the locals go here
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Mission Statement Whether you're visiting us, or consider yourself a supporter of all things local; the Locals Go Here will familiarize you with our outstanding, award-winning, locally owned and operated businesses in our area. We thank you for supporting the Amarillo area by shopping, dining, and choosing local services to enhance your stay. Go local with the Locals Go Here. Marketing Objective To inform people who visit the site locally owned and operated businesses that are not as well-known as larger franchise stores, in turn boosting the local economy Our objective is to increase awareness of the business by marketing on social media outlets, in local hotels, businesses, and optimizing website capabilities. Current Diagnosis We have analyzed the business in terms of current marketing strategy. We have looked at current social media outlets in terms of how many customers they are reaching. We have analyzed the current website and searched for ways to build a new website and improve with features that will be of better use to the business.
Currently, there are 630 page likes on Facebook. Average page visits per day are ranging from 6-8. Most of the Facebook reach is based off of posts showing up on individual’s timelines, which does not actually prove that the individual read the post. The average post ranges from 50-100 people seeing it, while some have reached 200-300 people.
Facebook has become the most utilized tool for The Locals Go Here. They have reached more people and have achieved the best marketing through Facebook. Posting pictures of area events and places have proved to be the most successful posts.
Likes and post clicks are ranging from 0-14. It is safe to say, while Facebook has proven to be the most effective tool for The Locals Go Here thus far, there is definitely room to grow and expand using Facebook marketing.
Website
Thelocalsgohere.com is the most important tool for the company to use. It is their product. The current website design is very dated and does not offer the features or aesthetics that it should. The biggest way the The Locals Go Here receives revenue is by selling advertisements on their website. The current layout does not offer a format that will attract businesses to want to advertise.
Other Social Media Accounts
What is The Locals Go Here?
Currently, there are only 32 followers on the Twitter account, but there are also only 37 tweets. This proves that the Twitter account is not being utilized to its full potential. There is no unique hashtag for TLGH, and
At this point in time, The Locals Go Here has not ventured out into any other social media platforms. Beginning with a successful Facebook account, we look to build upon in different social media outlets and create a buzz about The Locals Go Here.
The Locals Go Here is a place where we not only want to share restaurant reviews and sell advertisements, it’s a place where we want to promote going local.
Strengths
Unique idea, no other website that purely showcases local businesses
Webpage already set up
Covers an area with a large amount of local businesses and a community that supports it
Weaknesses
Current web design is not fully developed and is inefficient
Limited exposure, the site does not have many hits
No marketing or advertisement currently in place
Opportunities
Proper marketing and advertising could provide a major boost in site support
Having the Tech Club providing a whole new look and better layout on the website will make it more accessible and presentable
Could help with local businesses who do not already have much advertisement
Threats
Competition from other websites such as Urban Spoon and Angie’s list
Possibility for a low response
Less marketing than other sites or businesses
It is a unique concept that has not been found in other areas of review sites. In this area, shopping and dining local is actually a concept that some people live by, therefore it seems we have found a niche business that can prove quite profitable.
The Locals Go Here will be free to consumers. They can browse, share information, and find new products and services all for free. Revenue will be generated by companies looking to advertise on the site.
Price
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Return on Investment The aim is to drastically increase exposure of the site by ways of marketing, increase and monitor web hits, and gain funds from businesses that want to place ads, rack cards, stickers, etc.
Promoting the website is the key to business success. Promotion will take place across all sorts of outlets. We will utilize multiple social media platforms and use it to promote the business. Collaboration with the Best of Amarillo showcasing local businesses that received awards will boost promotion for those businesses and the website. Having businesses with TLGH logo stickers in the windows or vehicles, and promoting by having the business pay for ad space on the website will contribute to growth.
