Local marketing, also known as neighborhood marketing, is a strategy that targets customers within a specific radius. Marketing a local business is very different from marketing a business with a global or national reach. Local marketing only focuses on reaching a very specific community, according to the experts from best Australian casino online. This applies to any brick and mortar business, or service that only serves customers within a dedicated area.
When you look for marketing advice, most of the guides you find will be focused on global marketing. This works well for businesses that have a bigger reach and can target a broader market. However, local marketing needs to be far more focused. It’s about creating a big impact in a small area, instead of trying to reach out as far as possible, courtesy of machines a sous en ligne.
- Claim all your free business profiles
The following tips are listed in no particular order, but this one is at the top for a reason: the importance of claiming your business pages on Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Facebook, and any relevant industry-specific sites (such as OpenTable for restaurants, for example) can not be overstated.
An astounding 56% of businesses haven’t claimed their Google business profiles. This is crazy. There’s nothing more important for today’s small businesses than a solid online presence (yes, even for small, local shops), and without taking this step, any advertising money you decide to spend will simply drive your potential customers to other businesses.
- Read and respond to all your reviews
Once you have claimed your business profiles, you can respond to online reviews. This is not only polite, it’s essential… and it’s effectively free advertising. When you respond appropriately to reviews, you demonstrate to current and potential customers that you are fully engaged in the process of taking care of your customers. And since 97% of people read online reviews for local businesses, your reviews (and the “star rating” that results) are the first introduction almost all of your potential customers will have to your business.
- Apply for business awards
Even taking out an ad in a newspaper will set you back a few hundred dollars, minimum. But there’s a good chance your city or industry has a “best of” awards program. Someone has to win those awards—why not you? Search online for “Best of [your city]” or “[your industry] awards.” Applying is often free or only a few hundred dollars, and it gives your brand both online and print exposure. In local markets, winners are often invited to give demonstrations live on local news stations. That’s a lot of publicity for not a lot of money.
- Run Google Ads
Google, one of the foremost search engines in the world, allows you to target potential customers in your local area specifically with pay-per-click ads. With this platform, you can run the classic search engine result Google Ad, Google Local Services Ads (Google LSA tips here), Google Shopping Ads, and more. A higher volume of inquiries and increased sales are just two of many benefits of running Google Ads. A well-thought-out ad strategy can also yield long-term results that are less tangible, such as improved brand awareness and brand recognition, which often leads to referrals and sales down the road.