Small Local Businesses Corona Virus Survival | Get Online Now March 26, 2020 by Paul Byrne eCommerce Technology Small Local Businesses, You Are Not Alone https://youtu.be/UGvyJvQyRps Basics of Getting Online Now Many people worldwide that care about small, local businesses and their employees whom are disproportionately damaged by lockdown and social distancing orders are organizing to help. Razoyo has been communicating and coordinating with people around the world who are creating resources, volunteering time and want to help. As the situation progresses, we will continue to update this page with links to resources. Initiatives and Resources Offline2On This is an open-sourced initiative from the global ecommerce community. You can reach out to apply for help here. Quick Plan to Get Online Now - Overview This article contains supplemental information to the video. Please watch the video for the concepts and the basics. I apologize for the shifty eyes and low production quality; I was focused on getting this information into your hands as quickly as possible. Set up or update your Facebook page Live stream on YouTube Set and communicate COVID-safe policies Inform customers (shop signs, QR code) Engage your staff to sell online Get your best customers Contact customers via any method you have Repurpose staff to deliver Add a Facebook store Facebook If you don’t have a Facebook page for your business, create one now, it is free and will continue to be free after the crisis ends. Let people know what you’re doing during the crisis Use the button to give people a way to contact you Encourage people to chat you their email or phone number so you can get in touch Once you have a Facebook shop set up you can add the Shop button. Don’t forget to add the Shop Button and post your hours in your Story Connect your Instagram business profile - if you don’t have one, create one quick and submit it for approval so that you can promote your products there. Most younger use Instagram rather than Facebook. YouTube Follow this guide to setting up a YouTube channel for your business. Be sure to add a link on your Facebook Page. Live streaming is a great way to connect with your customers. However, it may take a day or two before YouTube allows you to do it. You’ll want to go to your YouTube page as the account manager (if you set it up, that is you) and press the Live Stream button in the upper right. The first time you do it you may get this error message: Go ahead and get the process started. Click the Learn More button and it will walk you through it. To live stream with mobile you need to have 1,000 followers on your YouTube channel. However, you can stream from your laptop in the beginning. YouTube’s explanation of live streaming can be found here. Communicate COVID-safe policies Whether you are delivering food or card games be sure to communicate how you are sanitizing all of your products. Practice no-touch delivery. Text the people you are delivering to when you are at their door and leave the package. Use gloves or other means. Communicate that you are doing this, we recommend putting this in your story. When you create the banner image (which you can take from your phone or use one you already have), you may want to add text over it. Just use a basic image editor on your phone or computer to say “We’re Open For Delivery." Inform Customers Post the information on your door. Consider making or getting a banner to let people know you are open to phone and online orders. Vista Print makes a variety of vinyl banners you can order online. We’ve seen some merchants simply using an old banner or posting them in the windows. Post a QR code in the window if that makes sense. You can add a QR code to your banner as well. Make sure to have high resolution and download the JPG How to Make a QR Code for Free Visit https://www.qrcode-monkey.com/ Click the “+” next to “Enter Content” Add the url of your Facebook page or website Move the Quality slider all the way to the right Download the JPG You can use this image on your printed materials. Engage Your Staff Have them answer chat on your facebook page, deliver orders, or perform other tasks. Add Others As Admins To Your Facebook Page https://youtu.be/AYc8o2dMpbY?t=49 Have them reach out to your best customers and get the customers to advocate for you. Chances are they care about your business too and would love to help spread the word. Many of them may, unfortunately, have a lot of free time on their hands.