Helping Your Temecula Business Through Social Media
 Social networking has completely transformed the way people communicate with one another. Phone calls are passed over for text messages, handshakes have been replaced by video meetings over Skype and social networking is now one of the most used avenues people stay in contact with friends and family members. Information is shared freely and openly on these social networking channels, giving people a forum to tell their circle of friends and family where a good local restaurant is, what type of clothing stores have the best deals and where the local hot spots are come Saturday night. Many small businesses quickly saw this changing trend and the value social marketing could offer as a way of staying connected with the customer, something that is widely recognized as a key component in both the short and long term success of a business. Today, the most used social networking website is Facebook. With an estimated 800,000 plus registered users, Facebook dominates the social scene, making it critical that every company create a business page on the social networking platform. Here are the top 5 reasons your Temecula Valley company must have a Facebook business page!
1. Keep An Interested Audience Updated
One of the best things about company Facebook pages is that a user must “like” the page in order to follow it. This means that people who push that little thumbs up “like” button are an interested audience who generally care about what your business is doing. This gives your business a strategic advantage because you already know that the audience wants to to hear your companies’ voice. Let them know if you plan on offering a Temecula coupon for 50% off entry to your comedy club, a buy one get one free offer on drinks at your sports pub or a daily deal for wine tasting!
2. Brand Recognition
.jpg) Having people see your brand on a consistent basis is VERY important. This is the reason why companies such as Coke-Cola spend millions every year on commercials featured during all of the biggest sporting and television events. They don’t necessarily think you are going to jump off the couch to run out and buy a Coke when you see their ad, but rather want their product in your head as much as possible so when you do feel like a cold beverage the frequent exposure of their brand will make you more likely to purchase their product. This is actually a very big deal and something you can use to help your Temecula area business. This is because of the news feed feature that publishes that a user “liked” your company page. This allows all of that user’s friends to see that they are a fan of your company, creating a small level of viral marketing. Also, once a person has “liked” the company page, every time your business posts a photo, update or contest, that information will appear in that user’s news feed. This keeps your brand in their face and on their mind. For example, when they see your plumbing companies’ update in their news feed they might not think anything of it, but if/when they need a plumber your company might be the first thing they think of!
3. Developing Relationships
The key word in social marketing is social. That means if you plan on simply creating a business page for your business just because this article tells you to then you won’t find much success in your marketing campaign. The goal of posts and updates on your Facebook company page is to engage the audience so they care about what you say and do. If you flood their news feed with non-sense or nothing at all they will unlike your page faster than they “liked” it! Use the company Facebook page to send updates to followers about new products offered at your store, entertainers performing at your restaurant, local events your company is participating in, discounts coming up and stuff that generally interests the audience. The goal is to develop long-term relationships with your audience. Let them see you are a small business that cares about the Temecula Valley and the local community. If your restaurant only purchases produce from the local farmer’s market at the Promenade Mall that is something many foodies will find interesting. If your company gives 10% of all sales made on a charity day to “Animal Friends Of The Valley” that is something many animal lovers might want to support. Let the people know what you are doing and take the time to respond to messages, comments or likes!
4. Low Cost Marketing
Social networking websites offer their services for free, making them one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies available to small businesses. The only thing a Temecula Valley business needs to do is first create a personal account (which they probably already have), and then spend a few minutes inputting all the relevant company information. This should include a link to the company website, directions to the store front location, a company logo, contact information and any relevant photos showcasing what the business can offer in terms of services or products. For example, a local bar such as The Shamrock will have photos that emphasize food and atmosphere, whereas a local make-up artist or hairstylist should have photos showing actual work on past clients. However, it is VERY important to choose the photos you upload wisely because they are part of your brand identity. That means spending a small amount of marketing dollars to hire a local photographer in Temecula to professionally photograph products, services or atmosphere. A picture is worth a thousand words and you do NOT want blurry pictures of your business captured on a smart phone using an Instagram filter!
5. Online Identity
Many small businesses in the Temecula Valley do not require the presence of a store front location because they are on-the-go or online businesses. Examples of these types of companies can include DJs, dog groomers, handymen, e-commerce and more. These small businesses just starting out should first create a Facebook page and have as many of their friends as possible “like” and share that page. This will help get your companies’ name out there while you build your website or blog, depending on the type of services you offer. The Facebook company page can be used as your first method to essentially announce to the community that you are available and open for business! However, it is critical that any company, regardless if they do not plan on having a store front operation, develop a website with a frequently updated blog! Your online identity is important and should be and feel professional! If you want people to respect your business identity you need to create a business that does not have a gmail address for outbound/incoming emails, or website that appears it was designed in 1984 by the people at Atari. Facebook company pages are also indexed on all search engines, making your company page likely to show up via search engine results placement (SERP)!
