Social (Spatial) distancing, Travel restrictions, Self-isolation and lockdown are the new normal caused by the covid-19 pandemic. This new normal has caused disruption in consumer behaviour, spending power and habit, which has drastically altered how and where consumers choose to spend their hard-earned cash.
The implications of this New-Normal is that consumers will begin to search for products/services around them due to safety issues. “Near me” searches will be on the increase and will gain traction as consumers begin to accept this new reality.
Products and Services that are deemed essential e.g Food and Grocery, Pharmaceuticals, Nose Masks retail shops e.t.c will have to optimize their website in order to increase traffic, leads and brand awareness from local search. Website content must include “near me” keywords such as “food near me”, “nose mask in Ikeja” “Hand Sanitizer in PortHarcourt” "digital marketing agency in Ikeja" "Java Training Academy in Lagos" in order to be optimised for local search rankings.
As the world continues to find solutions to a pandemic that brought to halt movement across cities, regions, countries and continents, Consumers will be forced to use services and products within their vicinity. For example, people working from home are likely to order food from local restaurants who can deliver it to their homes or that allow for a drive-thru.
A critical implication of this new normal is that businesses must find their way to the chain reaction of “essential services” and then create content on their social media pages and websites which would help them achieve top-of-the mind and top-of-the-lip brand awareness in their vicinity.
Local SEO is critical to being relevant during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Here’s an article that would help you understand the “how” of making your business appear in “near-me” searches.
If you're a small business owner and wondering how to plug into the new normal with an affordable budget, you sign up for the Edubridge SME starter pack, for just N30,000 and get a chance to own a custom brand website and also a online marketing campaign with up to 400,000 potential reach to your target audience.
Here's Five ways to achieve maximum visibility and get you entangled on local search
1. Register your Business on "Google My Business"
2. Always tell customers to give feedbacks via review section on Google My Business and Social Media Channels
3. Have a website where customers can get more content and information about your product
4. Ensure you have a consistent NAP (Name, Address and Phone number across all platforms)
5. Use Google Trend to explore trending topics and conversation in your locality and industry
6. Use Answer the public to listen to what your customers are asking about.
7. Ensure your content is localized across all your web pages.
8. Consider Increasing the Quality of Your Local Content by Writing Longer Articles
9. Address all negative feedbacks and reviews across platforms
I hope you found this resource useful, and if you want to take your company to the next level with social, get your free social media analysis today, and contact us with any questions!