The economic downturn of the last two years has taken a toll on Main Street businesses. With so many people watching their wallets, getting new customers through the door can be a huge challenge. Now more than ever, small business owners are forced to maintain their competitive edge on an ever-shrinking budget.

Enter: LocalBizBlogs. Business blogs are a cost-effective way to connect with customers and cultivate those relationships. The real kicker? Web 2.0 technologies generate valuable business, yet COST LESS than traditional advertising. Small business owners can now independently market their services for a FRACTION of the old cost.

Kirstie Bennett, owner of Framer's Workshop in Berkeley, CA, updates her BizBlog with product news, framing tips, and photos of the store's frame inventory. "Blogging allows me to get new product and sale announcements online immediately without the delays that making changes to my web site would entail." Kirstie's BizBlog is also set to automatically update to her Facebook business page each time she posts something new. Like many small businesses these days, Kirstie has reduced costs by cutting back on print advertising and opting to do more marketing on the web. By simply blogging a few times a week, she has doubled traffic to her existing website because customers are consistently finding her BizBlog as a top search result on search engines.

Dedicating several hours a week to updating her BizBlog, Kirstie wants to gauge her efforts: How many people visited? Where did they come from? What keywords did they use? According to Kristie, "LocalBizBlogs makes it easy to track visitor statistics. I get weekly reports that show the keywords people are using to reach my BizBlog." Identifying high referral sites and keyword trends is vital to any business on the web. Not only can business owners use this information to optimize their BizBlog, but to optimize their overall marketing plan.

Joan Bacino, owner of John's Pizzeria in Merrillville, IN, has been publishing online coupons to her company blog and customers are responding in a huge way. "We average 250 coupons a week. That's a lot for a business like ours." Coupons have been a way for John's Pizzeria to stay price competitive in a region where budgets are tight and people are going out to eat less often. "Our BizBlog gets the word out. Keeps our doors open."

Other businesses are using the web as a way to stand out from competition. Randy Ralls, owner of Service Doctor in Hobart, IN, recently purchased a digital camera so he can post photos of his business to his BizBlog. Randy and his team use the camera to capture photos of showroom items, and "before and after" shots of their remodeling jobs. The camera also records high quality video, allowing them to make short commercials that are uploaded to YouTube and posted to the Service Doctor BizBlog.

"Our business model is made up of a wide variety of conventional and restoration remodeling services. Video commercials allow us to inform customers of Service Doctor's unique restoration process and various home remodeling solutions," says Randy. By educating customers about Service Doctor's range of services, Randy is reaching out to those customers who research products and services on the web before they buy. Randy says he has a higher chance of winning their business if he can address their questions/concerns upfront and make a positive impression.

Marketing a small local business on a tiny budget is easy when you leverage the power of business blogging. LocalBizBlogs provides a simple and affordable way to get more customers in the door. All it takes is a computer, a BizBlog and the commitment to reaching out to customers through the web. The power is in your hands.

Everyday, people online share their favorite – and not so favorite - products, services, businesses, and organizations. The discussion is happening whether you are a part of it or not. Isn't it time you joined the conversation?

Let's look at a few tips for approaching the social web.

Claim a web presence

The first step in joining the conversation is to claim a web presence for your business. You might already have a website, but that is not enough, especially if your website is updated only once a year. Get a blog. Blogs allow you to instantly post new information, keeping your business current. Your business also needs to be a part of existing social networks, like FaceBook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you are new to these sites, join one at a time, and move on to the next once you have mastered the first. Nothing looks worse then a half-hearted attempt. People will notice.

Contribute in a meaningful way

Now that you have a web presence, it is time to participate in the conversation. Here are a few ideas on how to contribute in a meaningful way:

Tell your story - Stories put a human face on your business. Every business has a story. How it started? What is your mission? What have you achieved?

Demonstrate your expertise - Publishing articles and videos on specialized topics lends to your credibility as a professional. Share your knowledge and you will get recognized as an expert in your field.

Offer customer service and support - It means a lot when a business stands behind their products and services. Offering service and support shows customers you are committed to them beyond the sale.

Share relevant news - Sharing information related to your field of work is a good way to show that you are on top of the current trends. Only share relevant information.

Answer questions - People often have questions when learning about your business. Answering questions helps them know more about you. Consider creating a Frequently Asked Questions page to group them all in one place.

Be honest

The worst thing you could do is be a fraud. The word will get out and it will probably end up on some user review site. You don't want that. Honesty is essential to your relationship with the customer.

I hope these tips are helpful. If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave a comment.

That's right! We have partnered with Oakland-based East Bay Express to extend our reach to local businesses and organizations in the East Bay cities of Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville.

For Immediate Release

The East Bay Express offers LocalBizBlogs, a web solution for local businesses and networks

The East Bay Express, an alternative newsweekly based in Oakland, California, is now offering LocalBizBlogs to small businesses and networks. LocalBizBlogs is an affordable, easy to navigate website solution. Our do-it-yourself platform is customizable to the business' needs. They can activate the tools they want, giving them the ability to post news, events, coupons, menus, videos, photos, community happenings, and much more. We also provide detailed traffic statistics, which is essential for tracking progress and keywords people are using to find their site.

East Bay Express publisher, Jody Colley, explains the decision to add this to the newspaper's list of services. “LocalBizBlogs came from responding to a need on the part of small businesses in the Bay Area to have an inexpensive, easy and highly effective way to communicate with their customers.  Over half of the small businesses in the United States currently do not have a website, and many of those who do find it complicated, time consuming, or cost prohibitive to regularly update. LocalBizBlogs can either act as their primary website or a compliment to their legacy site.”

LocalBizBlogs is intuitive and simple. Its built-in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) features means the more a business blogs, the more visible they become in search engine results. With the blog-format, businesses can decide to enable or disable comments from people in the community, giving them control over their messaging with every post.

LocalBizBlogs co-founder Mike Paunovich says, "Everyday, people online share their opinions about products and services. The conversation is happening whether you are a part of it or not. LocalBizBlogs gives businesses and organizations a voice on the web, empowering them with tools to connect with customers, and build long-term relationships. Marketing online is about building trust. Business can only influence their reputation by contributing to the conversation in a meaningful way.”

Any small business in the country that is serving a local community can sign up for LocalBizBlogs. In addition, Colley and Paunovich are making LocalBizBlogs available to networks and newspapers by adding a searchable directory of businesses in their markets.

Contact:
Sarah Hammill, Marketing Director
East Bay Express
510-879-3720
Sarah.Hammill@EastBayExpress.com
www.EastBayExpress.com/LocalBizBlogs