Wil Reynolds Wil Reynolds

August 6, 2008

My Electrician added me on LinkedIn – Local gets Social

I do not purport to be some grand social media whiz nor a whizbang local SEO guy, but I felt compelled to write about an experience I recently had.

My new house has some electrical problems, Yeah!!!

I did research on local electricians in the Philadelphia area, obviously I am typical of most people…If you don’t already have a recommendation you usually go with a search engine!

I remember seeing vans and BMW Mini’s from some company all over the city.

Generation 3 truck

Win #1 – Your branding was memorable, your logo, your BMW mini, etc made you look hip – it doesn’t say you are good though

So I do a search for Philadelphia electricians because I never remembered who had those flashy cars with the nice logo.
Here’s what I find:

Win #2 – You are showing up tops in Google Local

Google is also showing that you have 16 reviews combined, the next closest local company has 1, then all the rest have zero

So of course I click on the reviews to see what people are saying

Google Reviews

Win #3 – People sound fanatical about your company, WOW!!! Great reviews!!

So I go to the site…

Generation3 site

Win #4 – This site has better calls to action and usability than many e-commerce sites that live and die by conversions.

Does this site look like the website of an electrician?
They get my call

They come fix my problem in NO TIME, the guy even vacuumed up every speck of dust he left, and I mean EVERY spec.

Win #5 – I am a fan, I am a loudmouth, I tell everyone I know how great these guys are!

This is the trifecta people of all SEO (local and national)
1 – They were well ranked in local maps which show up above the organic results
2 – They have GREAT reviews and have encouraged people with a great experience to write about it
3 – They practice what they preach, they could have been all flashy and all ranked well, but if they weren’t awesome, it wouldn’t have mattered.

Last but not least, I just got a LinkedIn request from one of the two partners…HA you found me…now you can create an ongoing dialogue with one of your clients by finding them on LinkedIn…smart!!!!!

7 COMMENTS

  • Tim Staines says:
    August 6, 2008 @ 4:21 pm

    All that great work from the electrician and not even a link from you?? At least not that I saw ;-)

  • dwight says:
    August 7, 2008 @ 11:56 am

    This is the future of business (local, national and global) great post

  • wil says:
    August 11, 2008 @ 4:54 pm

    @dwight thanks, what makes you say that it is the future? Let me know your thoughts, are you doing stuff like this in your SEO efforts?

    @Tim bustin my chops? I see how it is :)

  • Bill Lutz says:
    August 13, 2008 @ 8:24 am

    Hi Wil,
    I was just checking out you blog and found myself. Cool. Thank you for the good words. I forget that poeple see me in my Mini.

  • Tim Tracey says:
    August 27, 2008 @ 10:08 am

    Your successful search for an electrician is becoming more and more typical. Savvy businesses will begin adopting the social media techniques that helped you locate Generation 3 Electric.

    Our local-social word-of-mouth network may interest you. It enables consumers to find those local businesses trusted by their network of friends and neighbors. It allows these businesses to differentiate themselves by leveraging the customer loyalty they’ve earned.

    Plus it’s free to use. Businesses have the opportunity to reward their referring members. These members have the opportunity to designate their favorite charity to receive this reward, so it’s a true win-win.

    Although we’re currently operating in greater Hartford, CT you’re free to check us out. Let me know what you think!

    – - Tim http://www.yougottacall.com

  • Chris says:
    September 9, 2008 @ 9:36 pm

    Hmm, and I need an electrician in my location near Wil’s former abode …

  • Brad says:
    October 19, 2008 @ 9:06 pm

    I love the use of the dual listing! So easy and effective. Good to see your on game Bill.

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