EggZack Hyperlocal Marketing Interview

“Post it Once, Get it Everywhere”… HYPERLOCALLY
This is the promise of the new online service, EggZack.com, which just launched its national service on January 13th. If there is one thing small business owners need more than customers, it’s TIME to get more customers.

I decided to ask Rick Morrison, co-founder of EggZack.com, for some of his thoughts and about his company’s hyperlocal marketing tools for local business owners across the country.

Rick, can you tell us a bit about your background and how EggZack came to be. I understand you guys were already involved in hyperlocal marketing in New Jersey so I’m interested in your experience and the opportunity you see.

Rick Morrison: EggZack.com started as an online newspaper for local news and events. As we started working with small businesses to get their content online, we realized that there was a much larger problem. Many small businesses were completely overwhelmed by the internet, and weren’t taking advantage of it as a marketing tool. We were asking them to post their content on our online newspaper, but they weren’t even posting it to their own website or social networks. Their online marketing appeared very uncoordinated, which is why we stood back and decided to look at the problem from scratch. {{{0}}}

The result is the new EggZack.com platform. We created a tool where small businesses can post their content once and we post it everywhere, and then they can track how many people read it and from which sources.

For example, you could post an event. First, we would host the article on our site in a way that is optimized for search engines. We then post it on their social networks, like Twitter and Facebook. We post it on their website and blog. We can also automatically email the event to their customers, or provide an RSS feed. We even send the event to other hyperlocal online newspapers and event listings that we have partnerships with, in order to maximize our customer’s exposure.

What do you see as the biggest mistake made by local advertisers in trying to reach their audience?

Rick Morrison: The biggest mistake local advertisers make is that they are not sending messages that are helpful to their customers. People want to know what’s going on, but they don’t want to be constantly bombarded with product marketing. As a business owner, you know a lot about a subject that can help your customers, share that knowledge. Help them understand more about your area where possible. If you’re selling wine, try hosting wine classes. If you’re an accountant, send out regular newsletters detailing changes in the tax code. The key is to be genuine and helpful, and the customers will appreciate you and your company more.

Do local business owners really need a website and if so what purpose should it serve?

Rick Morrison: Businesses definitely need a website. Customers expect companies to have one, and usually it’s the first thing they look for when trying to find out more about a business. Although social media is taking off, a small business’s website is still their best marketing tool. It’s the one place where small businesses can fully control their message.

It’s important that the website is kept up-to-date, which doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming. With EggZack.com, small businesses can optionally host their websites on our system. When they post an article, it automatically appears on their website. We’ve also created an easy interface so that the business owner can go in there and easily add new pages and edit existing ones.

How much energy should local business owners put into promoting themselves online? (1 hour a day?)

Rick Morrison: Local business owners definitely need to promote themselves online. It’s important to get their message to interested and potential customers. The problem is that customers all have different online habits. Some may prefer to follow local businesses on Twitter or Facebook. Others may want to subscribe to an email list. Getting your message out in all of these different mediums can be time consuming, and that’s part of why we created EggZack.com. Small business owners don’t have to worry about posting their content everywhere, they post it once and we get it to the places where their customers will read it.

Once business owners have figured out how they are going to broadcast their message, the next part is to actually develop newsworthy messages. That means, focusing on your customers and your business. Sponsor charity events and write about them. Host a scholarship and write about it. Host an open mic night and write about it. Offer a special on widget X or service Y.

Isn’t word of mouth still best for local advertising and promotion?

Rick Morrison: Word of mouth will always be the best way to promote your business locally. That is why it is important to keep your existing customers up to date on your latest news, events, specials, etc. To do this, you have to keep them informed in whatever way is most convenient for them, whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, email, RSS, or through your website.

Today’s word of mouth is often spread online. For example, when a user RSVPs for your event on Facebook, the attendees friends will see this. When you post an event on EggZack.com, it gets posted properly as an event on your business’s Facebook Page. If a user reads an article and wants to share it, we provide several different sharing options by email, Twitter, Digg, Facebook, etc. We are constantly adding new sharing mechanisms as they become available so that our customers have less to worry about.

What about Google local and/or paid advertising, do you think this really works?

I think online targeted advertising like Google Adwords can be effective, but it can end up costing them a lot of money and time. Before investing in targeted advertising, a small business should start with a solid website, one that is optimized for search engines. They should then start getting involved with their existing customers, connect to them on social networks and through email newsletters. These things will get exposure and can help spread word of mouth.

Once they have the lower hanging fruit, then I think it makes sense to get involved with Google AdWords and other paid advertising in an attempt to get people to your website and to your news.

Three tips to making twitter work for your local business?

Regularly search for your business’s name to see what people are saying, and address any unhappy customers.

Make sure that your posts are helpful, not just promotional marketing. Also, be creative: if you’re having a slow day, do something like announce a sale that expires at the end of the day.

Don’t just post, but also follow and be engaged with your customers. And follow other local businesses; you’ll see how they’re using twitter and you’ll learn about the community you’re working in.

What about developing a mailing list.. any thoughts on this?

Mailing lists are a great way to keep customers informed. Make sure it’s opt-in only, and anytime you talk to a customer ask them if they want to be added. Make it easy for your users to unsubscribe from the list. Also, make the information helpful and informational, not just promotional.

EggZack.com offers Email Newsletter functionality. With any mailing, the business owner can include any content that they posted on our site. We’re very focused on helping business owners maximize their exposure using all means necessary, and this includes Email Newsletters.

EggZack post it once get it everywhere… sounds good… anything else you want to share with us. Or insider secrets :)

Rick Morrison: We’re really focused on helping small businesses market using the internet. Jon, our CEO, and I have both spent our entire lives working with small businesses. Helping them is something we both feel very strongly about, and is something that has driven EggZack.com to date.

Everyday we’re incorporating new outlets where posts will be sent, in an attempt to get as much exposure for our customers as possible. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or are curious about whether or not EggZack.com can help you and your business.

Learn More At: http://www.EggZack.com