If you have a business that primarily serves the people within your local community, your marketing efforts are going to need to be a little bit different from those businesses with a larger reach. So to help you see where certain adjustments should be made and to learn what marketing strategies are going to work best for you, here are three tips for marketing your business to locals.
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Set Up Your Local Citations And Listings
One of the most important SEO and online marketing strategies for local businesses to employ is setting up their local citations and listing. By proving this vital information on various directories and other search platforms, you can ensure that anyone in your area who’s looking for your business will be able to find you.
According to QuickSprout.com, the most important information to include in these local citations and listings include your business address, hours, phone number, a link to your website, and a map or directions to help people find you. And to have the best possible results and not get penalized, you’ve got to make sure that this information is accurate and consistent across every platform where your local business is listed.
Luckily, most of these listings are completely free for your business to set up, so doing so will only benefit you in the long run.
Use Geo-Targeted Ads
Another great way to market to the locals in your area and ensure that your marketing efforts are being put in front of the wrong people is to use geo-targeted ads.
Derek Miller, a contributor to Entrepreneur.com, shares that if you’re going to be putting the time, money, and effort into creating ads online, you should make sure that you’re always geo-targeting them to the exact areas where you do business. By getting your ads in front of the people in your target market and service areas, you’ll have a much better conversion rate for the ads you’re running.
Solicit More Online Reviews
When people are looking for a local company to do business with, one of the first things they’ll research is how others have liked doing business with that company in the past through their online reviews.
To ensure that you have enough positive reviews to encourage other locals to come to your business, Blair Thomas, a contributor to Small Business Trends, suggests that you encourage your customers or clients to leave you reviews online. These reviews can be posted on your social media pages, on your website, or on other review websites. With the help of these positive reviews, you should be able to build a good brand for your business throughout your local community.
If you’re a local business wanting to get your exposure and notice, consider using the tips mentioned above to better market to your local community.