Many local businesses turn to digital marketing to increase online sales or foot traffic to their stores (or both).

And many online marketers who work with local businesses often look for new ways to boost Web traffic and online visibility.

So here is an easy-to-implement idea for boosting the online visibility of a local business.

Get a social media plan

Some smaller local businesses say they don’t have the time to do social media.

But here is the thing: A small business owner does not even have to juggle 15 social media accounts at once. Pick just a couple—or even just one—social platform you’re comfortable with, and use it for two-way communication with your customers.

The entire point of a local business having social media presence is the ability to gather and quickly react to feedback from clients online.

Not to mention that being on social media helps you spread the word.

  • For example. There is a specialty food store in my area, and a young employee there (most likely a family member of the store owner) would repeatedly prompt me to follow the business on Facebook:

“Oh, did you know we were on Facebook?” she’d say. “Here is the address. You can ask us if we cater small events, about our prices, etc. I usually reply right away when I’m here at the store.”

I loved her approach! I think the young woman does not even know what a good marketer she is. She told me not only what that Facebook account was for but also that she handle it and how fast I should expect her to reply.

How can you find the perfect social network for your business?

First off, think of what network most of your clients or customers would use. For example, if you are a pest control service, setting up a Pinterest account may not be your best bet.

Second, to check whether your guess is right, look for online statistics to figure out where your target audiences hang out on social media.

For example, I just searched for “Facebook user demographics” and discovered that, according to Pew Research:

  • Of all Web users, 67% use Facebook.
  • 86% of people between the age of 18 and 29 use Facebook, while that number is only 35% for users who are 65+ years old.
  • The share of rural Facebook user is 9% lower than the share of urban Facebook users.

So, there is often a possibility to find out where your ideal audience is most likely to be found.