Jeff Woelker : Chicago SEO, SEM, and Social Media Consultant

I’ve been seeing more and more local businesses advertising in their windows lately to “Follow us on Twitter” or “Check us out on Yelp” and every time I do, it makes me smile. It’s hard to be a local business owner. In a large market like Chicago, it takes something really unique to stand out amongst all the other businesses. Whether you have a dog walking business, sports apparel store, or a Mexican restaurant, there’s always somebody else who can undercut your costs, offer a wider variety of products, or just make more noise than you.

But online reviews and social media allow a new kind of intimacy never before had when it comes to local businesses. Yelp, Twitter, Facebook, and even FYIndout are all empowering local business owners and their customers to raise their digital hands and say “This place is the best!” (or worst) It also allows your customer service and staff to shine through, even if customers have never visited your business. Here are a few ideas for using social media for your local business, regardless of whether you are a social media ace or just dipping your toe in the water.

Twitter
Twitter is all the rage right now and might be a great way for your business to get started. The benefit of Twitter (and increasingly Facebook and others) is that you can engage with it entirely from your mobile phone. Whether it’s text messaging or an iPhone you aren’t chained to your desk and can still use it when you’re in the kitchen (as Rick Bayless does), out on a delivery (as Dominoe’s Pizza Ramon does), or while your dry cleaning some clothes (as the Greener Cleaner does).

Yelp
Yelp has been taking a lot of heat lately, but overall, most people still trust and use it on a regular basis. Yelp allows your customers to review your business, your goods and services, and much much more. If you don’t already have a Yelp listing, you should probably set one up quickly. If you already do, make sure to check out your listing often to ensure it’s up to date. You should also check out the Yelp Blog to get all the latest updates and features available to your listing. You should also keep an eye on the reviews for your business. This is easy if you check your email often. If you see any reviews that warrant response, make sure to put together something insightful and caring to your customers and not just “you’re wrong”. Use this forum as a way to address customer complaints and make your business better or discover what people love about your business and celebrate it. And last, but not least, if you’re constantly getting bad reviews on Yelp, maybe you can celebrate that fact and use it to your advantage like these guys.

Facebook
Although Facebook has been losing some of its luster lately with all the Twitter hype, it’s still a valuable platform to stay connected with your customers. Depending on your strategy, you can almost think of Facebook as your hub for your online presence (assuming you don’t have a business website). You can share photos, videos, maintain a blog, stay connected with customers and so much more. You can also reach new customers using Facebook advertising.

YouTube
Now you might be thinking – I make pizzas all day, who wants to see that? Or I’m turning a wrench all day, what kind of videos can I do? Well here’s a few great examples: pizza delivery and auto repair. You may not know it, but people want to know who makes their sandwich, who washes their car, who drives their cab, and who serves their lunch. And YouTube and other video sharing sites make it easy for you to bring you and your business to life. No longer do you have to just be “Jim’s Florist”, now you can show your expertise with roses, or how you do your arrangements, or why it’s better to buy in season flowers. Any business can have a story and if reality television is any indication, people like to know about the inner workings of everything. And it doesn’t mean you have to have a video studio or photography on staff (although it helps). You can get a HD video camera for $200 or a really high quality point and shoot camera for as little as $100. You don’t even have to create anything with really high production value to get a lot of attention. Just look at this video from Bobby Denning’s Furniture (notice the 123,000+ views).

FYIndout
Unlike the others listed above, FYIndout is a B2B ratings platform. Need someone to service your fleet vehicles? Looking for someone to manage your office complex? You can probably find them at FYIndout. They don’t have a lot of ratings yet, but there are not a lot of B2B business rating websites out there, so this site could become the hub for this type of information. If your business sells to other businesses, this is probably worth a visit.

Also, keep in mind, there are tons of other niche websites you can use and may want to check out. I’ve only covered a few of the big ones here. And if you really want to take it to the next level you can start getting into Google Alerts and Radian6, but at that point, you’re probably ready for another franchise

And here are some other resources you might want to check out:

• 5 SEO tips for local restaurants, with a side of usability
• 9 tips for local online business marketing – all of them are FREE!
• Local Search ~ The Backdoor to Top SEO Rankings

Have any questions or were there any other insights I forgot? Let me know in the comments.