Additional Info
Make certain when you are setting up the company page that you don’t set it up as a personal page. Take the time to read blogs or Facebook FAQ so that the company page created is developed correctly. Also, make certain that you, the business owner, is the primary admin and that the business page is under your personal account! Facebook company pages CANNOT be transferred so don’t let a friend, family member or marketing director at your company create the company page under their personal account. Having complete control over your business page is important! Last but not least, have fun, be social and let your personality shine!
How Customer Emails Can Help Your Temecula Business
 Staying connected with the customer. As easy as it may sound, staying connected with the customer is one of the biggest challenges facing small businesses. Although the rise of social networking platforms such as Google Plus, Twitter and others have allowed businesses to more effectively communicate with a larger audience, many social networking sites such as Facebook filter content. For example, if a local Mexican restaurant in the Temecula Valley worked to get 3,000 Facebook likes, roughly 10% (300) of those who liked that page would see updates about that business in their news feed. This is something that agitates many small business owners who spend so much time building their social networks, only to have Facebook hide information in a ploy to force small businesses to pay for sponsored advertisements.
So what can a small business in the Temecula Valley do to keep customers interested in their products and services?
How can that small business make certain first time customers turn into repeat customers?
The answer is simple: staying connected with the customer. Social networking is one way small businesses stay connected with customers, but the best way a business can have direct dialogue with customers is through email. No matter what type of services or products your business offers, developing an email list or database of people interested in your special promotions, products and other deals will only help improve communication with the customer, resulting in more brand recognition, in-store traffic and sales.
Five Reasons For Email Marketing
1. Staying Ahead Of Social Trends
Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways of letting people interested in your products or services stay informed. In fact, those who use timely and well thought out email marketing campaigns state that they are more effective and have a far more significant impact on people than posts on social media websites. This is because with so many different social networking options available such as Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter to choose from what is popular today can be old hat tomorrow. And if their is one thing the once almighty MySpace taught the world it is that social networking trends can change quicker than fashion trends. The last thing a small business would want to do is spend enormous amounts of time building a marketing strategy tied into a social networking website that could one day simply not be “cool”, or a more likely scenario, a social networking institute that changes user and privacy settings to force the small business into paid advertising. By filtering posts and having all content fall under a third parties’ guidelines of what is “appropriate”, many small businesses are losing their voice in the trend-driven social networking world.
2. Control The Voice of Your Business
Temecula businesses should certainly take advantage of any form of marketing that provides visibility for their brand, including social networking. However, when a business creates an email list or data base they have not only total access and ownership of that list, but also the message that will be contained in those email blasts. Having 100% control over the voice of your business is important because nobody knows your business better than you. For example, the message a Temecula wedding photographer wants to send their audience is going to be vastly different than the message a local GPS tracking system company wants to send their audience. That means the business can be as professional or provocative as they want to be without worrying about violating terms and conditions of a social networking site.
3. Reach A Interested Audience
Email marketing is not spam! If you are thinking about purchasing email lists after reading this then clearly you have missed the message trying to be delivered. Email marketing is essentially a permission based asset. That means people chose to let your businesses’ voice into their lives. This is a very big deal and responsibility that should be handled with care. When people sign up and give your business permission to communicate special offers and share any cool Temecula daily deals this means the person genuinely cares about your business and is far more likely to pay attention to what your business has to say. Therefore, if the person wants to hear about unique promotions or offers from your business why not share that information with interested audience? However, it is also important not to send them so many boring email promos that they will become numb to the email blasts. An interested audience can become uninterested very quickly!
4. Low Cost Visibility
Sending emails is free, and most people who check their inbox on a daily basis glance at each message as they determine what messages are important to them on that particular day. That means the worst case scenario is that the person who opted in to receive email promotions from your business will at least give your message a glance. If that message is unique and captivating the user will most certainly investigate further. What’s even better is that their are many email management companies such as MailChimp that will blast your message to the inbox of your audience for free. That means a small business in the Temecula Valley can essentially reach thousands of people at no cost! People on Facebook or other social sites often follow hundreds or even thousands of people and businesses, making any posts by your business likely buried in the social noise. Especially when your 10% off the next visit offer posted on Facebook is competing next to a post by the user’s friend talking about an engagement, birthday party or other personal event. At least in the inbox your business will have far less social competition!
