Lately there has been a big shift in the Web to which small businesses need to pay attention. So hear it now, and digest it: the Web is going local.
Who’s Checking In at Your Business?
Apps like Foursquare are becoming big for the small businesses that are smart enough to pay attention. Foursquare allows users to “check in” at a certain location, simultaneously sending their whereabouts to their Twitter followers and Facebook friends. They can also become the “mayor” of an establishment by proving they’ve been there the most in a two month period. Smart businesses are tapping into Foursquare in a big way, offering discounts for the mayor and other incentives for their frequent customers.
And you’ve probably heard of Yelp before, right? If you’ve been monitoring what people are saying about you online, Yelp is probably one of the first places you look. But Yelp didn’t want Foursquare cornering the real-time check in market, so they’ve recently added an update to their iPhone app that allows their users to check in at locations as well.
That means that customers are seeing your Yelp reviews when they walk in the door. If you’re not monitoring your reviews and engaging with your reviewers (the good and the bad), you’re missing an opportunity.
Google’s At Your Backdoor
Even Google is getting more and more local. If you haven’t already listed your business in Google’s Local Business Center, I suggest you stop reading this and do it immediately. Google provides you with the tools to tell people exactly the information about your business that they need to know. And this information comes up in search results.
But Google’s been on the move lately with their locality. Recently Google’s launched a direct competitor to Yelp: Place Pages. Now instead of just having a bubble within Google maps to tell you about a business, Place Pages aggregate info from Citysearch and Zagat, and gives any info you need to know about the business. You can edit this info in the Local Business Center.
They’ve also recently added a great new option for small businesses to market their products and services called “post to your place page”. This essentially gives businesses a megaphone on their Place Pages to special deals, changing of hours–anything. Think of it as a status update for your business.
Opportunities for Loyalty
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Markets are communities waiting to happen. With these local options, your market is actually walking in and out of your door (or right past it), talking about you, reviewing you, checking in at your establishment–all in real time. The question is: will you be smart enough to turn them into a loyal community that keeps coming back?
I’ve barely skimmed the surface here about the potential of the local Web. What are some other trends you’ve seen? Are there other local tools you love to use?
Photo credit: dinimueter
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