Saying that people spend a great deal of their time on social media would truly be an understatement.  But with recent changes to Facebook and Instagram, it makes it more difficult for small businesses to grow organically on these platforms. I don’t have to tell you that there is not enough time in the day to keep up to date on new changes to Facebook and Instagram.  Trying to make sure that your content is engaging, thought provoking and meeting all of the metrics to produce great results can be extremely overwhelming.  Facebook and Instagram are flooded with small businesses trying to sell their products and gain brand awareness.  Consumers ( myself included) are suffering from ad fatigue.  That fatigue has lead them to start looking for new niche social networks. Networks that have no ads, no commercial interruptions.  So what if,  as a community we come together?  We rebuild our local economy with our own community platform.  No algorithms,  no international, national competition vying for our community dollars.  Just local businesses with the local community in mind.  While the major social networks shouldn’t be wholly abandoned in favor of a niche-centric marketing strategy.  Platforms such as www.ShopBayofQuinte.ca and www.ShopCentralHastings.com can provide a very unique way to build a loyal, trusting, and more refined audience.  Many marketing strategies will tell you to formulate an effective strategy, you need to know where your audience lives, and therefore align your efforts with networks that tout the correct audience demographics for your brand.  We do that locally!

  ShopBayofQuinte.ca and ShopCentralHastings.com are working with local business associations to grow a local digital ecosystem for small locally owned businesses. ( More to come on how a local digital ecosystem can benefit local economic development agencies and all business assoications)  It is possible to gain time, save money and distribute your information into the community that is not only effective but affordable.  This is how it can this be accomplished:

1.  Small businesses add your business to your community platform. There is a free profile option, participation does not require a monetary transaction. (Links will be included at the bottom of the page. ) Posting regularly and using keywords will assist consumers in finding you in search engine results organically.  Every post is indexed in search engine searches, unlike all other social media platforms. ( Indexing means a page is indexed by Google if it has been visited by the Google crawler ("Googlebot"), analyzed for content and meaning, and stored in the Google index. )

2.  Keep your business information, hours current and up to date. 

3.  Encourage your business partners and associations to use the platforms regularly. 

4.  Contact us for a free platform tour and get the door sticker for your door which encourages consumers to shop local.

We are a co-operative digital marketing platform.  The more businesses that participate, the better this system thrives.  If a consumer goes looking for a restaurant menu but then realizes that they can buy flowers from a store in the same community is a win for both local businesses.

Any questions please feel free to contact us directly.  343-263-1500 or michelle@shopbayofquinte.ca

Add your business profile to your community site, all free profiles will automatically be found in your community site and ShopBayofQuinte.ca .  All premium packages will be found in all community sites.  ( packages start at $50/month or  $600/year)

www.shopbelleville.com/add
www.shopqw.ca/add
www.shopbrighton.ca/add
www.shopnapanee.com/add
www.shoppec.ca/add
www.shoptrenthills.com/add
www.shopcentralhastings.com/add