5. Promote Yourself
Businesses spend so much money on expensive forms of advertisements, whether they be radio ads, television commercials or print advertisements in the mail. Think about it for a moment. Why are businesses spending money on these forms of advertisements? The answer in the simplest form is exposure. To promote the business in front of a large audience. Basically, the small business pays a large business to promote them. Email campaigns are great because they allow the small business to promote themselves without spending a single dime! With an email blast, a coffee shop can let its customers know about half off drink specials, restaurants can promote unique happy hour treats or day spas can let past clients know about daily treatment specials. The power is in the hands of the small business to promote what they want whenever they want to an audience that actually cares and is likely to spend their money!
Marketing your business is important, but marketing your business effectively and in a cost-responsible way should be primary concern number one. All marketing tools and avenues available should be utilized to promote your brand, and that is why it is so critical not to fall into a single model of promotion (i.e. Facebook). Social networking IS VERY IMPORTANT and SHOULD be used, but developing a solid email list for an email marketing campaign is equally if not more important. That means brainstorming clever ways to acquire emails through contests, giveaways etc. should always be on the mind of the business owner. Focus and attention should be made on a daily basis to the email marketing campaign and how to effectively build that email list. No matter what products or services your business offers, building an email list is a marketing must!
Marketing Your Business On A Budget
 Local companies throughout the Temecula Valley face a number of unique challenges due to the changes in the business landscape over the past decade. What was once an area where small businesses thrived and boosted the local economy has slowly became a region monopolized by corporate giants. These large companies headquartered in other states saw the opportunity the Temecula Valley offered and then used every tool to milk as much money from the area as possible. The majority of our restaurant and shopping choices are now operations with million dollar marketing budgets that can call upon television commercials, print advertisements and essentially anything they feel will reach the greatest audience possible. Money is no object to these big businesses and that puts the organic, locally owned and operated businesses at a disadvantage from the start.
How can a local hamburger joint compete with Outback Steakhouse, Red Robin, Claim Jumper or any of the other commercialized restaurant chains?
How can a local fashion boutique compete against Macy’s, Forever 21 or any of the other clothing stores that decorate the Promenade Mall?
The answer is better marketing. Offering products or experiences that are unique. Making the customer feel important so they return to your business, while also giving them value for their dollars. Enticing the people of Temecula and surrounding areas to spend money at your place by giving them a solid deal that is simply to good to pass up. This is part of the reason why daily deals have been on the rise, giving local companies an avenue to reach a broader audience while seducing consumers to spend more with bargain offers.
Breaking Down Daily Deals
The standard daily deal is delivered in the form of a voucher that is valid toward a specific service or item offered by a participating merchant. The average deal offers consumers roughly 50% off a product or service (for example $30 worth of Mexican food for $15). The promotional offer is typically presented trough a deal website such as TemecuLove that informs the community about these special offers via email, blog, Facebook and other social media. The daily deal process is simple:
- Merchant offers daily deal through TemecuLove
- Local consumers purchase daily deal from TemecuLove
- Customer prints voucher or has it sent to their mobile device
- Customer redeems voucher with merchant for discounted goods or services
TemecuLove is responsible for promoting the daily deal as well as collecting all money on sales. TemecuLove is also responsible for giving participating merchants with their revenue share and the codes associated with daily deal offers to track redemption. After the customer purchases the voucher through TemecuLove they will then bring in that digital or hard copy of the voucher to the merchant. The merchant will call in the redemption code and then be responsible for honoring the discounted products or services associated with that voucher. It’s all a very simple process for the merchants and an easy way to both get new customers while generating exposure!
Temecula Daily Deals: How They Help Businesses
Daily deals are great because they do not require any upfront cost from the merchant and provide a effortless way to receive massive exposure. Daily deals are a performance based form of marketing that allow the merchant to control how many deals they want to sell. Merchants are paid on the number of vouchers sold, receiving 50% of payment one week after the deal is no longer live with the remaining 50% coming one month later.
One of the most common reasons why Temecula businesses love opting to use daily deals as part of their marketing campaign is because of the heavy trending viral impact. People who invest in daily deals tend to tell friends and family members about those particular cost-savings deals, creating a storm of free word of mouth advertising. They will share offers on Facebook and other popular social networking avenues raving about the deal. This typically results in many more Temecula daily deals being sold. Not to mention, customers that redeem daily deal vouchers for goods or services often spend more than the actual voucher amount. This allows the local business to generate even more revenue that otherwise would not have come in.
