I had a fun meeting with a local restaurant manager today about their digital marketing needs. They’re a great restaurant, but like most food and drink establishments these days, the economy has really impacted their bottom line. He asked me what I thought we could do to help turn things around. Turns out, I had a lot of ideas. One of the key ideas I presented was he needed to begin taking advantage of the new local social web.

The local social web, you say? Yes. Most businesses are starting to understand the value of the social web in general, but few businesses are truly taking advantage of the opportunities presented by social media marketing in a targeted, local manner. That’s a shame, but don’t worry- we’re here to help.

To get started on your new local social web journey, here’s a list of places your company needs to be. Oh yeah, as with most of the social media stuff these days, you’re probably already being talked about in some way on at least some of these sites and services. It’s best to join the conversation:

• Yelp
  Don’t know what Yelp is? Shame on you. Go there. Is your company listed yet? Probably. Are people saying nice things about it? I sure hope so. You need to talk with your loyal customers and entice them to talk about you on Yelp, because when you do you’ll tap into a vast network of enthusiasts. You want that. No, you need that.
• Google Local
  It’s not just a listing. It’s a place where you can distribute coupons and talk about your business. It’s a place for your loyal customers to write reviews, like Yelp. Since it’s tied into Google vast ocean of applications, it’s pretty essential in today’s business climate.
• Yahoo! Local
  Same deal as Google Local.
• Twitter
  Did you know there are tools that allow you to find people close by you geographically in Twitter? Did you know you can make coupons and special offers available to your Twitter followers? Are ideas sparking, yet?
• Facebook
  You should have your own fan page, with a thriving community of people who love your products or services. You should be using custom Facebook apps alongside the built-in tools to present a cool welcome page, polls, video,  photos, your recent Tweets, and more. As with Twitter, your best results will come from engaging your users, not just broadcasting your message.
• Your own website.
  Yes, you still need your own website. Don’t be stuck in 1996.

It’s a lot of work for local businesses to stay up to date with the local social web. But it’s worth it. Every interaction you make with the local social web strengthens your ties with loyal customers and helps you to reach new customers. Go to it!