Local marketing is a very powerful thing. If you can sell to local customers in the same area where you live and work, you’re going to build a very strong business reputation, as well as plenty of brand recognition. It probably won’t have quite the same strength as a massive company like Coca Cola, but it’s the kind of start that leads to long term business success.
Many small businesses, however, can find it difficult to be noticed within the local scene. Local newspapers may report on your opening, and you may have friends and family who mention you in passing, but that doesn’t tend to equate. Instead, you’re going to have to put a firm focus on elevating your company to the kind of ‘local celebrity’ status you’re really after.
And while that may sound hard to manage, it’s something many small businesses have pulled off time and time again. If you’re interested in doing the same, check out the best methods for making up a local marketing campaign in the list below.
Use Location Hashtags on Social Media
Social media is the perfect place to reach a local audience, even though it’s touted as the platform with the ultimate global reach. Thousands of people in your local area are going to be active on there, many of which will be following local hashtags to see what’s going on in their area.
You can make it much easier for them to discover you by tagging your posts appropriately. You can research these ahead of time using the search function within the app. This is where you can find out how many posts have been tagged the same way, and if there’s enough traction for you, or if there’s even too much.
Use as many location hashtags as you like; there’s no limit to the amount that can be added to social media content, but we recommend keeping the total under 30.
Local SEO is Your Best Friend
Along the same vein as using local hashtags on social media, make sure your website is optimized for your local area too. You can get the ball rolling with a Google My Business profile, but be sure to craft your webpage content to reflect your position in the local area too.
Let your customers know exactly where you are by feeding that same information to the search engine. You shouldn’t ‘stuff’ any location based keywords into your content, but mention them a few times across your website to highlight where you are and who you can serve.
This will make you a lot more relevant to any location based search terms, the most common of which is usually a search followed by the name of the town the user lives in. If both these keywords exist on your site, and it makes sense for your content to include them, you’ll start to rank well on the results page.
Get Your Leaflet in Other Shops and Local Centres
If you don’t have a business leaflet yet, make one. Ensure it displays your name and logo, your address and contact number, and has a selection of your products and their prices inside.
This is best used by any business that offers services, rather than tangible products someone can buy and take home. A baking business, for example, or a beauty or hair salon.
Once you’ve got a set of leaflets printed, you have the choice to drop them direct to door in the local area. This can be effective, but we also recommend keeping some for displaying in other shops and local centres in the same area.
After all, if someone is already nearby and has just been shopping, it won’t be a stretch to pay you a visit as well.
Use Your Vehicle as a Brand Rep
You have to travel in and out of your local area all the time. Why not take advantage of that mileage and turn it into a marketing opportunity?
There’s an old marketing rule out there that tells us people only buy after they’ve seen something seven times. Whether you believe in the science of this or not, there is truth in the idea that people need to be exposed to a company before they take notice of it.
So, get yourself a vehicle that’s representative of your business and use it whenever you’re out and about.
Find private number plates for sale and buy a set that looks like your business’ name, and get your company’s logo, name, and message applied to the sides and/or back of your vehicle.
Ask for Google Reviews
This is another element of Google My Business that works out very well for local business owners. You can gain a lot of notice from the local area if you’re well reviewed, and those reviews are easy to see, displayed right next to your name and number.
Indeed, if other local customers are happy enough to recommend you, new leads can come straight to your email inbox, social media DMs, or they will call to talk to you directly. This is an incredibly positive step in the right direction.
Focusing on driving more reviews your way will also push you up the local search engine rankings, as Google loves a business that can truly deliver. It’ll take time to build a quality amount, but don’t be afraid to directly ask customers to leave one.
Building Local Notoriety For Your Business
Being noticed in your local area is a long term game, but it brings sustainable success you can build a business on. Plus, it’s something you can start by simply joining a local Facebook group and posting about your business!
You can then build on this with these tips; get your name out there consistently via an online content schedule, and regularly engage with your customers. Then, net yourself some free marketing with a vehicle wrap, and be sure to display your leaflet anywhere you can get it.