One of the biggest challenges local marketers face is effectively reaching local customers in the moments that matter. What’s more, it becomes increasingly difficult to target those hyperlocal customers and their surrounding neighborhoods.
Despite continued unpredictability and enhanced safety measures across the country, we’ve found consumers are continuing to seek local businesses near them. In fact, searches for ‘available near me’ were up over 100% in 2020 compared to 2019. This finding further surfaces the need to prioritize reaching those nearby customers on the platforms they know and trust. One of those local marketing platforms which you may have not had the opportunity to explore yet is Nextdoor.
In a recent webinar Brian Smith, Director of Data Partnerships at Rio SEO was joined by JJ McMahon, Partnerships Manager at Nextdoor, to dive into the power of Nextdoor, best practices for getting the most out of Nextdoor as a local business, and how to manage your Nextdoor presence at scale.
Let’s dive into key takeaways from the webinar.
How Does Nextdoor Benefit Local Businesses?
During the webinar, we polled the audience to see how far they’d be willing to drive for a product or service. Here is what they had to say:
The data we gathered proves consumers are seeking convenience, and looking for local businesses closest to them, with 77% of those surveyed indicating they would only drive up to 10 miles for a product or service.
Nextdoor is the neighborhood hub for all things local. On the Nextdoor platform, communities come together to greet new neighbors, exchange business recommendations, find local promotions, and read the latest local news specific to their neighborhood. Both consumers and businesses are able to join the platform. Consumers are verified by the address they use upon signing up, keeping neighborhood conversations hyperlocal and engaging to those participating in them.
Not only does Nextdoor enable local businesses to reach real customers seeking their product or service who are within close proximity to their location, but it also encourages trust through reviews and recommendations from those in your neighborhood. Searchers can see how many people have approved of a local business through a heart count, as well as find information related to the business’ location, such as their address, phone number, and more.
60% of multi-location marketers agree local ratings, reviews, and social media have “a direct impact on customers’ visiting a store and making a purchase”.
Why Should Local Businesses Claim Their Nextdoor Business Page?
Nextdoor is quickly becoming a highly sought-after discoverability tool for searchers looking for businesses nearby. In fact, 1 in 4 US households currently leverages the Nextdoor platform for their local needs. Your business page allows you to showcase robust content in the form of categories, photos, links to drive conversions, and more.
By claiming your business page, your brand also has the ability to:
- Instantly reach nearby customers
- Engage with a high-intent audience eager to support local businesses, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Read and gain valuable insight from their customer reviews
- Leverage authentic, free word-of-mouth marketing
Once your local business claims your business page, McMahon then recommends the following best practices to help set your business page up for success:
- Add a cover photo that clearly and accurately conveys your brand’s purpose
- Add multiple, high-quality photos for searchers to see who the staff is at that particular location, what the inside and outside of your business looks like, the products or services you provide, and more
- Gather recommendations from your neighbors
- Tell your unique story
- Update your business contact information
- Add links for takeout, delivery, gift cards, and fundraisers
What Are Business Posts?
While your business page enables you to share pertinent information to searchers, business posts help you increase awareness of your brand. Launched in the summer of 2020, shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began to wreak havoc on businesses nationwide, business posts were introduced to help businesses stay in touch with their local customers.
Businesses are allowed two posts per month, which when published instantly reach all neighbors that live within 2 miles of your location. And perhaps most enticing of all, they are free for businesses to use.
In the webinar, McMahon shared proven, data-backed best practices for businesses to consider when creating a business post, including:
- Get at least 5 recommendations
- Post between the hours of 5-7 pm
- Plan to post on Thursdays and Fridays as members are looking for things to do on the weekend
- Post every other week
- Add photos that best represent your business.
How Rio Partners with Nextdoor
When managing hundreds or thousands of locations at scale on Nextdoor, it becomes challenging to maintain the integrity of your brand. Rio SEO enables you to ensure your business information is accurate and always up to date. This information includes your:
- Business name
- Business address
- Phone number
- Website
- Hours of operation
- Visual aspects of your listing, such as your cover photo and photos of your location
- Links for takeout, delivery, gift cards, or fundraisers
Interested in being found at the hyperlocal level with Nextdoor? Reach out to your Account Director to learn more about our evolving partnership today!
Watch the Webinar Now
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