13 Ideas For Local Business Marketing

How To Do Local Business Marketing 

Local business marketing can work for any type of organization whether you really are only local to the place you want to market to or whether you’re a global business.

Often, globally or nationally minded enterprises don’t think about the fact that local marketing can still work for them, especially when they’re a small business being run by a sole proprietor.

But you can, and it works too. Let’s look at some local marketing ideas that may work for your business and help you reach your target audience.

Free Tool: Make a Buyer Persona

13 Ideas For Local Business Marketing

1. Start a Local Niche Group on Facebook

Facebook provides many opportunities for local small business internet marketing. In addition to locally targetted Facebook ads, you can also create Facebook groups. If you have businesses in more than one location, you can create groups for different locations so that you can learn more about your audience in those areas. Doing this will give you an inside into their thoughts and problems that you can use everywhere.

2. Go To Local Networking Events

In your own local area there are going to be lots of local networking events that business owners can attend. You can sign up with the local chamber of commerce to start, but there are likely even more events than that.

3. Add Your Business to Local Directories

One thing you must be careful about is that many directories don’t let you have more than one listing per phone number. You can get more numbers via some of the online services like Google Voice and others.

4. Contribute Content to Local News Outlets

Locally there are magazines, newspapers, TV shows, radio shows and more that you can be interviewed on, submit content to, and more. Give them a reason to want to feature your story, and you’ll start to establish yourself as an authority in your industry. Local media also offers the opportunity for cost-effective advertising opportunities.

5. Sponsor a Local Charities & Events 

Another way to get your name in the news (and to feel good about it) is to sponsor local charities and business and other types of events. If there is something that you know your audience will also support it, go for it.

6. Host a Local Contest

You can kick things off by hosting a contest for your audience who live in specific locations only. Choose a contest that causes buzz. For example, get participants to make a video that can be easily shared.

7. Optimize Your Site for Local Search

Local search engine marketing won’t cost you much at all. Set up your website, or at least a page on your website with local search terms. Don’t keyword stuff, think about the words and the content you put on that page before doing it. You want visitors to feel special when they visit.

8. Speak Publicly in Locations You Want to Be Known

There are always event planners looking for speakers. Create a few different talks that can be adjusted for each audience. Create a “one-sheet” and start submitting to organizations you’d like to speak with. If you’re willing to start out without charging you can get popular very fast.

9. Be Easily Accessible

If you want to be trusted by local people, you need to communicate with them. Let them know what your business actually does and how you can help them. You need to allow them to email you and contact you easily. Don’t hide any of your contact information and make sure they can do it easily.

10. Host Workshops Locally 

This is an excellent opportunity to start with a small group of interested people and then by publicizing what you did with that group by communicating it into news and content that is locally focused on getting even more attention.

11. Get More Reviews 

Set up a system that enables you to get more reviews. Set up your email autoresponder to automatically ask for reviews after your customer has had enough time to experience results.

12. Create More Locally Focused Content

When you are focusing on a location consider creating more locally focused content. You may have to get creative doing it, but adding local events, and other related information to your content will help.

13. Create an Influencer Marketing Campaign 

One fast way to break into any local market is to find local influencers to mention your name or product. You can often work with multiple influencers at the same time too.

Create Your Ideal Buyer Persona (Free Tool)

Your local business marketing will improve the more you know about the people in your local marketplace. A buying persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer, based on market research and real data about your existing customers. Learning about your ideal customer, their challenges, goals, wants, needs etc, helps you to set a strategy aimed at attracting the most valuable leads, prospects and customers to your business. Fill out this free customer persona creation guide that your entire company can use to market, sell and serve better.