Daily Deals: What The Statistics Show
- Four of five people investing in Temecula daily deals are classified as “new” customers
- Over two thirds of new customers return to a business they purchased a daily deal from in the past
- One of five daily deal vouchers never get redeemed or expire
- More than 3 out of 4 businesses will move forward with multiple daily deals for discounted goods and services as part of their marketing campaign
The statistics show daily deals can be a excellent marketing strategy for businesses seeking a cost-effective tool to increase profit and customer acquisition. With daily deal companies networked into the local scene such as TemecuLove who also work hands on to increase marketing and visibility efforts of Temecula Valley merchants, small businesses can be given the tools necessary to compete against the largest of companies.
Digital Advertising Success
One of the most significant challenges many small businesses face is developing a effective marketing strategy that helps get the word out about products or services offered. Gaining and holding the attention of the consumer so they shop at your establishment is the primary goal of most marketing plans, but implementing such a plan for many small businesses is simply not financially feasible. For example, a typical local restaurant in the Temecula Valley likely does not have the marketing budget for television, radio or billboard advertisements to draw the interest of the consumer. They usually have little to no residual finances available after normal operating costs to invest in marketing, and therefore often have to rely heavily on word of mouth advertisements. This can be a recipe for disaster, resulting in potential business death.
So what can businesses do when a large marketing budget isn’t an option? How can a business get exposure and reach a new audience without paying thousands of dollars for print ads or social media ads?
The answer is simple: Internet coupons.
Downloadable click and print Internet coupons are one very cost-effective way a business can increase both advertising and brand recognition. Basically, Internet coupons offer the same level of discounted goods to consumers as print ads, except the marketing investment is substantially lower than it would be for traditional mailer print ads. This can be advantageous to the merchant because not only are Internet coupons a low monetary commitment but they also keep your businesses’ name in front of consumers while enticing them to purchase goods or services. What’s even better is when a merchant creates a coupon so enticing it lures in customers who may have never even considered visiting that particular business in the first place. However, once the Internet coupon gets the customer in the door it then becomes the burden of the business to deliver a value or experience to turn that first-time customer into a repeat customer. This can even be accomplished by continually offering high-value Internet coupons, offering check-in discounts via Yelp or Facebook, or a simple accumulation of a mailing list to send out the hottest promotional offers throughout the year. Enticing the customer is critical because if the deal is almost too good to be true they will spend money they had no intention of spending. The business stays busy and money keeps on being generated.
The Cost Of Internet Coupons
Print ads, Google pay-per-click ads (PPC) or coupons in the local newspaper can be very expensive. First the coupon insertion fee could be hundreds or thousands of dollars, depending on the ad agency or newspaper selected, and the print coupon is only circulated for a limited time. Throw in the discounted cost of services or products and the end result could actually put the merchant in the negative. This simply does not make good business sense. Internet coupons provide the cost-effective alternative to this advertising dilemma because not only are they up to 90% cheaper than print ads, but the e-coupons can stay in circulation as long as the merchant chooses.
Putting a Internet coupon on your website is good, but it’s always best to supplement that by working with a local third party online coupon provider who specializes in things such as daily deals, gift cards or online coupons (assuming such a company exists in your area). These local online coupon companies are great at engaging their audience and keeping your businesses’ coupons relevant and alive. For example, TemecuLove, a Southern California coupon company that also offers Temecula deals, constantly uploads the latest local Internet coupons to their website. But the promotion of these local coupons doesn’t stop there. TemecuLove utilizes Facebook, twitter and Google Plus to engage their social networking audience in a fun way about the latest and coolest Internet coupons and deals, while also using e-mail blasts and numerous other avenues to reach the largest local audience possible. What really makes TemecuLove unique is how they work closely with local businesses and consumers to promote the “little guys”, while giving shoppers the best deals. The end result is a win-win for consumers and merchants, but the best part is the Internet coupons and promotion cost businesses less than $150 per year! With a low monthly fee coupled with additional marketing for your businesses’ Internet coupon, this is one easy and affordable method to help gain exposure.
Internet Coupons Offer Flexibility
Obviously, the main benefit of choosing Internet coupons is low cost, but another upside to opting for digital coupons over print coupons is flexibility. With print media once the ads or coupons are in circulation the merchant has no options or ability to make changes or modifications to those coupons. However, Internet coupons provide merchants the ability to make small or significant changes to the coupon campaign instantly! Merchants can quickly change terms and conditions, expiration dates, insert new graphics, introduce new coupons and more in real-time. The changes can be made in an instant giving the merchant the ultimate control over their Internet coupons.
