Battle Creek, You’re Already Making Me Work

I knew Battle Creek businesses would get behind Cereal City Buzz Local.

I’m not sure I expected you to start making me work quite this hard in the very first week.

And I mean that in the best possible way.

We’ve barely gotten started, and already businesses from across our community are claiming listings, setting up Hotspots and even submitting events before I had officially opened the Events section.

Yes, somebody beat me to it.

You’re making me work, Battle Creek. Keep it up.

I built this to work for our community, and seeing people jump in this quickly tells me we’re onto something.

Here’s where we stand after our first week.

We already have 7 businesses registered in Hotspots across Food Trucks, Happy Hours & Specials and Farm Stands.

We have 18 Basic business listings and 5 Featured listings, giving us 23 live directory listings altogether.

We also have 5 additional listings we’re working on right now so we can correct a few issues before putting them live.

And somehow we had 2 events submitted before the Events section was even officially open.

The Events section is officially open now.

If your business, organization, church, club or community group has something happening around Battle Creek, you can now get it onto the Cereal City Buzz Local Events calendar.

Look at the variety already showing up.

Our first listings already represent boutiques, sports facilities, marketing professionals, grocery, towing, entertainment, nightlife, contractors, daycares, farm and ranch, mental health services, restaurants and food, physical therapy, local art, home services, venues and weddings.

That is quite a start for week one.

And every time one of those listings goes live, I’ve been featuring it on our Battle Creek News & Events Facebook Page and Group so the community can meet the businesses participating in the directory.

I plan to keep doing that for as long as I can keep up.

So here’s your challenge: overwhelm me.

Seriously.

Get those listings coming in faster than I can feature them.

I’m already barely keeping up, and some of you started entering events before I even had the Events section ready.

That’s exactly the kind of problem I want to have.

I enjoy doing this.

I want to work for Battle Creek.

A quick clarification about Hotspots.

There has been a little confusion about what belongs in a Hotspot and what belongs in the regular business directory.

The easiest way to think about it is this: Hotspots are for things that move or change regularly.

A Food Truck telling people where it is today is a perfect Hotspot.

A Traveling Band announcing where it is performing tonight is a perfect Hotspot.

A realtor promoting today’s Open House belongs in the Open Houses Hotspot.

A business posting a Happy Hour or daily special belongs in Happy Hours & Specials.

A Farm Stand letting customers know what is available or where to find it belongs in Farm Stands.

Those are all great Hotspot uses because people need fresh, current information.

For most businesses, however, your main home should be in the regular Cereal City Buzz Local directory.

Find the category that best matches what you do and get your business listed there.

A few Hotspots are still waiting for their first pioneer.

We’re still waiting for our first Traveling Band Hotspot, our first Artisans & Makers Hotspot and our first realtor using the Open Houses Hotspot.

I would especially love to see some of our area churches get involved too.

Churches can use the Church Hotspot to help residents quickly find service information, activities and upcoming events.

There’s no reason those community resources shouldn’t be easy to find.

Realtors, insurance representatives and other company representatives have one extra option.

If you work under a larger company brand, take the Cereal City Buzz Local directory link into your office.

Many companies have someone responsible for marketing, branding or compliance who can help make sure your listing uses the correct logos, photos and company information.

That can save you some work and help make your listing look great from day one.

How to claim your free business listing.

We already have a large number of Battle Creek-area businesses loaded into the directory waiting to be claimed.

Getting started is simple.

First, go to the Cereal City Buzz Local Directory.

Next, choose the category that best fits your business.

Then search for your business.

If you find it, select “Is this yours?” and follow the instructions to claim it.

If your business is not there, use the red Add Business button to create your listing.

On a desktop computer, you’ll find that button toward the top right.

On a phone, open the menu and you’ll find the option there.

Once your information is submitted, we can get you on your way.

Businesses, get ready before the crowd arrives.

There’s another reason I’m encouraging businesses to get their listings ready now.

The Cereal City Buzz Local app is in the final stages of development and will shortly be submitted to the app platforms.

Once we reach that stage, our focus starts changing.

Right now, I’m spending most of my energy helping businesses get set up.

Once the app is ready, we start spending much more of our energy bringing residents into the directory and app.

That’s why now is the time to claim your listing, upload your photos, make sure your information is correct and get your Hotspots set up if your business qualifies for one.

I want you looking like a million bucks before the community starts looking you up.

And residents, this is really being built for you.

Businesses have heard me talking a lot lately about claiming listings, setting up Hotspots, adding events and uploading photos.

But I don’t want residents to misunderstand what we’re doing.

This whole project is ultimately being built for you.

I want Cereal City Buzz Local to become the place where someone can quickly answer everyday local questions.

Where should we eat tonight?

Who can fix the plumbing?

Where is that food truck today?

What bands are playing?

Are there any open houses this weekend?

What’s happening with the kids?

Where can I find a local contractor?

What events are happening tonight?

Are there any good local specials?

Instead of hunting through five websites, three Facebook groups and a pile of old search results, I want those answers available in one local resource built around Battle Creek and the surrounding community.

That’s where we’re headed.

And after the way week one has started, I’m getting pretty excited about it.

Quick answers about Cereal City Buzz Local.

Is a basic Cereal City Buzz Local business listing free? Yes, local businesses can claim or create a basic listing at no cost.

Who should use a Hotspot? Hotspots work best for businesses and activities with locations, availability or offers that change frequently, including food trucks, traveling bands, open houses, farm stands and daily specials.

Can residents and organizations submit local events? Yes, the Events section is now open and community events can be submitted for inclusion.

Businesses, organizations, churches, makers, food trucks, bands, realtors and everybody else: get yourselves in there.

And Battle Creek?

Keep making me work.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.