How do I get my business noticed online? How can I create an engaged social media audience? How do I convert website visitors and social media followers into customers? What hashtags should I be using? Are Google ads a good investment?

I'm Sydney Chakalos, a marketing nerd and small business owner with a passion for helping other small business owners grow their business using effective online marketing strategies on any budget.

Learn how to create and implement a marketing strategy that strengthens relationships with your audience and increases your bottom line. We'll cover topics around social media, email, Google ads, branding, and websites. Building your brand is a marathon and I'm here to help you win the race.




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welcome to the

Marketing Your Local Business Online Podcast

Social Media

Branding

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship, Facebook and Instagram Ads, Marketing, Social Media

Ep. 50: The Riskiest Thing A Local Business Owner Can Do Right Now

Right now, the instinct for a lot of local business owners is to pull back, cut expenses, and go quiet. And honestly? In an uncertain economy, that feels like the safe move for a local business owner. But in this episode, Sydney makes the case for why going quiet on your marketing is actually the riskiest thing you can do for your business right now and what to do instead.

You might be looking at your ad budget and thinking, “That’s a few hundred dollars a month I could save.” But what you’re not calculating is what it costs you to be invisible. How many new customers didn’t find you this month? How many people moved into your town in the last 30 days who have no idea you exist? How many of your existing customers forgot about you because they haven’t seen you in their feed?

That’s the real expense — and it doesn’t show up on your credit card statement. It shows up in your slower weeks, your empty tables, your team standing around with nothing to do.

Drawing on a real client story from COVID, Sydney breaks down the compounding cost of invisibility, why your customers are still out there spending money, and how the businesses that come out stronger on the other side of tough times are always the ones that kept showing up.

If you’ve been thinking about pulling back on marketing, listen to this episode first.

In this episode:

  • What a local business owner should consider in uncertain times
  • The hidden cost of being invisible in your community
  • What happened when one local business kept running ads during COVID and why it paid off
  • How to stay visible without breaking the bank
  • Why uncertain times are the worst times for a business to go quiet

Are you a local business owner?

Enrollment is OPEN for the Local Ads Accelerator! Great local businesses go unnoticed every day. When you’ve poured your heart and soul into building your business, it feels defeating when it seems like you’re not getting found by the people who need what you do the most.

That’s why I created the Local Ads Accelerator, a course designed specifically for local businesses to master Meta Ads so they can start getting found and go from being the best kept secret in town to the business people can’t stop talking about. If you’re struggling with getting your business visible in your community then investing in the Local Ads Accelerator is the right decision for you.

meet sydney

Strategist. coach. educator.

get to know me

Hi friends! My name is Sydney, founder of Marathon Marketing & Branding, and I’m so happy you’re here! As you might have guessed, I am an avid runner, which allows me to have more of that pinot and pasta in life. Running long-distance is all about training, endurance, and consistency. I realized that these same traits are directly applicable to social media marketing as well.