Nextdoor is the fastest growing social media platform today and provides endless opportunities for small and large businesses alike to create local-level referral networks. If you own a business, the Nextdoor Neighborhood app may meet many of your local level marketing needs; for free!
As of recently, the app has been utilized by homeowners to advertise services, sell goods and provide overall community engagement. By connecting with customers on a more local level, your business referrals and customer engagement have the possibility to grow exponentially.
The app is free, and unlike Facebook, doesn’t promote paid advertisers over business pages. The relatively recent influx of users with relatively few businesses allows you to dominate your local niche environment. The exclusivity of the app allows you to establish a strong presence and reputation before Nextdoor Neighborhood becomes saturated with your competition.
Let’s get started!
This tutorial will show you the basics of creating and claiming your Business account. And there are a few tips on how to optimize your Business account from the beginning! Remember that the Nextdoor website and the App are tied together. What you do on one will affect the other.
Hint: Have this tutorial open in one tab and your Nextdoor account open in another side-by-side to make this process easier to follow!
Step 1: Choose a Business or Individual account.
The first step is to decide what type of account best fits your needs: if you own a small business, chose Business, but if you offer services operating through your name, chose Individual. For the purpose of this tutorial, we’ll assume a small business owner is creating a Business account. Create a Business Page to begin. If you will be opening an Individual account, the directions are quite similar.
Step 2: Find Your Business
Search to see if your business already exists; people may have been referring customers to you without you even realizing! If your Business pops up, click claim. If not, you will have to create your Business page from scratch. This sounds harder than it actually is… you’ll be up and increasing your reach in no time!
Step 3: Setting up Your Business Page
This is the face of your business on Nextdoor, and only needs set up once. This is the first image a customer will associate with your business and name, so consistency is key. Add a high-quality logo to encourage brand recognition; square photos work best for this particular website.
Next, add a greeting message that discusses what you offer for customers and what sets you apart from others. If you have a website for your business already, then some of that information will integrate very nicely into your Nextdoor page. Continue filling out your page to best describe the services you offer and why your business is above the rest.
Add your business contact information, and double-check that it is correct-this is the worst way to lose business! Because customers referred from Nextdoor Neighborhood will be local, make sure to include your address and phone number.
After making each change, guarantee that you click update to make sure all new changes are being saved. Continue filling out your business account information! Now the most important thing you can do is begin to navigate Nextdoor. Learn how to make it work best for your company. Only through spending time on the app, engaging with past and potential customers will you learn what best suits your business niche and advertising needs. Remember: there is no way to buy consistency. Check the app regularly for new referrals or comments. Interactions with community members are visible to everyone, so always stay professional to keep your good reputation.
Here are some first steps we recommend:
- Ask previous or current customers to recommend you on Nextdoor to increase your business presence on the app. Share your link with customers by email, using the “Copy Link Button” under “To be seen by neighborhoods, share your page to get recommendations” section.
- Reply to community members in search of your expertise.
- Check the dashboard to learn about how your business is doing on Nextdoor.
- Offer a discount for providing a Nextdoor recommendation to encourage your growth on the site.
- Reply to all messages and recommendations.
As you get more comfortable on Nextdoor, consider advertising and continue to grow your local reach! Nextdoor is an opportunity to reach local customers that’s already working for the real estate and service industries. It might seem daunting at first creating a new Business Page. But the potential local customers make the Nextdoor Neighborhood app worth your effort.
