Are you concerned that your small business isn’t connecting with the local market in the way you’d like?
Do you feel like people in your community don’t even know that you’re open for business?
Are you concerned that your competitors have a stronger local marketing plan than you do?
If so, then you know you need to make a change as soon as possible.
In this post, we’ll break down some of the most important local marketing strategies that you need to know in order to outrank your competitors and see the kind of growth you’ve always dreamed of.
Read on to learn what it takes to make a lasting impact on your local market.
1. Get Hyperlocal
You’ve heard of the importance of a localized marketing strategy.
But have you ever heard the phrase “hyperlocal?”
Instead of just referencing your city or state, hyperlocal marketing focuses on your neighborhood, your street, and even your block.
For example, instead of a vague local keyword phrase like “Charleston florist” try something like “Florist on King Street” or “Broad Street florist.”
You can even take advantage of hyperlocal marketing on social media, where platforms like Facebook will allow you to target users who are within a mile of your business location.
You can target by zip code, by a specific age and gender demographic, and much more.
2. Add a Google Map to Your Website
This is one of the easiest — and the most effective — local marketing strategies.
If you want to increase your standing in local search engine results, you need to make sure that you’ve added a Google Map of your business to the contact page of your website.
This makes you much more likely to show up in the navigation results of customers who are on the go and are looking for what your business has to offer.
Since local searches conducted on mobile devices lead about 50% of those searchers to visit your store within 24 hours?
It’s easy to see how big of an impact a small move like this can have!
3. Claim Your Business Listings
You simply can’t master local marketing unless you claim and complete your online business listings.
This means that you’ll need to claim your business’s profile on third-party sites like Yelp and Google My Business.
It’s important to remember that if you don’t claim these listings?
Your competitors can always claim them for you. We’re certain you don’t want that.
Think of your listings as a “one-sheet” for your business. You should include your address and other contact information, your store hours, and photos of your storefront so that people can easily find it.
You should also include a brief description of what you sell, the transportation options people can use to get there, and even the kinds of payments that your business accepts.
In addition to these business listings, you should also make sure that you submit your business to as many online business directories as possible.
4. Ask Clients for Reviews
Did you know that well over 80% of shoppers say they value the reviews that people leave online about a company as much as they do in-person suggestions from their friends?
This means that having enough online reviews for your company on the business listings we spoke about above is an essential part of mastering local marketing.
Make it easy for your clients to do this by including a form to leave a review in the body of your email confirmations, or even by following up with them after a delivery is made.
You could also enter those that leave you a review in a drawing for free products, or give them a percentage off of their next service with you.
Make sure that you respond to both the good and the bad reviews (calmly, of course) so that consumers know you take what people have to say seriously.
5. Write Localized Content
If you want to improve your local marketing strategy, you need to prove to your potential clients that you have your finger on the pulse of your community.
While things like choosing the right location-based keywords and having lots of reviews are important, you also need to make sure that you’re writing about topics that are relevant and interesting to your local market.
For example, if there’s a local festival, charity event, or new museum exhibition?
Find a way to write about it on your blog!
You can include a few photos of your team entering a local bowling contest, show them shopping on Chalmers Street, or even catching a show at the Dock Street Theatre.
This also helps potential customers to get to know your brand on a more personal level, which can increase consumer trust and confidence in your company.
This type of content is highly shareable on social media, which means that it can be an awesome tool to spread your overall brand awareness.
Looking for Professional Local Marketing Help?
From claiming your business listings to making sure that your content appeals to your target demographic, we hope that this post has taught you a few things about how to master local marketing.
Of course, we also know that sometimes, you need the help and expertise offered by a professional.
That’s where we come in.
Whether you need assistance with website design, SEO, and even paid per click advertising, our team at Sweetgrass Marketing is here to help.
Spend some time on our website to learn more about what we do. When you’re ready to get started, reach out to us.