In today’s digital age, a modern consumer is likely to search for a product or service online. For example, if you are looking for a decorator for your kid’s birthday party, how will you find one?
You may ask friends and family for recommendations, but there’s no guarantee that you’ll find a provider meeting all your requirements. The easiest thing would be typing ‘party decorators near me’ in the search bar and choosing a suitable provider from the plethora of options.
Considering the convenience and efficiency, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that 97% of users search online to find a local business. Promoting your business locally helps attract a broader audience in your service area. Localized marketing can significantly enhance your visibility and discoverability, whether you run a dental practice or a beauty salon.
Let’s take a look at proven strategies for effective local marketing.
Incorporate Local Service Ads
There’s no doubt that promoting your business has become more affordable thanks to free digital marketing tools. But there’s only so much you can do with free tools. If your local reach and engagement have stagnated, it’s time to run paid ads.
From Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads to social media ads, there are several types of online ads for promoting your business. While these are great advertising options, don’t underestimate the value of Google local service ads.
If you are a local service provider not running Google LSA, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. With LSAs, you can connect with users searching for products and services you offer on Google. These ads appear for customers in your area, and you only pay when a customer contacts you directly via the ad.
Set Up Google My Business
As previously mentioned, many users tend to search for a business online. Since Google is the most popular search engine in the world, you need to ensure that your business shows up in Maps and Google Local Pack Listings. And for that, you need to set up Google My Business (GMB).
GMB allows you to place a listing for your business on the search engine. This listing includes a website link, pictures, customer reviews, contact details, and other relevant information. If you are striving to connect with customers in your service area, optimizing GMB should be an essential part of your marketing strategy.
Improve Local SEO
Improving local SEO is essential to discovering prospects in your area that are ready to make a purchase. In addition to optimizing your GMB, you can incorporate certain best practices to improve local SEO.
It is important to curate geo-targeted content that includes high-volume keywords. Moreover, make sure the content appeals to your local audience. This implies writing content that’s relevant to your local prospects instead of sharing generic content.
Does your business have more than one location? It would be helpful to create location pages for each of your store locations. Make sure the content on these pages is unique and not duplicated.
List Your Business on Local Directories
Apart from GMB, you should also list your business in local directories. Similar to yesteryear’s yellow pages, you can post business listings on online directories to improve discoverability. Explore directories such as Manta, Angi, and Yellow Stack.
Produce Useful Videos
Picture this, you want to install a gaming setup you recently purchased. Would you prefer a complicated and hard-to-follow instruction manual or a step-by-step video tutorial? While written content is necessary to promote your business, videos are much more useful and engaging in several instances.
In addition to promotional and entertaining videos, we urge you to produce how-to videos that your audience will find useful. For example, if you are a supplier offering floor tiles, you can create a video tutorial showing people how they can easily install tiles in a herringbone pattern.
Utilize Social Media Platforms
Social media is a cost-effective and powerful tool for promoting your local business. Even with a tight marketing budget, you can garner attention from local customers for your brand.
There are plenty of social media platforms, but Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest are particularly lucrative platforms for hospitality and lifestyle businesses. These days people find recommendations from these platforms when planning a vacation or night out.
Start by setting up profiles on various social media relevant to your business. Next, develop a content calendar and brainstorm content ideas. Remember, consistency is key if you want your business to get noticed on social media.
Give Back to the Community
Have you recently started a new venture? Is your small business under the radar despite promotional efforts? It’s time to give back to your local community. Getting involved in the community will allow you to establish your reputation and generate goodwill.
One of the easiest ways to give back to your community is by donating money or goods to a local charity. However, there are cost-effective alternatives if you work with a limited marketing budget.
You and your employees can donate time by volunteering at local animal shelters, community centers, and other non-profit organizations. You can also express gratitude to community heroes such as teachers and doctors by offering them a special discount or additional benefits.
Host Contests & Giveaways
Contests and giveaways are nothing new but continue to be a reliable way to urge customers to interact with your business. The prospect of winning something is an effective way to attract new customers and re-engage existing patrons. Moreover, content marketing creates brand awareness and drives product promotion.
While you can host contests and giveaways at local fairs and exhibitions, virtual competitions on social media are just as effective. Asking followers to tag their friends in the comments and follow your pages can boost your social media presence.
Wrapping Up
With the competition getting fiercer every day, it’s crucial to enhance your brand’s local visibility with digital marketing strategies. In addition to attracting more prospects, connecting with leads in your locality also ensures a higher conversion rate. Hopefully, the aforementioned tips will help your business show up in relevant local searches and queries.
