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The final edition of the Yellow Pages landed on my doorstep last week

What a shadow of it’s former self and how far removed from J R Hartley

J R Harley would be spinning in his grave

And it’s the same reaction when I see the local newspaper about twice a year

Local advertising has moved on in a big way

So in our latest blog – How To Move On From The Yellow Pages To The Age Of Social Media we look at a few non obvious business examples and how they could use social media

TV Aerial
TV AERIAL FIXER

Imagine for a moment you run a TV Aerial Company

You’re a solopreneur and you want to grow your business

TV Aerials aren’t sexy however so #aerialporn isn’t really a thing (ok at the time of writing this there are 807 instagram posts – but they’re not TV aerials) and taking selfies on the top of roofs is probably going end up unfortunately like Rod Hull

So instead you realise Twitter is a place where people talk about TV programs as it happens

So you set yourself up as somewhere between Ian Hyland and Lad Bible putting out creative (and funny) content about the shows that people are watching

You build an audience up and on your website you have a blog on the biggest shows and weekly youtube videos

Occasionally you throw it out there that also fix TV Aerials and mention a funny tale that has happened that week

A couple of years down the line producing content is what you do permanently and you have a team of lads fixing aerials all around the country because everyone knows your name


FRIDGE FREEZER REPAIR

Sometimes looking outside the box is the wrong advice – you need to look inside it

You realise that it’s what’s in the fridge and freezer that matters more than the fridge and freezer itself

You totally understand that the trio of pillars of Food Waste, Austerity and Foodie Trends are where you need to focus your time

You buddy up with your husband or wife and each week you produce a video blog

The video blogs are a mixture of interviews with customers about what they love to cook at home and you mix this up with recipes and money saving tips on the food shop

You really start to enjoy helping people save money on their weekly shop so you snap every Fridge / Freezer foodie bargain you see and put it on your facebook page

At the top and bottom of your video you have subtle branding about your business i.e sponsored by

You’ve built trust with your audience. You enjoy doing it and get to spend more time with your family. And your business grows as a result

Car Engine
MOT TESTING

There’s a lack of trust when it comes to MOTs, Garages and anything to do with Vehicles

So you go under the bonnet on Youtube

Each week you deliver a video of common issues on an MOT and the what, how and why things go wrong with cars

You explain everything in layman’s terms so people totally understand everything you look at during an MOT

You also highlight when cars have come in with “supposed” issues from other garages and highlight why in fact nothing was every wrong with a video

This audience builds and you become known as the honest car guy

And everyone flocks to your business instead of your local competitors


SHED COMPANY

You’ve been in the Shed business for as long as you can remember

You’ve seen sheds come and go and now you’re in an age where Shed Of The Year is a real thing – an actual TV Show

You decide to market your business via Instagram and Youtube

On instagram you post beautiful photos of Sheds mixed with #shelfporn from your travels around the country

On Youtube you set up your own channel and turn your own shed into a studio where you invite a weekly guest on to the show each week

Thing of your shed as the Broom Cupboard and your Andy Crane or Pip Schofield

Because you build up such a following the local councillors want to speak to you instead of the local newspaper, the successful businesses around the town realise it’s a great route to market

And before long every knows your name

And then people just constantly refer work to you because they’re so grateful for the exposure

That’s just 4 ways you could take non obvious businesses and take the leap from Yell to Social Media

We have plenty more marketing ideas that are fun and will generate business for you

Chat to us

NEED HELP WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA?
Chat to us about Social Media Marketing for YOUR organisation , so we can better understand YOU and what will grow your organisation

We can only find out what is unique to your business by chatting with you

Look at our Social Media Training and Social Media Management services

Or

Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk

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Alex McCann

Author Alex McCann

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