Promotion
Product
The product of the business is simple; it is the website. Therefore, we must make sure that we provide our customers with a suitable, easy to navigate website that can fit their needs, while also fitting the needs of the business. The website also needs to be attractive to businesses looking to advertise. The Locals Go Here provides in depth information on local restaurants, shopping spots, nightlife, services, and entertainment with the intention to drive site-goers to support local business.
Placement
It is an online information service so it will be available to the public 24 hours a day. We will advertise on social media sites that hit our target market. In order to entice visitors to visit our website, we will set up advertisements in the form of rack cards that will be found in hotels and travel centers.
Social Media Marketing In recent years, social media has become the main consumer touch
point to so many advertising campaigns that the majority of social media websites have made their social media advertising accessible to anyone. Each website and app that we have chosen features clear, step-by-step instructions and easy navigation that make advertising as simple as posting on Facebook. The three social media outlets that
• Increase in Facebook likes, comments, and shares • Increase in website visits • Increase exposure through other social media outlets (Instagram and Tumblr) • Increase awareness of the website • Increase number of local business participants
Facebook is the key component to this social media campaign because it has the potential and tendency to be the consumer’s first touch point. Facebook’s users have shifted toward preferring mobile devices as a means to engage in social media. Due to this development, adapting to a mobile strategy would be beneficial.
The first way to approach this is by highlighting your best content with a “promoted post”. While using Facebook’s mobile app, users are unable to see a complete timeline. Additionally, promoted posts are vital to Facebook advertising because the promoted post shows up on the user’s news feed as if it were a post from a friend. This forces user’s to see your post as well as make your advertising appear as a friendly post, rather than an imposing banner ad.
To the right is an image of the process of promoting a post. Simply click the “promote your post” option from your Facebook page and the digital form you see below will pop up. You can select your target demographic, amount of money you would like to spend, and which posts you would like promoted. The cost per click price the Facebook offers is a convenient way to manage your $250.00 Facebook budget. Facebook will even tell you how many impressions you can expect in return for your money.
We strongly encourage promoting contests such as “Restaurant of the Month” and “Discount Offer of the Week.” The idea is that you would choose the winner and announce the result in a promoted post. Posting a link to thelocalsgohere.com in every Facebook post will be key to providing continuity in easy navigation between Facebook and thelocalsgohere.com.
Facebook will be the cornerstone of this campaign because it can link directly to every other platform that will be utilized, including thelocalsgohere.com.
Facebook also provides analytical data that will show you the utility and effectiveness of your Facebook advertising effort. Below is an example of what some of that data looks like.
Photos are the most effective type of post on Facebook. We encourage the utilization of Instagram to highlight this concept. Of course, Instagram can be linked to Facebook so that anything you post on Instagram also appears on Facebook.
Instagram is a smartphone app featuring photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking services that enable its users to take pictures and videos, apply digital filters, and share them on a variety of social networking services, including Facebook and Tumblr.
You will need to register your Instagram account, or “handle.” While Facebook gives users the option to “like” your Facebook page, Instagram gives users the option to “follow” your Instagram handle.
Instagram users are accustomed to the use of hashtags (#). When posting on Instagram, we recommend using the hashtags: #localfoods, #localfun, and #localamarillo. The hashtags used on Instagram will show up on Facebook. However, note that the hashtags are intended for the people searching on Instagram, not Facebook. Facebook’s hashtags, at this time, are not compatible with Instagram’s. However, this works out perfectly due to the lack of enthusiasm for Facebook’s new hashtag integration.
An Instagram post creation looks like this. Simply take the picture on a smartphone, add hashtags, and post. If your Instagram account is linked to Facebook it will automatically post to both
The finished product will look something like this
Also, you must “mention” the Instagram handle used when posting photos. In theory, if the account is “localsgohereamarillo”, then a picture would be accompanied with the following: @localsgohereamarillo #localfoods #localfun #localamarillo. Mentioning provides a link directly to the Instagram account, so users can view all the photos posted on the specific account. Instagram users can search your handle as well as any of the hashtags that you use.
