5 Ways Social Media Can Help Your Directory Website Business
Published on November 18, 2021. Updated on December 26, 2022.
Social media is one of the most powerful tools you can use to grow your directory website business. Whether you’re looking to drive traffic to your site or find potential advertisers, there are so many people you could reach; it’s incredible.
According to Statista, here’s how many people are active on social media as of July 2022:
This is very good news for you because as an entrepreneur, you have an exciting opportunity to grow your business by tapping into this huge audience. Even if you only got a small percentage of this online crowd to visit your site or buy directory listings from you, this would make a really big difference in your business. When you use social media the right way, it can make a huge impact on your bottom line.
If you currently run a directory website or are looking to get started with Ideal Directories, here are 5 ways social media can really help your directory business:
1. Gain Brand Awareness
When you utilize social media for your directory website, you have so many opportunities to make your brand known to a massive number of people. The more social media platforms and other places (online and offline) that prospective clients can find you, the better.
You can start off by creating a social media profile page branded for your local directory. Add your logo, a few photos and a link to your directory site. Ask friends to like and follow you and encourage others to visit your page. Then you’ll want to develop a schedule for consistently posting relevant content to get noticed. Try to post at least once a week.
Also make sure that you’re posting valuable content. Mention or feature upcoming local events, money-saving coupons, small business marketing tips, videos, and anything else your audience would appreciate. Try to avoid making every post a sales pitch, because if all you are doing is trying to sell on social media, then you will have very few followers (and prospective clients). After a while of consistently posting valuable content, people will start taking notice of you. This will also help drive traffic to your directory website.
2. Build Trust and Credibility
If you just recently launched your directory business website, then chances are that not too many people have heard of you. This includes businesses who might be skeptical about advertising on your site. When you approach a business owner about advertising on your site, there’s a good chance they might try to do some research first, before making a buying decision. This includes “googling” your brand name and browsing the search results. You’ll want to be ready for this.
By having active social media accounts, this will not only help you come up in search results, but it will also show that you’re a legitimate business and help earn their trust. At a minimum, you should have a Facebook profile and an Instagram profile in place. Having social media accounts in place with valuable content will really help you build that know, like, and trust factor with your prospects.
3. Attract Potential Advertisers
By staying active on social media, you’re able to connect with local business owners who might be interested in advertising on your directory. According to Forbes, being generous with your knowledge and expertise can really help attract new clients. Many people make the mistake of only sharing valuable content with email subscribers. Before people will join your email list or buy from you, however, they have to get to know you a little bit.
Post content that potential advertisers will find interesting. Whether it's a small business marketing tip, the benefits of advertising on your directory, or a testimonial from another advertiser, these can all help attract and engage other businesses in your area. Staying active on social media creates a new sales channel and offers advertisers a way to contact you to learn more about your directory.
Social media contests can also be a free or inexpensive way to attract potential advertisers. These can help increase your social media following and generate quality leads for your directory business. For instance, you could create a drawing where one lucky winner will get their first month’s listing free. Let’s say 50 local business owners enter into the drawing. While you would pick one winner, you now have 49 other prospective clients in your database. If you continue to serve them with valuable content while educating them on the benefits of a listing, there is a very good chance they’ll buy when they’re ready.
4. Drive Traffic to Your Site
Social media is a great way to drive relevant traffic to your site. One of the best tips is to post content on a consistent basis and include a link to your directory. As long as you lead with value and give visitors a reason to visit your directory, you can receive a lot of organic traffic from social media.
If you’re looking to get more customers to your website, share some of the most popular coupons with a link to view more. You can also spotlight some of the new businesses who are listed on your directory and use social media to promote upcoming events featured on your site.
Over the course of time, the quantity and consistency of your social media postings can get search engines to index your content. As major search engines index more and more of your content, you can look forward to more people visiting your social media posts and ultimately your site. It can often take months for your content to get indexed and displayed, so you’ll have to treat this like a marathon rather than a 100 yard dash.
5. It Can Save You Money
Traditional forms of marketing such as television ads, radio ads, and different forms of print can get very expensive. On the other hand, social media can be both the most effective and free to use. In addition to being more cost effective, it is very easy to quantify and tweak your social media outreach results. This will help you get the most bang for your buck with social media.
You can save marketing dollars by focusing your efforts on social media. While running ads (online or offline) requires an investment of money, social media requires mostly time and energy from you. It’s up to you whether you want to invest money or invest time and energy in generating more leads and acquiring new clients.
Final Thoughts...
Social media is a tool that every business should be utilizing, and when you’re running a local business directory website, it’s a perfect fit. It checks all the boxes, all while being free! You can use social media to gain awareness, build trust, attract advertisers, and drive traffic to your site, all while being mostly or entirely free! As long as you’re willing to put in the time and energy, social media can help you generate more leads and ultimately gain more clients for your directory business, so get started on it today.
