Why advertise on ConnectNorwich.com?

ConnectNorwich.com launched in May 2008 and provides a social networking service to residents of the area and also tourists. It is the only site of its kind in the region and grows in daily user numbers every month.
With ConnectNorwich.com you can..

• Make new friends
• Build a personal profile adding pictures and information
• Arrange events
• Participate in forum conversations
• Write and maintain a blog
• Promote your business
• Review and read reviews of local businesses such as restaurants and hotels
• Browse member photos and videos
• Check live flight times and schedules for Norwich and Stansted airports.
• Join a Group related to a special topic, such as football of golf.
• Check the weather, and read classified ads.

What can ConnectNorwich.com do for your business that other sites cannot?

By registering your business on ConnectNorwich.com you are not just signing up as an advertiser. On most websites when you advertise, you simply send the publishing website your brand or banner and they display it to their visitors across a number of pages. When you register with ConnectNorwich.com this happens too, however you get a whole lot more. Firstly, you get your new home on the web, this will be in the form of, www.ConnectNorwich.com/YourBusiness. This becomes your company's profile page. It remains for ever and people can type this directly into their browser to find you, just like a web address.

In addition, when you build your profile, you can do the following things.

• add your logo
• write about your business
• add pictures and videos related to your business
• add a Google map of your location
• add contact details and the web address of your website
• upload music
• allow people to add reviews

Secondly you can take part within the community as the owner of a business. Here are some great theoretical examples of how businesses can really benefit from participating within the community.

Example one - the restaurant owner

I set up my profile and buy some banner space to announce it to the community on ConnectNorwich.com. I write a forum post which appears on the homepage as all the new posts do and in the post I detail the opening times, some of our best menu items and invite the YM community to come along and have a meal, with a 10% discount for the week if they mention my post.

I then write this offer in my 'message of the day on my profile'. All business messages appear on the homepage which gets 800 eyeballs every single day. People are able to click on my offer and contact me for a reservation through my profile page by using the phone number or sending me a message.

I encourage people to rate the experience when they have tried my restaurant. If I get good recommendations from ConnectNorwich.com users my ranking in the dining section on ConnectNorwich.com will increase. To get to number one spot in the list I currenlty only need five positive reviews.

Now when any user is looking for Norwich restaurants on ConnectNorwich.com, I have maximum exposure.

Example two - the home audio visual company

Audio visual can be a complicated subject unless you really know your stuff. As a home audio installer I find there are many large signs around Norwich advertising home cinema and home control, how do I compete with them and how do I get people to come and talk to me without following the crowd?

I set up a business profile on ConnectNorwich.com and add logos to my profile representing all the brands I work with and pictures on any installs I have done.

I then set up my company's blog on the site which I name The Norwich AV blog. I write two blogs a week helping people to understand all about home control, and home cinema. Every time a new product is released on the market that I supply, I write a mini review in my blog. This week its about a 'Sonos' sound system which allows audio to be played in every room in the house wirelessly. I look to educate the community on ConnectNorwich.com and become the resident expert on the topic.

Six months goes by and I have established myself as the AV expert on ConnectNorwich.com. Now when people are searching in Google for AV related terms in Norwich such as Sonos, my blog posts and forum answers will appear top in the searches. New people to the site will check out my profile and see that I understand my products by reading my content and trust me when coming to buy their home entertainment products.

Also, my involvement in the site will back up my offline marketing campaign. If I pay for large display advertising for my business, people will generally look to find comments on my company by searching the web. By typing my business name into Google, they will see my involvement in the community and feel comfortable in contacting me through the site for advice. I will drastically improve my conversion rate to sale as I have become the authority on the subject.

Example three - specialist car dealer

I have a performance car dealership in Norwich. I struggle to get the webmaster to keep my site up to date so I start a profile on ConnectNorwich.com. Within 20 minutes I have a full website with a Google map and I have uploaded numerous pictures of my current stock and add prices to the photo titles.

Now everybody in Norwich can see our current stock and as soon as new cars arrive I can update the website instantly. I have taken in a low mileage Mercedes SL500 in a part exchange. I take some pictures of the car and add it to ConnectNorwich.com. I change my business message to "Low mileage SL500, see profile for pics". This message will be displayed on the homepage and my message will be seen by 800 visitors each day.

I sponsor the Super Cars group as it is a good fit for my business and I begin writing a blog which gives my personal opinions on new cars as they are announced. My blog thoughts appear on the homepage and will rank very high in Google on selected car related terms such as Aston Martin Norwich.

I become the local authority on performance cars in Norwich and although some people may not agree with my views they will see that I know my business. Having an active roll on ConnectNorwich.com will build instant trust from people who may be sceptical about buying cars in Norwich.

Summary

ConnectNorwich.com provides you the perfect platform on which to promote your business. To really be successful in promoting your business however, you need to do more than just advertise. Unlike any other site, ConnectNorwich.com helps you get your business knowledge across and allows you to build trust with the customer before you meet them.

By blogging, responding to forum posts, setting up groups, and asking people to review your business, people will see a very transparent view of your company which is important. Any business can advertise, however if you believe you really are a specialist in your niche then register with ConnectNorwich.com, participate on the site and show the Norwich community why they should be trusting you!