5 Best Practices for Local Marketing
Of course, marketing a local business is challenging, but with the right strategy, it can be highly effective. The challenge is that most businesses wait until it is too late to implement an effective strategy. The members of the INCubator Networking and Marketing Mastermind Groups do not suffer from this challenge. Perhaps because that is the focus, local marketing. In today’s digital age, local online marketing and local digital marketing are key to getting the word out about your small business. Here are 5 best practices for local marketing that you can use to improve your business’s visibility and reach your target audience. Of course, there are more effective ones; we will save those for you at our events.
Claim your online business listings and keep them up-to-date, this is simple and important, but most business owners will not do it; we simply forget. One of the most important things you can do for local marketing is to claim your business listings on popular online directories for local business marketing such as:
- Google My Business (Keep this current, up to date, and ask for reviews)
- Yelp (Keep this current, up to date, and ask for reviews)
- Facebook (Keep this current, and up to date, and ask for reviews)
- Linkedin (Keep this current, up to date, and ask for reviews)
- Chamber of Commerce
- Meet Up (this is important when you use Meetup to promote your business, we will cover that at an event.)
Ensure your business information is accurate, consistent, and up-to-date across all directories. This will help improve your search engine rankings and make it easier for potential customers to find you.
SEO Idea: Use relevant keywords and phrases such as “local business,” “small business _____,” or “specializing in ________” in your business listings and website content to improve your search engine rankings. Using your town and expertise is KEY to ranking.
Use social media to engage with your local audience: You probably think, “NO KIDDING,” but most businesses are not harnessing the effectiveness and power of Social Media for their LOCAL small business marketing & digital marketing for local business. Social media is a powerful tool for local marketing. Use platforms like:
- Pinterest (We have some powerful courses on Pinterest)
to engage with your local audience, share valuable content, and promote your business. Encourage your customers to follow you on social media and leave reviews to improve your credibility and visibility through this 5 digital marketing strategies.
PRO HACK #1: USE a QR code in multiple places in your place of business that takes people directly to a place where they can COMMENT (Review) or LEARN MORE
PRO HACK #2: Comment in your posts and TAG people who left likes and comments by directly speaking to them and “Thanking Them” it will blow up your social quickly.
SEO Idea: Use local hashtags, such as #localmarketing or #smallbusiness, in your social media posts to reach a wider local audience.
Build a local network (this is where a site like MEETUP can become incredibly valuable)
- Networking with other local businesses, influencers, and community organizations can help you expand your reach and attract more customers.
PRO HACK #3: Attend local events, collaborate with other businesses, and join local business associations to build a strong network. Sponsor their events with gifts and specials that can be passed out. 87% of gift cards go UNUSED, so if you donate $1000 in Gift Cards, ONLY about $160 will come back in many cases. But the impact and reciprocity the organizers will feel will bring you business in buckets.
SEO Idea: Use LOCAL backlinks from reputable local websites to improve your search engine rankings LOCALLY.
Use email marketing to stay in touch with your customers, another area where most local businesses fail big time. Study effective email campaigns or simply come to the INCubator Digital Marketing courses and learn how to 10x everything you do.
- Email marketing is a cost-effective way to stay in touch with your customers and promote your business. Send regular newsletters, exclusive offers, and updates to keep your customers engaged and informed.
SEO Idea: Use personalized and targeted email content with relevant keywords to improve your open rates and click-through rates. This is where you need to place some time and effort to get right but it will really make a difference.
Measure your results and adjust your strategy accordingly
- It’s essential to measure your local marketing efforts and track your results. Use analytics tools like Google Analytics to track your website traffic, monitor your social media engagement, and measure your email campaign performance. Use this data to adjust your strategy and improve your results.
SEO Idea: Use data from your analytics tools to identify keywords and topics that are performing well and adjust your content and strategy accordingly.
So there you have it, a great place to get started on your local marketing. Small business owners already know that this will be absolutely crucial for small business advertising in the coming years. Local Business owners also know this can be highly effective when done right. Use these 5 best practices for local marketing to improve your visibility, engage with your local audience, and grow your business. Don’t forget to use relevant keywords and SEO tactics to improve your search engine rankings and reach a wider local audience.
