzou (our home team) good luck in their football, with a special offer attached. For example, “Good luck Missouri! Get those touchdowns. If you win, we’re giving free breadsticks away all night.” Big Surf Water Park does a good job as well with this as well, they’re facebook profile shows something special each day for example. “Wear pink sandles today, get in free” and when to really gain some positive PR, they’ll do thinks for charity such as, “Bring 6 can goods for the food bank, and admission is on us.”

Related Articles
  Clear Creative Blocks Forever
  Booster Juice Master Franchisee opens second outlet in Delhi
  SUCCESS BOOSTERS OR BUSTERS FOR ENTREPRENEURS
  Launch free classified ads in sites like 89classifieds
  Free Martketing Tips for Retailers

Article Tags: buzz, cakewalk, charity, community involvement, cust, free messaging, front page, local organization, mainstream attention, media outlets, new york times, news content, own news, pop store, public relations, repeat business, search engine rankings, search engines, writing news, writing press releases



Related Forum Posts
Simple Idea - Great Advice. - Recently I was presented with the opportunity to bring an entrepreneur "into his own." Not only did I jump at the chance to do so, but I thought, wow, if only I had had that same kind of person offering to help me get started . . . all the headaches I would have saved!!! Anyways, I 'fell' into my business (promotional product sales) when I was the 'team-mom' for my son's wrestling team (some 15 years ago). Simply, almost overnight, every team and booster club in the high-school was ordering products from me (waterbottles, eye-black, seat cusions, t-shirts, pom-poms, hats, etc.) - it was a need that I simply organized a way to fill (every 4 years kids moved on and the role of booster club parent turned over to a new set of parents - I just offerred to do ordering for the teams each year and that is how things started! I look around and think, wow, if only someone had just presented me with that idea at some point in time - I had to 'create' my systems of sales and everything else that went into starting up a real business. So I really think anyone starting a business (or even just thinking about starting a business) needs to latch onto a mentor. Don't be afraid to ask! Every entrepreneur had to start out somewhere, and there is plenty of (free) help out there if your aren't sure where to turn or ask questions. So in terms of Promotional Product advertising - I am here to mentor anyone thinking about getting into the biz. I would encourage you to take a 'student' entrepreneur under your wing in your line of business. Who knows, you might even enjoy doing so too!
Welcome! - Hi Benny, Welcome to the Evan Carmichael forums! Those are some good ideas you have, and always keep in mind that your signature in most forums can also act as free advertising. I also suggest hand submitting yourself into free business directories, take out a local Ad in newspapers and advertise via postcards (sent to other companies) who may compliment your services but are not in direct competition with you who wouldn't mind passing your name & business card along. Also- strategically placing business cards...lots of them, everywhere you go leave a stack (at banks, local businesses especially new busiensses, the library, bookstores...etc.)
A great Women's Industry - Admittedly, I think I am in a pretty gender neutral industry (promotional product sales) in terms of who produces better sales people (men or women). Maybe its just because its how I got into the business (team mom for my kids booster clubs when they were in high school) but I would even say there are more women doing what I do (well) than men. Not to start an issue - just stating how great the promo business is for women and the 'stay at home' mom type to jump into this industry. I love seeing a "mom" succeed in business. I am so grateful to be in a position where I can give advice and help other entreneur moms start their own business (and successfully at that).
Re: How do you get your clients? - I have two businesses, one with local market and one with global. For local business, I just purchase ads on online directories like kijiji/craigslist and I purchase ads in a local newspaper. For my other online-business, I invest heavily on search engine optimization and social networking. I would say every business has a unique way of getting clients
Re: Sports is queen! - Hang in there OmnivoreInk! A good attitude is more than half the battle. There are some great thoughts above me. Use those to develop some fresh ideas and I'm sure you'll be on your way. Also, do some free advertising in your local area. If people know a local has a website, sometimes they'll visit it just because they feel a connection. Best wishes!


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

10 Steps to Excelling at Franchise Sales

Ways to Improve Your Landing Page Conversions

Reverse Mentoring

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.