Developing Local Engagement through Online Updates Ft. Pink Soul Studios

October 25, 2021

Developing Local Engagement through Online Updates Ft. Pink Soul Studios

“I think there’s an opportunity for me that I’m missing, and that would be the local aspect. Maybe now saying it out loud, it might be that I am my worst hype man. That would mean putting myself out there a little bit more locally, right? I think that’s where I struggle, and I feel like there’s a good opportunity for me. At least, listening to other people who have larger CNCS and what they can do for other companies locally. So something like that, y’know?”

Alma Rosa Villalobos

Directing Website Traffic

Unlike many other makers, Alma’s challenge is that she has the opportunity to build more business locally. Pink Soul Studios has an engaged online community and presence, but Steve explains that a website is a perfect place to start to improve local business opportunities.

“I noticed that you have a website. I tell everybody, you need a website, you need something that people can visit and see you. I’m on your website, and I see that you have a portfolio, but the one thing that I don’t see on your website is a call to action.”

Steve Larosiliere

When examining Alma’s website, Steve notes that there needs to be specific, actionable information for online traffic. The about page describes Alma as a “maker of things,” but Steve advises her to change it to three or four specific things and then direct visitors to her portfolio for visual examples. This modification gives specific instructions that encourage exploration of the entire website.

In a similar vein, the website has a standard “contact us” page, which Steve suggests changing to something more specific. If site traffic is already being directed to the portfolio to show off Alma’s work, there can be a contact field that states “get a quote.” Creating a direction and flow to the website can help encourage the right direction from potential clients.

Google My Business

For many companies that specialize in an online ecosystem, having a physical address listed can seem redundant. However, providing a physical address introduces the potential for many local benefits, primarily related to Google My Business.

“There’s a thing called Google My Business. If you use Google My Business, then all of your maker friends and everybody that’s ever bought from you can leave reviews under your Google reviews. Then when people search for “CNC Chicago,” the people with the most reviews end up at the top of the results.

Then with your blog, you need to put “CNC design woodworker, Chicago” in the title and copy of all of your posts. Make sure that it’s littered with all of the things that people are searching for. That’s how you’re going to get more local business without having to spend any money at all.

I didn’t even know that you did CNC, and I was looking for somebody with a CNC. There are like two people in Chicago that do CNC, and they’re too big to do the project that I want to do. So you have a competitive advantage. They’re all the way on the South West Side, someplace very far. And now you’re just right there.”

Steve Larosiliere

The Power of Personalization

In a previous episode, Steve explained a method for getting more local business through establishing relationships with local businesses and organizations. The key to this strategy is to personalize the offerings made to these businesses and other entities, which Steve expands upon here.

“There’s one last thing, and this is going to help you make a lot of money. Contact a non-profit organization, a school, Kiwanis, the Knights of Columbus, whatever organization is out there. You could probably even do it with a realtor. Make them something custom with their logo on it, and then give it away to them with your card and say, “Hey, if you ever need any custom projects like this, I’d love to make them for you.”

One thing that I like about your brand is that you have a lot of engagement. And you have a solid community of people around you. Leverage that. Have people leave 20 reviews of Pink Soul Studios on your Google My Business Page and then do the same thing on Facebook, leave 20 reviews on there because it’ll help with your search results. Make sure that you change the title and the description, and the meta tags on your website. Make sure that it says “Chicago, CNC, woodworking, custom projects,” all of those.”