Every business wants to interact with the local customers, stand out from competitors, and maintain a strong presence in the community. However, this isn’t possible without knowing how to promote your business locally.
Since the number of customers in your area is finite, and your competitors are also targeting the same customers, you have to prioritise local marketing in the digital world.
But, how can you achieve this? How do you promote your business in such a way that it targets potential customers within your vicinity? Well, you’re in the right place for the answers. In this article, you will learn ten tips on promoting your business locally.
10 ways to promote your business locally
Get involved with the community
Although promoting your business locally can seem like a difficult hurdle, getting involved with your community can make it all easier. Participating in community events can expose you directly to your local audience. For instance, sponsoring events such as Bedford’s River Festival (an event that welcomes over 250k people) similarly, if a local fundraising event is hosted, you may sponsor the event to reach potential customers or get involved with local charities.
In the same vein, you may join your local chamber of commerce. Although you pay an annual fee, it is worth it. You would attend meetings or events that can expose your brand. You might also start getting referrals or support from other members of the organisation.
Use organic social media marketing
Social media marketing is also an effective method of reaching out to customers in your vicinity. Social media such as Facebook or LinkedIn enable customers to find your business and interact with it.
Since customers often use social media to find business, you have to maintain an active presence there. Stay active and respond to any feedback, whether positive or negative, from your audience. For instance, you can use Facebook to advertise seasonal offers, contests, or sales events.
While doing this, ensure you are targeting your local audience. Upload contents that generally appeal to and remain relevant to your local audience. Refer to what makes your community unique and compose a message your local audience can relate to. You can make use of the right hashtags or tag your location in your new posts.
Another platform you can utilise is LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a platform where you can connect with other businesses or entrepreneurs. Doing this can give your business tangible opportunities such as potential partnerships, events, or collaborations.
Whilst many will tell you that Facebook is on the decline, Facebook Groups are thriving and are a great place to share information about your business. One top tip is to provide advice and guidance rather than just sell your brand.
Use digital ads – locally
Utilising local digital ads as one of your marketing strategies allows you to target an audience you may not have originally reached. Google ads allow you to target specific local audiences through search engine marketing (SEM).
Here, the ads are shown at the top of the search query after your customers input searches that are related to your local business. Utilising options such as cost-per-click or pay-per-click allows you to reach a target audience that searches for specific terms relating to your business in your local area.
For instance, let’s say you run a cafe. You may want to pay for ads that show up when someone inputs “best cafe in Bedford.” Using PPC you’ll be able to pay in order to appear at the top of the search engine result page.
List your business on online directories
If you rely on traditional marketing such as radio, word of mouth, billboards, or television, you may not get enough results. As of 2021, 97% of consumers utilised the Internet to search and connect with a local business.
This is why you should list your business on online directories such as Google My Business, Yelp, or Bing.
Listing your business on search engines is the first step in appearing for terms that relate to your business online. Your listing will should contain these pieces of information – business name, address, phone number and website links.
Ensure the information you input on all platforms is the same. You don’t want to be confusing your customers with different phone numbers. Also, we recommend adding some photos to give detailed information about what you do in your business.
Customers can add some photos after engaging with your business. They can write reviews to inform others about what your business does. What matters, is getting positive reviews from your customers. Customers are more willing to buy from local businesses with positive reviews.
Start blogging, vlogging or reeling
Blogging, vloggig, reeling, whatever medium you choose, providing value online is an effective way of marketing your business. Whether you are offering products or services for sales, having blogs on your website or videos on your Youtube channel can help potential customers. It is an effective SEO strategy you can consider.
By publishing educational content that makes you sound like an expert in your field, your website can start to rank better online and gradually improves brand awareness. The more you have content that ranks, the easier you can reach your local audience.
For instance, if your business is a restaurant, you can create blogs such as “best place to eat in Hertfordshire” to reach your potential customers in that geographical area. Local guides, tricks, or tips can help you when prospects are searching for your business online.
Create loyalty programmes
Loyalty programmes are an effective strategy that keeps getting customers to your doorstep. The best part about this idea is that you can earn more without acquiring new customers. Your focus is on getting existing customers to spend their money. When you create loyalty programmes, ensure that you keep it fun and deliver value to your customers.
Existing customers will be eager to interact more with your business when they know they are getting bonuses from one purchase or the other. To start this, you can offer members discounts on some of your products/services or get them free upgrades.
You may also want to consider giving points and redeeming rewards. They can get this after making certain purchases or playing a game. The goal is to keep them coming back.
For instance, if you own a bakery, you can provide loyalty cards and offer stamps for every purchase made by a given customer. Once they have accumulated a certain number of stamps, they can get the free products they desire. Or, if they spend a specific amount of money in your store, they can get a gift.
Build an engaged email list
Once you start gaining some recognition in your local area, either through referrals or customer loyalty programmes, you should start with an email list. Although it is underrated, it is still one of the most effective marketing strategies that can help in promoting your business locally.
When starting this, you can utilise a segmented email list to create campaigns that attract your local audience. If you haven’t started building an email list, you should understand that it isn’t a difficult task.
What matters is that the emails should provide value to your audience. Also, ensure you use the aforementioned method to collect email addresses. For instance, during customer loyalty programmes, you can collect your customer’s email addresses to inform them about their rewards and exclusive deals.
Start a customer referral programme
Starting a customer referral programme is an effective way of acquiring new customers without going through much stress. The objective of this strategy is to have your current customer do the job for you. It’s an effective strategy that enables customer acquisition and customer retention. To make the referral programme a successful one, you have to offer incentives to the parties involved.
Give rewards to your current customers for every referral you get. This motivates them to go out and get more customers for your local business.
As for your customers, you need to offer incentives to make them feel welcome in the business. If they are satisfied with your products/services, they may start referring your local business to new customers. Performing this strategy can make your local business a lucrative one.
Partner with local influencers
Partnering with local influencers can expose your business to a more local audience. These influencers have a large social following in your vicinity. They have a high engagement rate, thereby prompting their audience to trust their recommendations.
As a result, paying them to promote your local business on their social channels creates brand awareness and reaches your target audience. Depending on the influencer, they can only cost you a couple of hundred bucks. Besides, you can pay less for the promotion if you offer them free products or services.
Utilise traditional methods
Traditional methods can also promote your local business. They reach your local audience and create brand awareness. Utilising traditional marketing methods such as radios, local newspapers, billboards, and others can improve visibility and market your business to your local audience.
The bonus tip: Podcasts
Podcasts are one of the fastest-growing mediums for marketing because they are a great way to connect with customers on a personal level. With podcasts, businesses can share their story and connect with customers in a way that is informal and engaging.
Conclusion
Promoting your business locally may appear to be a tedious task. But it isn’t what you think. Various online marketing strategies and in the local community cab raise brand awareness and get you your desired results.
