Global Reach Adds Up to Hometown Gains for Businesses
Kelowna, British Columbia (PRWEB) July 14, 2013 -- "On the web, the whole concept of distance is strange," says James Shaw, partner of Twin Creek Media, a Kelowna web design and marketing company. In a year-to-date review of their clients' effectiveness in online marketing, distance plays a big factor—but not in the way one would expect.
"Distance is simultaneously important and totally irrelevant," Shaw continues. “One’s physical proximity to a retail store or restaurant is very important to locals when deciding where to go. From a digital marketing point of view, Google cares about local criteria as well. But our experience managing SEO (search engine optimization) campaigns for clients has shown that Google ranking, which is a major driver of business for many companies, is greatly affected by efforts to become known beyond the hometown bubble.”
Most local companies want to be in the cream of the crop in their category: one of the top hair salons, the top garden centres, the top dentists—you name it. Those same local business owners sometimes forget about the rest of the world because it doesn’t seem relevant. After all, if you own a store in Calgary, why would you care about shoppers in Vancouver, let alone Malaysia? In the 1800s maybe it wouldn’t matter very much. Distance dictated buying decisions. People used terms like, “walking distance”, “a few nights travel”, or “months on a steamer to get there”.
Well, it’s 2013, and the world is a global village due to the internet. Physical proximity has no bearing on the person watching a video on YouTube from Finland, or the popular Alabama blog that just referenced the website.
“But both of these actions affect your website,” says Shaw, “Which in turn affects your business—locally.”
Now, more than ever, local business success is tied to their digital footprint (think: reviews, ratings, listings, comments, views, profiles—all of their owned web properties). What happens online translates into real dollars gained or lost on the local level. What hasn’t changed are the fundamentals of what makes any business succeed: a healthy balance of supply and demand, good staff, happy customers, and positive cash flow.
There is an odd relationship between a company’s global brand and its local brand. Putting effort into communications channels that aren’t geographically restricted like YouTube videos, Facebook conversations, Twitter mentions, Pinterest photos, and national press releases are a valuable part of marketing a local business. The best tactics are different for each business, but the trickle down effect that happens is powerful.
Thomas Berger, Technical Director at the Kelowna web design studio, explains, “By putting some effort into your global branding, your local sales will often see a boost.”
As a marketing company in Kelowna, BC, Twin Creek Media builds many websites for businesses across Canada. When an online marketing campaign is started after a new website launch, the results are dramatic.
“A website is a great start, but by itself, it’s not enough for global reach”, says Berger. One of their clients, The Greenery Garden Centre has benefitted from a strong online presence. Even though the garden centre only sells locally, about 40,000 global video views and a Facebook “fan club” of 2500+ have had a measurable impact on weekly sales.
“Management at the garden centre still joke that a week of rain has even more impact on sales, but we’re talking about factors within our control!”
Similar results have been experienced by a local Kelowna dentist who publishes educational articles online each week.
“Google takes notice of the companies who are out there generating original content that people care about,” says Shaw. “When it comes to ranking on the world’s number one search engine, getting Google’s attention is a good thing.”
Twin Creek Media routinely sees a 100-300% growth in web traffic when a company ranks on page one of Google for their specific products or services. These increases translate into more phone calls, more foot traffic, and ultimately more sales. Global reach truly adds up to hometown gains.
From planning to production to promotion, Twin Creek Media has helped hundreds of businesses boost site traffic and sales. Recently, Twin Creek Media shot Best Western Kelowna’s website up to Google’s first page for “kelowna hotels” and have produced a set of entertaining tourism videos for YouTube. For the University of British Columbia Okanagan, the team is developing a fun, interactive marketing campaign for the Library to engage students, faculty, and the community.
For more information, please contact:
James Shaw
Creative Director/CEO
250-762-4001
james(at)twincreekmedia(dot)com
http://www.twincreekmedia.com
James Shaw, Twin Creek Media - Kelowna Web Design & Marketing, http://www.twincreekmedia.com/, 250-762-4001, [email protected]
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