Business has dramatically changed over the past ten years with the explosion of social networking, smart phones and overall consumer knowledge of technology products. Grandparents can now update their Facebook status or send tweets, people use their phones to navigate using GPS tracking and consumers now seek out bargains in ways other than walking to the mail box. Businesses need to make sure they are using modern marketing tools to increase exposure, brand recognition and of course profit. Internet coupons are the wave of the future as it is only a matter of time before clipping coupons is a thing of the past and consumers instead bring their smart phone devices to merchants to show digital coupons to receive discounted goods or services. Taking advantage of a marketing strategy that emphasizes Internet coupons will only help increase advertising and company exposure. With Internet coupons being affordable, flexible and an overall proven and effective form of marketing, smart businesses everywhere are getting on board with this next generation of marketing tactic.
Wiens Brewery Shows Temecula Is More Than Just Wine
For people living in Southern California the name Wiens usually evokes an image of a vineyard nestled away in the beautiful Temecula Valley. However, craft beer enthusiasts Ben and Pete Wiens are hoping in the not to distant future that vision will change. This is because the two men have literally went against the grain by moving away from the family wine business to create Wiens Brewery, and they believe the unique home brew style will make the name Wiens synonymous with world class brewery.
Pete and Ben come from a family that has built their name and reputation on producing some of the most popular wine in the Temecula Valley, but the passion that drives these guys is beer. Brewing has been a life passion for Pete and the reason why he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Fermentation Science from UC Davis while also spending the last 12 years making domestic lagers. When TemecuLove asked Pete about why they ditched the red and whites for lagers and IPAs he explained that he and Ben simply had the dream of opening their own brewery since 1995. Since the grand opening in November 2012 they are both very thrilled to have their dream come true and to create beer that is exciting while not being diluted with adjuncts. Pete stated, “We are part of the same family as the winery, but we’re not wine guys! We’ve been homebrewing since 1995 and brew a wide variety of beers that are all distinctive and full flavored.”
5 Questions Temecula Beer Lovers Want To Know
1. What types of beer does Wiens Brewery offer, and does the company offer keg rentals for special events?
We have up to 16 beers on tap at any time. We offer a wide range of beer styles including lagers and three IPAs. We also have beers aged in bourbon barrels and cask beer. We should have everything setup this month to do keg rentals direct to consumers.
2. Does Wiens Brewery ever have any special offers, events, giveaways or promotions?
We offer discounts on beers on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
3. What is your most popular beer, and why do you think it is a fan favorite?
Our most popular beer is our Insomnia IPA. We load it up with 3.2 lbs of hops per barrel for a huge depth of hop flavor and aroma.
4. How would you say Wiens Brewery stacks up against other popular micro brews operating on the west coast and in Temecula?
Temecula has a great craft brewing scene that is continuing to grow. We are very excited to be a part of it and look forward to working with the other breweries to get more people excited about craft beer.
3. Name at least one cool or unique thing about Wiens Brewery that local beer lovers would find interesting?
We are one of the few breweries to offer lagers. We also brew a single hop pale ale each month with different hops. This is a fun way to showcase one hop and how it can impart different flavors and aromas. We have a good lineup of hops to use including three experimental varieties. We are also brewing a Belgian IPA with a different yeast strain each month.
Brewing Beer In Temecula
Although the family winery is located in Temecula and the brewery is technically under the same business umbrella, Wiens Brewery chose to start their business in the Temecula Valley because it is a great craft beer region that is still growing. Pete explained that they love the number of independent restaurants and businesses in the valley and how the community is very supportive of those local businesses. Therefore, Ben and Pete would have selected the Temecula Valley area regardless of their family ties to the region. Temecula will be the foundation for the brewery and they are hoping in five years that Wiens Brewery will have distribution throughout all of Southern California offering bottles and cans of their unique creations. As word gets out and demand for their beer continues to grow, Wiens is hoping to keep expanding. In fact, they already have plans to add a 15 barrell brew house and are currently in the process of shopping for a bottle line.
Temecula daily deals and online coupon company TemecuLove suggests anyone who is a beer lover check out Wiens Brewery by visiting the tasting room located at 27941 Diaz. Rd. Suite A Temecula, CA 92590. Directions via Google Maps can be found [here]
|
.jpg)
