We’re talking here about the free local business directories like Yelp, CitySearch, Merchant Circle, etc., and if you don’t think they matter to your business then you are probably losing sales. Spears Marketing [spearsmarketing.com] found that 63% of Americans have substituted the internet and local search for phone books.

Unfortunately, many businesses don’t realize they are listed with the business directories. Many are listed but haven’t been claimed. The danger of this to your business is that your customers will still see your listed business information, whether it is correct or not, and can still post reviews of your business that affect how others see you.

You will need to manage your promotions from each directory account, or FonGenie Promoter can help you post across most of your Local Business Directory accounts, as well as Google Places, Yahoo Local, Facebook, Twitter and FourSquare from one simple interface. As customers see your specials Promoter will report the success and interest of each campaign so you know if your efforts are on target.

The days of the giant yellow business phone book left at your doorstep are quickly disappearing, but this only opens a great opportunity for local businesses to profit.

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Mobile phone customers are relying more and more on their phones and devices like tablet computers to provide them with information about the services they want to purchase. A recent survey by Search Engine Land found that only 15% of consumers surveyed have NOT used the internet to find a local business in the past 12 months (which is down from 21% in 2012). By taking advantage of the mobile technology that already exists, you can stand out from your competitors and directly target potential customers in your immediate location.

Over 77.1 million mobile subscribers accessed local business content from their mobile devices in January of 2011. This is up 34% from the same month in the previous year. Of these mobile subscribers 87% of the devices were GPS-capable (up 9% from the previous year), with 33% of the subscribers accessing local business information.

Beyond making your business website mobile friendly you can immediately take advantage of mobile-ready services.

• Make sure your business is listed on search engine maps (Google, Bing, Yahoo) so customers can easily find you as these search results rank high for customers.
• Take advantage of local free search sites such as CitySearch and Yelp.
• Register your business location on free mobile search apps, such as Foursquare and Facebook Places.
• Take advantage of daily specials and promotions on business sites and social places (most of those already mentioned allow this).

Beyond making your business and information available you will also need to show activity and value on these sites to maximize your mobile search ranking. All of these services offer social feedback and the ability for you to attract customers by offering promotions and “daily specials.” You cannot afford to overlook using these simple marketing sites that will improve your business’ visibility by targeting local mobile users.

FonGenie Promoter makes posting your business promotions and “daily specials” across business search and social sites really easy, so that local mobile users can easily find you. It gives you one interface to launch your specials and promotions and then analyzes how customers interact and share your information. You will not only be letting your mobile customers know but will be reaching out to possible new clients that search for your products or services through traditional internet searches.

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Please let us know what you think of these new updates. We always welcome constructive feedback from our FonGenie users.

Follow FonGenie updates and news on Twitter and Facebook.

Do you want to be found by new customers? Check our FonGenie Promoter.

Keywords and key phrases should always be considered for your website, though most businesses (SMB’s) don’t even think about them in their blog, social network (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), and business search page (Yelp, CitySearch, Google Places, etc.) posts. This includes the promotions and specials that you are allowed to post on these sites which directly improve your visibility and sales.

When writing new content and promotions you should:

• Consider what words and phrases your customers would type in a search engine to find you.
• Don’t pack keywords (repeated over and over, or which is obviously out of context).
• Don’t forget about “key phrases” (more than one word in a particular order or sentence). Remember, keywords have more competition for top search results than do key phrases.
• If you have a headline or title (as in a blog post) or post an online promotion you should ALWAYS use keywords that are reflected directly from the content. Headlines are important for search engine results.

A Spa, for example, that is posting a special for a hot stone massage on Facebook, Twitter, Yelp and CitySearch using FonGenie Promoter may consider using these words and phrases (in addition to the name of their business) in their text: special, deal, massage, spa, “hot stone massage.” And may even want to give it a sense of urgency: “Friday only.” Again, ask yourself, “What would my customers type in a search engine to find my offer or content?”

Remember, adding keywords to your content can improve your search engine ranking but overusing them can hinder it (spamming). Consider the keywords (and key phrases) you would use as a consumer looking for you first, and then weave them into your article or promotion. When they are used properly the search engines will provide you with an improved free source of targeted traffic to your online content. Keywords help people who need your product, service or information to find you.

FonGenie Promoter will not only help you post promotions which use your keywords and phrases to your business search pages and social networks, but can easily help you track and analyze the success of your Social Media and business search page promotions and interaction that improve your business sales.

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Please let us know what you think of these new updates. We always welcome constructive feedback from our FonGenie users.

Follow FonGenie updates and news on Twitter and Facebook.

Do you want to be found by new customers? Check our FonGenie Promoter.

It is now widely accepted that using social media is an important strategy for small and medium-sized business marketing. Where it gets cloudy is how to best position the business for maximum, and appropriate, results.

Facebook is a powerful marketing tool that engages current and future customers. Finding how to utilize it for a dental business is not too different than using it for coffee shop. Consider that Facebook is a “social” media; you want customers to become involved with your site and learn about your business. Customers of a coffee shop are usually visiting the site for far more pleasant reasons than patients of a dental office that need a root canal, but are no less interested in finding out about the business and what others share about their experiences.

Offering special promotions is a great way to attract and retain customers to your business. If your first-time visitors are on the fence about using your service, then possibly an incentive will sway them to try you and quite possibly be regular customers. Promotion marketing, by offering “daily specials” or first-time discounts, also encourages social feedback which improves your local business visibility.

While Facebook (and Twitter) is considered a “social network” site that can directly improve your business social image, other services such as Yelp (Yelp.com) and CitySearch (CitySearch.com) offer free business search pages that you can use to further promote your products and services. These also improve your local business visibility, but will improve dramatically as customers comment back, and when used to post offers and specials.

You cannot afford to ignore these powerful, free marketing tools. FonGenie Promoter helps you to automate your promotions to these social network sites and business search pages.

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Please let us know what you think of these new updates. We always welcome constructive feedback from our FonGenie users.

Follow FonGenie updates and news on Twitter and Facebook.

Do you want to be found by new customers? Check our FonGenie Promoter.

As a business owner needing to improve sales you have been told how important the broad expanse of the internet is for your business; but the fact is most of your customers are probably local in your community. With the internet we are all now consumed by information from every part of this earth, but we are still local creatures. We eat, drink, sleep, recreate locally. Consumers are inundated by big-box stores, virtual sales and “fast shipping.” But by letting your customers know you are nearby you are giving them the option to do more than just buy a great product or service. Your customers are local and you need to help them to improve their own community.

 
To further highlight the importance of having a proper business presence on the internet, a recent survey conducted by Search Engine Land (Local Consumer Review Survey) found a striking change in consumer behavior since 2010. It found that 27% of consumers are regularly reading online reviews, and an additional 49% were occasional readers. Moreover, it found that only 15% of consumers have NOT used the internet to find a local business in the past 12 months (which is down from 21% in 2012).

In short, most people surveyed were just as likely to use the internet to find local businesses as they were to ask for personal recommendations.

Letting customers know that you offer a community sound alternative to large corporate businesses or purchasing online is important both for your customers and your business. FonGenie Promoter helps distribute the daily specials that represent you locally to your customers, not just to the vast population who have access to the internet.

We will be posting some future articles that delve more into the importance of using the various business search sites as well as social media to directly improve your business visibility and sales, as well as rise above your competitors.

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Please let us know what you think of these new updates. We always welcome constructive feedback from our FonGenie users.

Follow FonGenie updates and news on Twitter and Facebook.

Do you want to be found by new customers? Check our FonGenie Promoter.