Marketing tips to promote your local business
Local businesses benefit from the ability to market themselves, both on and offline. Unlike digital-first businesses, you may find some benefit in location-based marketing as well as online.
Nowadays, it's very easy to look-up just about anything that comes to mind, and finding effective marketing techniques is also not hard to do. For example, lightweight LED signs that look like neon as the ones offered by CustomNeon.co.uk can drive a lot of customers to your business just because you are visually promoting it. We must learn what makes people have more interest in coming in and browsing a store, and neon signs have proved to improve sales significantly during the years.
In both cases, you need to start with a plan. Take some time to identify and describe your customers in detail. Who are they? What do they care about? Where do they spend time – both in your vicinity and online?
Your marketing strategy, and ideally, your business strategy, builds on this foundation. Once you know your customers, you can tailor products or services to their needs and preferences and focus marketing efforts on the people who are most likely to turn into customers.
In terms of local marketing, there are a few different avenues you can experiment with.
The first is simply location and signage. A high-traffic location is ideal, and consider signage from multiple approaches. A driver and a pedestrian have a different viewpoint and not all signage can connect with both at the same time. Keep signage bright, clear and simple so bear that in mind when you design your business logo.
Local partnerships can provide unexpected benefits. Look for other businesses in your area that share a similar clientele and have similar interests and values, then talk about ways you can band together to increase your results. You might split costs on joint promotional campaigns, offer each other advertising space for flyers, promotions, coupons or other special offers in your location, or get together for events, contests or sponsorship opportunities.
Don’t forget that local marketing happens online as well. Get a business profile on Google and make sure your map location is accurate and up to date. Make a point of getting your address and contact information on every channel online, not just your website. A business profile on many social media platforms is free and offers more options when it comes to location and contact details.
Another way to promote local online is to be intentional about using location-based keywords. Think about ways someone might look for your goods or services in your area. You could use address markers (street, city, province), regional markers (county, directions), and proximity markers (goods/services near x). Help local searchers find your goods or services instead of those of a foreign or out-of-town competitor.
Social media offers various opportunities to local businesses. If you sell goods or services online, you don’t need to put such a pinpoint focus on reaching customers in your immediate vicinity, but if you rely on walk-in traffic for sales, you’ll need to adjust your strategy accordingly. On social media, you can make a point of including local keywords (eg your street, your town, your region) in posts. Celebrate other local businesses or events – this can have the added benefit of making your brand appear more appealing and trustworthy. Consider running promotions or contests that include an element of local engagement.
On some social media channels, you can search for new people to follow and interact with based on their location, or see who follows and engages with other local businesses and make a point of connecting with them. Paid advertising can also be location targeted.
All of these local promotional strategies and approaches can be valuable, but don’t put too much focus on the local aspect and miss broader opportunities. All businesses can benefit from a consistent, appealing brand presence online. Your website and social media channels need to showcase your brand in a way that provides value to your customers.
Video content is the highest performing format, and repurposing existing content into video is a great way to stretch it to reach more potential customers. If live videography isn’t a strong area for you, not to worry. It used to be prohibitively expensive to capture and produce video, but technology has changed considerably since those days. Online tools make it fast and user-friendly to create all sorts of videos.
Use an easy online animator to tell stories, explain the features and benefits of products or services and to give viewers a glimpse behind the scenes. It’s a polished, engaging way to create content and reach more potential customers online. Video how-to guides also tend to be well received, and not only appreciated but also shared for greater organic reach.
Promoting a local business needs to start from a position of understanding your customer. Blend location-based marketing and general online marketing techniques. Make a point of mentioning your location as much as possible without being annoying about it, and look for opportunities to partner with other local businesses for mutual benefit. Online, a strong, clear brand presence and engaging content work well for all businesses.