Social media is one of the most powerful tools you can use to grow your directory website business. Whether you’re looking to drive traffic to your site or find potential advertisers, there are so many people you could reach; it’s incredible.
According to Statista, here’s how many people are active on social media as of July 2022:
- Facebook - 2.9 billion
- YouTube - 2.5 billion
- WhatsApp - 2 billion
- Instagram - 1.4 billion
- TikTok - 1 billion
- Facebook Messenger - 988 million
This is very good news for you because as an entrepreneur, you have an exciting opportunity to grow your business by tapping into this huge audience. Even if you only got a small percentage of this online crowd to visit your site or buy directory listings from you, this would make a really big difference in your business. When you use social media the right way, it can make a huge impact on your bottom line.
If you currently run a directory website or are looking to get started with Ideal Directories, here are 5 ways social media can really help your directory business:
1. Gain Brand Awareness
When you utilize social media for your directory website, you have so many opportunities to make your brand known to a massive number of people. The more social media platforms and other places (online and offline) that prospective clients can find you, the better.
You can start off by creating a social media profile page branded for your local directory. Add your logo, a few photos and a link to your directory site. Ask friends to like and follow you and encourage others to visit your page. Then you’ll want to develop a schedule for consistently posting relevant content to get noticed. Try to post at least once a week.
Also make sure that you’re posting valuable content. Mention or feature upcoming local events, money-saving coupons, small business marketing tips, videos, and anything else your audience would appreciate. Try to avoid making every post a sales pitch, because if all you are doing is trying to sell on social media, then you will have very few followers (and prospective clients). After a while of consistently posting valuable content, people will start taking notice of you. This will also help drive traffic to your directory website.
2. Build Trust and Credibility
If you just recently launched your directory business website, then chances are that not too many people have heard of you. This includes businesses who might be skeptical about advertising on your site. When you approach a business owner about advertising on your site, there’s a good chance they might try to do some research first, before making a buying decision. This includes “googling” your brand name and browsing the search results. You’ll want to be ready for this.
By having active social media accounts, this will not only help you come up in search results, but it will also show that you’re a legitimate business and help earn their trust. At a minimum, you should have a Facebook profile and an Instagram profile in place. Having social media accounts in place with valuable content will really help you build that know, like, and trust factor with your prospects.
3. Attract Potential Advertisers
By staying active on social media, you’re able to connect with local business owners who might be interested in advertising on your directory. According to Forbes, being generous with your knowledge and expertise can really help attract new clients. Many people make the mistake of only sharing valuable content with email subscribers. Before people will join your email list or buy from you, however, they have to get to know you a little bit.
Post content that potential advertisers will find interesting. Whether it's a small business marketing tip, the benefits of advertising on your directory, or a testimonial from another advertiser, these can all help attract and engage other businesses in your area. Staying active on social media creates a new sales channel and offers advertisers a way to contact you to learn more about your directory.
Social media contests can also be a free or inexpensive way to attract potential advertisers. These can help increase your social media following and generate quality leads for your directory business. For instance, you could create a drawing where one lucky winner will get their first month’s listing free. Let’s say 50 local business owners enter into the drawing. While you would pick one winner, you now have 49 other prospective clients in your database. If you continue to serve them with valuable content while educating them on the benefits of a listing, there is a very good chance they’ll buy when they’re ready.
4. Drive Traffic to Your Site
Social media is a great way to drive relevant traffic to your site. One of the best tips is to post content on a consistent basis and include a link to your directory. As long as you lead with value and give visitors a reason to visit your directory, you can receive a lot of organic traffic from social media.
If you’re looking to get more customers to your website, share some of the most popular coupons with a link to view more. You can also spotlight some of the new businesses who are listed on your directory and use social media to promote upcoming events featured on your site.
Over the course of time, the quantity and consistency of your social media postings can get search engines to index your content. As major search engines index more and more of your content, you can look forward to more people visiting your social media posts and ultimately your site. It can often take months for your content to get indexed and displayed, so you’ll have to treat this like a marathon rather than a 100 yard dash.
5. It Can Save You Money
Traditional forms of marketing such as television ads, radio ads, and different forms of print can get very expensive. On the other hand, social media can be both the most effective and free to use. In addition to being more cost effective, it is very easy to quantify and tweak your social media outreach results. This will help you get the most bang for your buck with social media.
You can save marketing dollars by focusing your efforts on social media. While running ads (online or offline) requires an investment of money, social media requires mostly time and energy from you. It’s up to you whether you want to invest money or invest time and energy in generating more leads and acquiring new clients.
Final Thoughts...
Social media is a tool that every business should be utilizing, and when you’re running a local business directory website, it’s a perfect fit. It checks all the boxes, all while being free! You can use social media to gain awareness, build trust, attract advertisers, and drive traffic to your site, all while being mostly or entirely free! As long as you’re willing to put in the time and energy, social media can help you generate more leads and ultimately gain more clients for your directory business, so get started on it today.
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