One of the challenges for businesses in this modern day and age of communication is “getting the word” out and the best way—or ways—to do it.

We have a lot of great businesses on The Ave that deal in a wide variety of products and services. Some are well-known and others, whether they are new or have been established for a while, are “best-kept secrets.” With the ever-changing state of media—print and virtual—and limited advertising dollars in many businesses’ coffers, the best, most efficient way of getting a business’s message out there can require some thought and strategy.

An old-fashioned, simple way, however, does exist. It’s efficient and it works. It’s called “word of mouth.” I’m thinking of a certain Vineland business long ago that only put a small, square advertisement in the newspaper from time to time on the bottom of the page. Why didn’t they do more? They didn’t have to. They were busy enough as it was through word of mouth.

Professional people such as doctors and attorneys, at one time, didn’t advertise or were advised by their profession to not do so. For them, the best advertising was word of mouth.

So, how can we carry that forward to today—and use it to drive people to our great businesses on The Ave? Aside from verbally talking up the businesses and recommending, we can use the power of social media to accomplish that.

You can do this in a variety of ways.

You can put a post on Facebook about a business on The Ave that you like, or one at which you’ve had a positive experience. Post a picture of the business with it. If someone else has done so, amplify it by liking or sharing it. When someone wants to know about the availability of a type of business and posts an inquiry, that’s your chance to think of a corresponding business on The Ave and to plug it.

Also, through Yelp and other such platforms, you have the opportunity to comment and recommend a particular business. This input is read by people looking for recommendations.

So, use the power of word-of-mouth to get message out about all that The Ave has to offer.

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Remember that Main Street Vineland is here to help. We pass important business information along to our businesses every Wednesday, in the 9 a.m. hour, and on SNJ Today POP FM 99.9, and Comcast Channel 22.

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This is all the more reason to make The Ave your destination for shopping, dining, and entertainment needs, as well as for fun all year round. Save money on gasoline, avoid the long lines at the big-box stores, malls, and shopping centers, and take in the rich variety of fun things to do—right in your own backyard.

For more on Main Street Vineland, call our office at 856-794-8653, visit TheAve.biz—or check us out on Facebook. You can also e-mail me at [email protected].