How to run a social media profile for a local business [9 examples of posts]

Why should local businesses run a business fan page?

Good or bad, social media is partially replacing real life. What used to take place face-to-face has moved to social media platforms. Therefore, social media posts play a crucial role in creating the brand image of a local business over more traditional approaches like word of mouth.

Given these factors, social media profiles are indispensable to local marketing. When running a company fan page, it’s good to have a strategy and establish the direction you want to pursue with skillful communication. So, let's see what you can use properly built profiles for.

Building trust among your audience

Global businesses often have it easier in this area. Aside from the amount of advertising, the sheer size of a business can cultivate trust. 

For example, when we see the Starbucks logo, we don't worry about getting an undrinkable cup of coffee, even if we don't expect a "high-end" product. But it’s different for local coffee shops where customers might not know what to expect, so they are more likely to search and visit the Facebook or Instagram profile of the establishment.

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Regularly publishing relevant content that showcases the business's offerings, familiarizes the audience with the service, or simply entertains them while creating positive associations can help businesses break the trust barrier.

Information about the offer

A fan page is an ideal tool to let customers know about the latest products, promotions, events, or changes. This gives current and potential customers easy access to all information about a business's offer and allows them to stay up to date.

When looking for a specialized product or service, customers often pay more attention to information about a specific product than to the fact that a site offers products in a particular category. Communicating specifications and applications can also spark a customer's interest in a particular item you offer.

Building ties with the local community

Social media allows you to interact with your local community on a completely different, more personal level. Sharing photos of daily business activities or commenting on posts are just some of the ways to build ties with the local community. Posting on Facebook is also a good tool for communicating changes in a business's opening hours or availability to local customers.

Ties can also be built through direct communication, and the way you communicate shows, for example, your business's unique perspective on the local community.

Building a business's reputation

Satisfied customers are eager to share positive reviews, which are an invaluable source of publicity. However, reputation can be built in many ways. A customer’s perception of a business is also influenced by the community engagement under posts, the regularity and quality of content, and whether the business has appeared in the media.

Engaging the community under posts

Social media provides opportunities to engage audiences, which is key to keeping their attention. The possibility to comment, share content, or even run contests, engages the community and encourages them to continue following the business profile.

How to run a company fan page for a local business – the basics

Success on social media is not only crucial for the growth of a local business but also for maintaining relationships with customers. Here are some guidelines to help you effectively run your local business fan page:

Maintain a consistent graphic style

IIn creating an online brand image, maintaining a consistent graphic style is key. This includes your choice of colors, font types, and photo style. Visual consistency affects your brand recognition and allows you to stand out from the competition.

Try to keep your content diverse

Use a variety of post formats. Diverse content makes your fan page more interesting for your audience. Use a variety of formats, such as text posts, photos, videos, quizzes, etc., to increase audience engagement and interest. 

Your posts can also vary in nature. They can be informative, advertising, humorous – there are many themes you can use.

Don't forget about Google Business Profile posts

For a local business, Google Business Profile posts are extremely important. They help increase the visibility of your business in Google search results, show news related to your business, and can attract new customers.

Localo can help you create a strong business profile on Google and Facebook, allowing you to publish posts on both platforms simultaneously and plan your communications in advance, saving you time.

Publish regularly

Regularly publishing is key to maintaining an active community on Facebook. Try to create a publication schedule that will give the impression that there is a lot going on in your business. The algorithms of platforms such as Facebook also look favorably on profiles that publish new content on a regular basis.

An AI-powered post manager in Localo will help you keep your profile updated regularly – with our post scheduler you can plan and publish posts in advance in both Google Business Profile and Facebook page.

Respond to comments and build audience engagement

Don't forget that social media is a two-way street. By responding to comments and encouraging further interaction, you will build a stronger community around your brand. You'll also learn what customers think about your business, allowing you to better align your communications and offers to their needs.

Just showing that your audience's opinions and comments matter can act as an incentive to potential customers.

Examples of social media posts for local business

Present the team

Show the faces that build your business day after day. This could be a photo from a weekly team meeting or a short video introducing the team members. If your communication style is direct and the profile has already gathered a loyal audience, an interesting idea for a post could be to introduce yourself as the person who creates the content for the business.

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Business history

Tell the story of your business, how it started, and its most important moments. This is another way to show the experience you have in providing your customers with certain products and services.

Reviews from former customers

Share positive customer reviews. This can be a screenshot of a written review or a short video of a review. By doing so, you'll show that you read the feedback that customers leave and listen to what they have to say. Most importantly, reviews from existing customers often have a big impact on the purchasing decisions of new customers.

Tips and Advice

Share valuable tips and advice related to your industry. Sharing your knowledge will not only influence the value of your profile to followers but will also show you as an expert in your field, building your brand's reputation.

New product/service

If you are introducing a new product or service, try to present the news to potential customers with details, the price, and even offer a special promotion or discount for first-time customers.

Occasional posts

A public holiday, the start of a summer vacation, or simply a birthday for your business is the perfect opportunity to create a post tailored to the occasion.

"Behind the scenes".

Show what goes on behind the scenes of your business. This can be a video or photos of products, employees in action, or even an ordinary day at the office.

Contests

Organizing contests is a great way to increase engagement. Well-constructed contests allow you to gain new reach, showcase your offerings, and create interesting content for your audience.

Reaction voting

Reaction voting is an amazingly engaging type of posting. In practice, you are presenting your audience with several options and asking them to express their opinions by using specific reaction emojis. This method doesn't require a lot of effort from your audience, hence they willingly take part.

Plan your social media messaging with Localo

Localo can help you create engaging content on your social media profiles. Among other things, our app can help you:

• schedule posts and set up automatic publications
• create engaging content with the help of artificial intelligence
• publish content on Google Business Profile and your Facebook page simultaneously with a single click
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Learn more about Localo's post publishing feature >>>

Summing up

Everything boils down to making the social media and Google Business Profile posts you publish as diverse and appealing to your community and their needs as possible. The above examples are a great starting point for any local business. 

Just remember to be authentic - that's the key to creating a strong connection with your local community.

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