Are you looking to improve the local marketing results of your business? Although the Internet is full of marketing tips, many of them are not aimed at regional websites. Regional marketing is completely different in many ways.

In this article, I will present some simple (and in some cases not so simple) tips to improve the local marketing of any type of business. Keep reading to learn how you can get more out of your local marketing.

Local marketing: Make your local SEO perfect

We are not going to go into very technical details, because local SEO requires an article on its own. Local SEO is an essential element of any local business marketing strategy.

The local search is incredibly powerful. 80% of consumers turn to search engines to find local information. And perhaps more importantly, 50% of consumers who conduct a local search on their mobile phone end up visiting a local store within a day. That is a very large percentage. So if you’re running any type of physical store, you definitely cannot afford to skimp on local searches.

You may also like to read: Local Marketing: Why and How To Use It In Your Business?

Local marketing: Focus on creating an impressive mobile website that loads fast

Connected with the first point, it is necessary to have an incredible website that is adaptable to mobiles for local marketing. Responsive design is important for each site, of course. But it is especially important for local marketing.

This is why …

61% of consumers read comments via mobile Internet (no mobile apps). From this statistic, it can be inferred that a large percentage of people are searching for companies on their smartphone. Google’s own data supports this, as they found that more than 50% of people search for addresses, hours of service, and other information through mobile search.

Therefore, to satisfy your potential customers where they are (mobile internet browsers), it is necessary to make sure that the mobile version of your site loads quickly and is easy to navigate.

Local marketing: Build an email list

Email lists are not only for virtual Internet brands, they are also a great asset to local marketing. Newsletters can boost the business, helping you to notify customers about special offers or new products / services.

To build your list, think about offering your customers a discount for subscribing or using a Lead Magnet (depending on your market niche).

You may also like to read: 10 Tips For Local Business Marketing

Local marketing: Take social networks a little further

“Use social networks” is quite common advice these days. But it’s not as easy as opening an account and publishing what you’re thinking.

In general, you want to create interesting content for your target customers. So, it is necessary to get your target customers to really see that content. Because social networks are increasingly decreasing the organic reach of messages, you may have to resort to advertising on social networks to get your content seen.

Local marketing: Cross promotion with other local businesses

One of the positive aspects of having a local business is the ability to develop deep relationships with other local business owners. Through these relationships, cross-promotion strategies can be developed, where each promotes the activity of the other. Assuming they are not direct competitors, it is a win-win situation.

If it’s something as simple as exchanging personal cards or more complicated as direct references, cross-promotion is a great marketing strategy for local businesses.

You may also like to read: Local Marketing: 6 Practical Tips For Your Local Business

Local marketing: Join local business organizations

Local business associations are an excellent way to develop these cross-promotion relationships or simply establish contacts with potential customers. Your local chamber of commerce is an obvious first choice. But you can also focus on more specific organizations. For example, if you are a graphic artist, look for a local design group.

You do not have to limit yourself to your own industry, either. You can also search for groups in which your potential customers are active, even if they do not fit directly into your industry.

Local marketing: Get involved with local events

In addition to local business organizations, you should also try to participate in local events relevant to your industry. While attending is surely better than not going, the best strategy is to assume a role of lecturer or leader in the event. These roles not only allow you to get exposure, but also help you to consolidate as an authority in your niche. If you’re a speaker at the event, it’s because you know what you’re doing, right?

You may also like to read: 9 Ways to increase the rating of your business in local search

Local marketing: Appear in local directories

You always have to try to get into the local directories, as much as possible. While a single directory is unlikely to generate massive traffic on its own, the combination of all local directories can add up. It is not that you are going to shoot the success of your business, but it only requires investing your time only once (unless you change your contact information or change your brand).

Local marketing: Request testimonials from satisfied customers

Last but not least, there are customer testimonials. While many testimonial sites directly prohibit you from encouraging positive reviews, you still have the ability to ask your happy customers to leave comments. 70% of customers will leave an opinion if you ask. And if we take into account, in addition, that 74% of consumers say that positive testimonies make them trust more in local companies, the return on investment to request comments is something obvious.

If you are sending an email to your customers in large numbers, a good place to ask for comments is in the signature area. Unfortunately, physical stores cannot always afford this luxury, so a similar strategy could be to print a testimony request at the end of each receipt. Of course, it will never look bad that, with some tact, you ask for it in person.

We hope that these tips provide you with some good starting points to carry out the local marketing of your company.