If you do business on a local level - Local Marketing can become a top sales generating tool for you.

Smart Local Marketing can:

• Increase in-store customers with long-term loyalty.
• Boost visitors to your website.
• Heighten awareness of your Brand.
• Improve SEO efforts resulting in higher search engine rankings.
• Deepen community connections.

What is Local Marketing?

Local Marketing, also known as “neighborhood marketing” is a marketing strategy that targets consumers/customers within a radius around a physical location with marketing messages targeted toward the local population.

Local Marketing Strategies:

Know What They’re Doing
Use a disposable Email address and follow competitor Social media Facebook and Instagram accounts. Subscribe to their newsletter, and visit they’re website. Take note of things they’re doing on a Local level – but you’re not. Enhance what they’re doing and be more creative.

Geo-Targeting Optimization
Ensure your website content is optimized with geographical terms (geo-targeting) to include your city, town and state. Kick it up a notch with Hyper-Local Marketing and focus on a radius within blocks of your business location.

Weaving together Geo-Targeting and Hyper-Local Marketing throughout your website will cover all of the “near me” searches as well as “specific location” qualifiers that drive Google search results. Google wants to connect your business to potential customer search inquiries … make it easier for your business to be ranked higher.

Mobile Friendly Website
Potential customers in your area are constantly on the go, looking for products and services – most often while they’re out and about. To accommodate people that want/need things “right now” make sure your site is adaptable to the format requirements of every conceivable device screen.

Get Local with Your Social
When the situation presents itself, always Tag geo-area and location in your Social posts. Include Local keywords in #Hashtags, Bios and Profiles. Mesh into posts your neighborhood name and city/town name.

Facebook: Connect with Local contacts and engage with relevant posts and comments.

LinkedIn: Join Local business groups, create your own group and strive to increase Local connections.

Instagram: Post about your business, balance product/service posts including images, with non-business posts.

Claim All Listings
There’s an extensive list of online Directories that display businesses by name and location. For most of them, you have to “claim your business”. When claiming, you’ll then want to review and revise the profile information to be sure it’s accurate. You’ll want to add your Brand logo, tagline and a blurb about who you are and what your business offers, areas you service, etc, etc.

Brand Trust
Ask for customer testimonials and ask them to post comments on review sites such as Yelp, Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business), Angie’s List, etc, etc. Display comments on your website and in your Social media.

When customer comments are collected, be sure to ask for their city/town and state. Having Local testimonials and comments will bring trust and credibility to your Brand. Reviews containing city/town/state, or a well-known local term helps to boost search engine ranking for search results.

Use Google Ads for Local
Test Local markets with paid online advertising campaigns. Localize keywords and include your city/town name into the headline and content. In AdWords, you can include your business phone number, and also link to your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) page.

Community Involvement
Supporting a Local cause offers the benefit of free advertising within your community.

• Rent booths at Local events, fairs, expos, conventions, etc. Offer hand-outs about what you sell, or provide. Collect names and Email addresses. Get your Brand noticed and talked about. Become the neighborhood authority for your niche.

• Sponsor Local activities that might include church events, sports teams (child and adult), clubs, non-profits and fundraising events, farmers markets, local hospital and school events, award ceremonies, charities, etc.

• Spend time Volunteering with Local organizations, and encourage your employees to do so also on a consistent basis. (pet shelters, food banks, community grow gardens, etc)

• Every neighborhood and city is different, so make a list of possible groups, companies and organizations your business can become involved with. Be identifiable - order and wear Business t-shirts (jacket, hoodie, etc) to display your business Brand whenever attending a session or function.

Give Testimonials
Leaving online reviews and Social comments about other companies will get your business noticed.  Use your Business Name, Website URL and Phone Number in your Posting signature line. Don’t forget to use your unique business #Hashtag where allowed.

Start with people you do business with including all of your local business suppliers and vendors.

Coupons for Specific Groups
Offer special discounts and/or coupons for select groups such as high schools and colleges, active military and veterans, senior citizens, etc.

Discussions and Blogs
Engage with business, organization, community, and school Local Blogs, and discussion forums. Leave comments and participate in discussions. Always include a subtle loop back to what you do, and your business.

Investing time in your Local community generating awareness of your business and Brand is time well spent. Knowing what your competitors are doing gives you a distinct advantage. Expand on their efforts, be creative, and position yourself as the go-to business in your community.

More to Explore:

5 Spy in the Sky Tools to Help Boost Your Brand's Marketing

7 Tips for Business WebPages

24 Ways to Ramp Up Your Social Media Marketing

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