Let’s talk today about how joining your local chamber of commerce can actually help your online marketing efforts.
What? What did he just say? Joining the chamber of commerce helps my online marketing?
Yes, it’s true! I’m going to go over three ways joining the chamber of commerce can actually benefit your online marketing efforts.
1. The directory itself:
When people move to a new city, often they look to their local chamber of commerce for goods and services. They’re new, they don’t know anyone, so they’re looking for a new dentist, a new person to cut their grass, etc. If you have your listing in the online chamber of commerce directory, then you’re one of the resources they can call and research to see if you’re going to be the right fit for them. And that leads me into the second benefit of joining the chamber of commerce …
2. SEO:
This stands for search engine optimization, and it’s the ability to be found online, in searches such as Google, so that when someone types in “lawn care service in Allen” you’ll show up. You get this benefit when you join the local chamber because Google recognizes local directories and local chambers as being reputable sites. The more websites of value that you have your website listed on, the higher your website is going to rank. Now, I want to be clear—if you go and join your local chamber and put your website on there, you’re not going to magically be number one in the search engines! There are several other factors that go into your ranking, but this will be one ranking factor you can check off. We can definitely sit down with you and talk about those other things you can do—it’s part of the service we offer! But by joining your local chamber you are going to get a high-quality local link and that will help when people search in your area.
3. Networking:
This is probably the most important benefit. I’m a proud member of the Allen-Fairview chamber and the McKinney Chamber, and it’s really helped my business grow through word of mouth. When you go to the meetings and meet people, they start to follow you on Facebook, and like your Facebook pages, and follow you on Twitter, and so on. You’re going to start to grow your network organically through people that you meet.
When you build relationships through the chamber, you also will start exchanging services with other business owners. When you go to the networking groups, the ribbon cuttings, the after-hours events, you’ll really get to know people. They’ll start to trust you and use your services. Typically these are the people who will want to review you. They see you all the time, you give them great service—they’re happy to help you out by giving you a good review! And the more reviews you get online the better your business looks online.
It’s a slow process but you can grow organically because these people know you. When you like their page typically they’re going to reciprocate that. It’s just another way to grow your sphere of influence online, by those in-person relationships.
So those are three reasons why as a business owner you should really consider joining your local chamber of commerce. It will help your business in person, but also it will really benefit your online marketing efforts as well!
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