The Local Web
Submitted by;
Seth Weisblatt.
Furniture retailer extraordinaire, online media marketing guru and just plain great guy.
www.samsfurniture.com
The Power of LocalRetail marketing has changed greatly in less than 10 years ago. In 2002, everyone was buying Yellow Pages(tm) ads, coveting some type of air time, be it Radio, TV, Cable, etc. I remember conversations with fellow retailers discussing our best CPM buy or whether Animal Planet or TBS had better 3:00 AM response rates. Who were we kidding?!?
See The Info-graphic here: http://www.social4retail.com/how-to-do-social-integration.html
This money was doing little for our business but it was stroking the retailers money conscious ego that we were getting a great deal and many of us were watching Animal Planet during the timed ad slots just to ensure our rep was following through with the ad purchase!
The challenge today is that these medias exist only to serve the needs of retailers that have NOT yet adopted a more digital strategy. Those that think the Newspapers and cable stations are the only ways capturing these ever more difficult consumers.
There is a recently submitted infographic (link: http://www.social4retail.com/how-to-do-social-integration.html from the folks at Balihoo that is striking at how local presence via social media channels influences local spending. 73% of search activity is with a local intent. 70% of respondents are more likely to use a business with some type of social presence. 82% of Internet searches follow upoffline. Think this is all a fad?
Perhaps the biggest challenge in the social media world for us brick and mortar businesses is time and attention. It’s near impossible to field the day to day challenges we have – between suppliers, employees, consumers, how in the heck can we plan advertising for the next 3 months and attract customers today using Pinterest?
Again, I’m just one “plugged-in” retailer but I think we cannot be successful at all obstacles if we are constantly throwing darts (or worse – money!) at the opportunity. Focus on one strategy – one media – and be darn good at it! Pinterest has almost zero local intent, for a local retailer so don’t even go there. ...BUT a Brand/Manufacturer it's awesome – QR Codes belong in the showroom, not on your advertising. Google Places (and AdWords Express) are fantastic because they are focused on local customers finding your store! What a great idea!
To be successful, we’ve all at times needed to put up our blinders and focused on what makes our stores different, unique and successful. Advertising on Animal Planet will not help you sell another sofa. But having a presence on Facebook might just convince that sofa-needing-customer that you are there for them to do business with! Give it a shot!
Seth Weisblatt.
Furniture retailer extraordinaire, online media marketing guru and just plain great guy.
www.samsfurniture.com
The Power of LocalRetail marketing has changed greatly in less than 10 years ago. In 2002, everyone was buying Yellow Pages(tm) ads, coveting some type of air time, be it Radio, TV, Cable, etc. I remember conversations with fellow retailers discussing our best CPM buy or whether Animal Planet or TBS had better 3:00 AM response rates. Who were we kidding?!?
See The Info-graphic here: http://www.social4retail.com/how-to-do-social-integration.html
This money was doing little for our business but it was stroking the retailers money conscious ego that we were getting a great deal and many of us were watching Animal Planet during the timed ad slots just to ensure our rep was following through with the ad purchase!
The challenge today is that these medias exist only to serve the needs of retailers that have NOT yet adopted a more digital strategy. Those that think the Newspapers and cable stations are the only ways capturing these ever more difficult consumers.
There is a recently submitted infographic (link: http://www.social4retail.com/how-to-do-social-integration.html from the folks at Balihoo that is striking at how local presence via social media channels influences local spending. 73% of search activity is with a local intent. 70% of respondents are more likely to use a business with some type of social presence. 82% of Internet searches follow upoffline. Think this is all a fad?
Perhaps the biggest challenge in the social media world for us brick and mortar businesses is time and attention. It’s near impossible to field the day to day challenges we have – between suppliers, employees, consumers, how in the heck can we plan advertising for the next 3 months and attract customers today using Pinterest?
Again, I’m just one “plugged-in” retailer but I think we cannot be successful at all obstacles if we are constantly throwing darts (or worse – money!) at the opportunity. Focus on one strategy – one media – and be darn good at it! Pinterest has almost zero local intent, for a local retailer so don’t even go there. ...BUT a Brand/Manufacturer it's awesome – QR Codes belong in the showroom, not on your advertising. Google Places (and AdWords Express) are fantastic because they are focused on local customers finding your store! What a great idea!
To be successful, we’ve all at times needed to put up our blinders and focused on what makes our stores different, unique and successful. Advertising on Animal Planet will not help you sell another sofa. But having a presence on Facebook might just convince that sofa-needing-customer that you are there for them to do business with! Give it a shot!
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