Learn How to Promote Your Business Locally To Increase Profit

Small, local businesses can use many of the same marketing tactics as bigger, globally recognized brands. By utilizing a combination of traditional and digital marketing, even small business owners can promote themselves far more effectively. That leads to more sales, increased profits, and more potential to grow.

Knowing how to promote your business locally can be a game-changer when it comes to growing your target audience, with geography, word of mouth, and digital marketing all working together to strengthen your business and ensure that it has longevity. If your sales figures have dropped or hit a peak that you can't overcome, you have more options than you might think.

Not sure how to promote your business locally? Here's everything you need to know.

Use Your Free Google Listing

To promote your business more effectively, the first step will always be to make it easier for customers to find you. That's where Google comes in. You need to set up a Google My Business free account, which will make it significantly easier for local customers to find you. Consumers these days will Google everything, but especially when it comes to products and services that they need near them. By filling out a Google My Business template, you immediately gain online visibility, and you'll start to appear on Google Maps when people search for what you sell. Make sure that all of your details are filled out correctly, and always include a website link.

● Google My Business Tips: Add photos, respond to reviews, categorize your business sector, and make sure that all of your contact information, from your phone number to your address, is correct.

Work on Branding

To take promoting your business to the next level, one of your most valuable marketing tactics is to work on your branding. Don't stick to designing a logo and hoping for the best. Brand recognition and brand awareness are the keys to being remembered by customers, and that can only be good news for your sales figures.

Branding for a local, small business can be transformative, and it's not as challenging to get right as you might think. Simply give some thought to your target audience, and match your logo designs, your color palette, and your tone of voice so that it reflects that audience. While branding can evolve, especially as you grow, it needs to have a solid foundation to work from. When it comes to knowing how to promote your business locally, branding should be a priority.

Have a Website

You might think that you can get away with simply having a Google My Business listing and a Facebook business page. More than ever before, you need to have a dedicated website. It needs to be easy to use, mobile-friendly, and remain consistent with your fresh branding. You don't need to learn to code or hire someone to design your website either. There are plenty of website building platforms available that are easy to use, and even without any technical skills, you can quickly get your small business online and looking good. There are lots of ways to get more from your website as you get more used to these marketing tactics, but simply having a web presence is going to be essential.

Business Cards and Stationery

After your brand identity is established, and you've got a presence on both Google and your website, the next thing you need to do is to make sure that you look as professional as possible. If you're handing out service invoices on a scrap of paper or talking about your business with potential customers, then you need to look at some branded stationery. Business cards are very useful for handing out to friends and family, or simply when you meet someone new that could be a future local customer.

Word of mouth is just as much a part of promoting a local business as having a website, and the more professional you are, the more likely that word of mouth about your business will be positive. Knowing how to promote your business locally means combining traditional and more modern marketing tactics.

Local Targeted Audience

The best thing about promoting a local business is that you have a lot of potential for a captive audience. While it's often frowned on by digital marketers, traditional media outlets can be very high-value for a localized business, so don't underestimate the value of sending out press releases to local radio stations, TV channels, or local newspapers. However, don't overlook online advertising too.

Social media and search engines alike allow you to set up location targeting, meaning that you can start using specific terms related to your geographical identity. From region names to zip codes, your targeted audience will see your adverts while those outside of your catchment area won't. So don't overlook traditional media and the value of strong press releases, but remember that targeted local advertising can transform your potential to grow.

Have a Blog

The key to being more visible online is to have content. Even a very small business can benefit from having a dedicated blog with unique blog posts. The problem with business blogging is that it can be time-consuming, but if it's handled well it is one of the most effective and powerful marketing tactics in the world. Knowing how to promote your business locally by using blog posts can take time to get right, and you will need to do some research. Look into the following subjects:

● Keyword research and how to use it

● Content and SEO

The goal should be to produce blog posts that will provide a local target audience with content that will be related to your business, your sector, and all while being valuable and educational. Local businesses in particular can get a lot of benefits from writing about local activities, guides, and tips.

Community Involvement

There's a good chance that you're already doing this to some extent, but probably not enough. Getting more involved in your local community is a great way to boost brand awareness, especially if you attend events wearing custom made hats that showcase all of your local business branding. Community events are, by definition, full of local people. From sporting events to local fundraisers, sponsorship can be incredibly valuable. Local charities are also worth looking at more closely, especially if they then send out a press release showcasing your involvement with them.

Have an Email List

There's a reason why every company in the world has an email newsletter right now. It's not only one of the most effective marketing tactics available, but it's also very low cost and a fantastic return on your investment. Email marketing should be a priority for your local business, but it can take time to build a list of subscribers. It's never been easier to target audiences that live locally with email marketing, but it's important to remember that every email that you send should provide value in some way. It could be a special offer or discount, or it could be news about your local community. Provide value, and encourage potential customers to visit your website.

Request Reviews

Consumers love reviews, so you want to have as many as possible. From Google My Business to alternative online directories, make sure that you know where reviews are being left so that you can respond to them. For every business review that you get, your business will gain a higher level of credibility in the minds of your target audience. When it comes to learning how to promote your business locally, looking for the best ways to encourage reviews, and how to respond best to them can be one of the useful marketing tactics around.

Promotional Merch

Pens, clothes, and even coffee mugs that you can hand out at events or when you make a sale can be a lot more effective than you might think when it comes to marketing tactics. Think about the fact that every time someone writes with a pen that's decorated with your marketing colors and logo, or pours a coffee every morning into your branded coffee mug, they are going to be seeing your business. When the time comes that they need what you sell, those custom promotional products will have reinforced your branding, sometimes for years. Give some thought to the promotional products that will be kept for the longest amount of time, or will get used most regularly.

A local business is often working to smaller profit margins, and they can't afford to lose a single potential customer. If your existing marketing tactics aren't having the effect that you hoped for, or it's been a while since you even looked at marketing, it's likely to be time for a change of approach. Learning how to promote your business locally is a lot easier than you might have thought, and the positives that you gain will be worth that investment of time.