Facebook group features local businesses in western Colorado
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Amidst a year of Covid-19 restrictions, local businesses in Grand Junction found a new platform to share their services.
Support Local Business Grand Junction, a Facebook group created last April by marketing and sales expert Jake Tegtman, provides local businesses a free place to promote themselves and network online. The group has amassed about 1,200 members and counting.
“It became obvious very quickly that if businesses didn’t have a place to market themselves online that they were going to hurt pretty bad,” Tegtman said.
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The group features photos, promotions, and shout-outs to local businesses admitted to the page. Members use the group to seek help, find talent and offer recommendations. Every week a new business is featured with a live interview and their photo used in the banner.
Members to the group need to be local.
“We don’t want to have outside competition getting business from a group that’s supposed to help local businesses in this area make it through these tough times,” Tegtman said.
Tegtman, the group’s administrator, often investigates profiles of those applying to ensure the group does not have outside competition. Members must complete a short questionnaire before being admitted to the group.
When the COVID-19 shutdown order halted foot traffic across the state, residents and shop owners lost face-to-face interactions.
Tegtman aimed to re-connect the community through live Facebook interviews with local business owners. He knew that many businesses didn’t have a website, let alone a social media strategy. So, he began visiting with business owners, using his own cell phone to stream the interviews.
The decision to conduct live interviews was strategic.
“Live videos get more organic views than a post or an image,” Tegtman said.
According to Tegtman, the live interviews receive 1,000 to 1,500 views each time – a reach that would be difficult without a paid boost for most small businesses in western Colorado.
As businesses begin to return to normal operations, the Facebook group remains a popular gathering place for members to share ideas and reach new customers.
Resources:
On Facebook: Support Local Business Grand Junction