Tumblr
A weekly blog will be necessary to “keep up appearances”, so to speak. A weekly blog about local businesses, local travel, and Amarillo in general would serve to help create content for all of your social media platforms as well as establish credibility. It is vital to the brand to establish credibility and a voice in the market. The more people here from you, the better acquainted they become with the brand. The more information you can share and tips you can give, the more credibility you have in your brand. Credibility creates trust and trust creates brand loyalty. Thelocalsgohere.com must be the number one authority on all things Amarillo and all things local. Tumblr allows you full freedom to blog about anything you choose. This can be used to your advantage to discuss anything and everything about local businesses, travel and Amarillo. Tumblr will link to your Facebook page as well as thelocalsgohere.com.
Step 1: Create your account
Step 2: Begin blogging. It’s that simple!
Step 3: Utilize the easy-to-use search bar and drop down menu for tips, options, and to link your blogs to thelocalsgohere.com and Facebook.
While Facebook tells you exactly what your return on investment (ROI) will be, Instagram and Tumblr do not offer these numbers. The ROI from these two social media outlets comes in the form of gaining recognition and increasing your social media presence.
In the Future
Klout is a website that monitors and analyzes your personal social media influence. This free service provides you with a numeric representation of your social media presence. This “Klout score” can tell you a lot about who you are reaching and how effectively you are utilizing your social media. Klout is a resource for you to watch your social media growth and development.
Further down the road, when the other social media platforms have produced more business and therefore more money, it will be necessary for you to maintain your social media, but will inevitably become increasingly difficult with incoming business. Hubspot is a social media aggregate site. This puts all of your social media, website, email and SEO (search engine optimization) in one place. This is a paid service. Hubspot will allow you to analyze your social media as well as create it and Hubspot’s user-friendly technology will make our social media endeavor significantly easier. However, it will only benefit you if the legwork has been put in ahead of time in the initial creation and maintenance of the social media platforms that are vital to the success of thelocalsgohere.com.
Once there is a well-established brand presence in the above social media platforms, it will become key to extend social media branding and credibility through the use of Pinterest. Pinterest is a social media website that allows you to create boards. Pinterest boards are essentially the same as profiles and pages on Facebook. The key difference is that Pinterest serves as an outlet for crafts, creativity, hobbies, recipes and other similar passions. The use of Pinterest to boost brand presence and credibility will derive from the creation of boards that specialize in highlighting local travel strategies, local hotspots, and local recipes. Pinterest users, known as “Pinners”, know that anyone creating boards on Pinterest must be an expert in the particular subject that they are creating the board about
Pinterest gives you the ability to create a board as a business or as an individual. The best way to leverage this space is to create a business board for thelocalsgohere.com that highlights your personal expertise; ultimately making your voice the voice of thelocalsgohere.com.
The return on investment (ROI) received from Pinterest is ongoing. Much like the followers on Instagram and likes on the Facebook page, Pinners can re-pin your posts and recommend your board to friends. The beauty in Pinterest lies in the ability of Pinners to recreate what you have pinned and be able to get a full 360 degree experience by doing it themselves. It makes your campaign and your brand 3 dimensional and more accessible, promoting brand loyalty in the potential consumers found on Pinterest’s vast network.
The Best of Amarillo
By partnering with the Amarillo Globe News, we will be able to raise awareness of the website. We would look into taking the current Best of Amarillo winners that also happen to be local, and showcasing them as our Local Best of Amarillo.
Rack Cards A rack card is a card that is printed for advertising at hotels, convenience stores, and tourist centers. We will create these cards to showcase to panhandle visitors the information that they can learn by visiting The Locals Go Here. These will be printed and distributed to local hotels and businesses to increase awareness of the site.
Stickers The sticker concept is to create stickers that would pinpoint and showcase these locally owned businesses and restaurants. We would create a sticker design that would showcase our pride in the local businesses and help market The Locals Go Here site as well.
An example of the stickers could be: