Neighborly Recommendations Drive Local Business on Nextdoor

Recommendations from neighbors are driving local business decisions on the social network Nextdoor, according to fresh research from the company.

Nextdoor found that 96% of Nextdoor neighbors have seen business recommendations on the platform, 72% report having been influenced by a business recommendation, and 71% have shared a recommendation.

For multi-location marketers and small businesses, Nextdoor’s research reflects the importance of establishing a presence on local social networks such as Facebook and Nextdoor as well as monitoring customer sentiment and reviews.

Where localized social commerce is heading

According to recent research by the multi-location marketing company SOCi, social and reputation management are two of the three core drivers of localized marketing performance.

For businesses, monitoring performance on social networks and engaging with local customers can make the difference between staking out a competitive advantage and getting left behind.

Increasingly, businesses, especially multi-location brick-and-mortar companies like Walmart with thousands of locations, will not just drum up word-of-mouth support on social networks. They will add high-tech functionality like AR and VR capabilities to help consumers experience their products on those platforms, foster loyalty, and drive data collection.

Brands will also enable commerce directly from their digital profiles across platforms, which is where ecommerce innovations like headless commerce will play a role in helping brands reduce frictions and sell to customers across channels.

Platforms like Nextdoor will have a large role to play in this expansion of the digital capabilities and experiences involved in local commerce. They will also play the crucial role of a data-monitoring middleman connecting consumers and brands and will likely want to gain valuable consumer consent to share that data.