If your business operates in a limited geographic area adding a hyper-local component to your tweets is far more valuable for your customers and for you.
Six simple ways to optimize your twitter stream for a local audience:
- Create a #hashtag with your city and product (#oaklandcoffee)
- GeoTag your tweets (learn how to automatically GeoTag tweets in dlvr.it)
- Add location as a prefix or suffix (i.e. Joe’s San Francisco: 50% off Lattes)
- Be certain your bio on Twitter includes your location
- Organize a tweetup at your business. Learn more about successful tweetups
- Encourage guests to check-in using a location based service like FourSquare
Bonus, #7
Whether you’re the local butcher, the baker or the candlestick maker, become the go to twitter account in your community by adding local content to your twitter stream. Use a tool like dlvr.it to feed useful information including local events, local entertainment, local news and weather. Relate the content to your business vs. just pouring into your twitter stream.
- Use a site a like Topix.com to find relevant local news to share. In dlvr.it, add the RSS feed as a route and set-up filters to get pull out the most relevant content for your audience.
- Follow local twitter users. Invite them into your business. They are also a good source of local information.
- Add a weather feed and relate the weather back to your business. If you’re a coffee shop, mention on a cold day that you have warm pastries and freshly brewed coffee for only $x.xx to keep you warm inside.
Are you a small business serving a local community? Tell us your twitter success stories and we’ll highlight your story on our blog.
About Bill Flitter
