So much of the Internet is about connecting with people but sometimes we spend so much time trying to reach people across the globe that we can forget about our own local community.
There has been a big push toward local focused sites like foursquare, facebook places, and of course Groupon. These sites are all about where you live and how to bring your Internet life and connect it with your real one. But the question remains, how can you harness your own local power?
1. Get involved in your real community:
No this is nothing new but I cannot stress the importance of going out and being a part of your industry focused groups. It doesn’t matter where you live, there will always be people who are interested in whatever it is that you are doing, and if there isn’t start one yourself as this will give you credibility and show that you are a self starter.
2. Give back:
Giving back to your local community can be a great way to show how much you love where you live, give you great publicity, and just flat out make you feel great. If you are web designer why not design a website for a local nonprofit? A great example is a friend of mine is a visual storyteller (@VoteMikeJones) and he is giving back to Oklahoma City by creating 5commercials5days.com where businesses and nonprofits can be in the running for having a commercial made for their organization or business. This is a great idea because it showcases what he does but also gives back to the community that has made him a success.
In the 2 weeks that people were voting on the businesses he received over 7,500 votes, 12K visits, 24K page views and a local news story. Hows that for some coverage?
3. Locals Only Events:
This is a great one for any business. Pick a place and a day and have a party for your local customers. There really isn’t a whole lot to it and it is always a great time. Again this shows that you recognize the people that really support you and that you really appreciate them for their business.
4. Local Opinions:
Getting the locals opinions if you are a blogger can be more valuable than you think. There are a ton of big named bloggers who are from New York and California but the fact is that there are 48 other states with all different types of opinions.
A way to get your local community involved would be to set up a section on your blog that is solely dedicated to the “local soup”. This shows that even though you connect with people far and wide, you are still from (insert place here) and that you still care about their opinion because without them you wouldn’t be where you are today (everyone has to start somewhere).
5. Social Networking:
Networking events can be great if they have the right mix of people as well as the right agenda. Social Networking allows you to take your local relationships online and build them into something even better. We all know (at least those of us who follow Under30CEO) that the power of social media cannot be underestimated, but this also includes connecting with people through social media in your local community as well.
How to local businesses in your community keep their customers engaged and how do you support them?
Andrew Stanley is an entrepreneur from Oklahoma City and interested in all things local, wordpress, marketing and wine. Be sure to follow him on Twitter (@AndrewLStanley)
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