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Word of mouth is still a great way for a local business to grow. When people hear from others that your business is worth going to then this goes a long way. However, these days you can’t just rely on people spreading the word about you. You need to have a comprehensive plan that covers a lot of different marketing strategies so you can make sure that you rise above the competition.
You’ll need a website so you can do local SEO, as well as use some tried and true non-digital methods to make sure that everybody knows about your business. When you have many different facets to your strategy then you will have more of a chance of success. In this article, we will go over some of the best marketing strategies to use for your local business whether you decide to go with an agency such as Brighter Digital Marketing or do it yourself.
1 – Write a blog
Blogging for business is often discounted by small businesses that feel that it is not worth the time. The thing is, when you blog and target the right keywords, you can get a lot of good traffic to your site. This traffic is essentially free except for what you may have paid for the content writer to create the blog post.
This traffic can then be added to your sales funnel and turned into good leads later on. If you run a promotion or sale or have new inventory then you can send out an email message to your list from the traffic that came from the blog. Then, you can add some extra sales thanks to the content on your blog.
2 – Set up your business on Google My Business
The first thing you will need to have for your local business is an address online. There is a way to get your address, phone number, and operating hours online so that when people do a google search for a relevant keyword, your business listing will come up with all of that information.
This is all done through a service that Google offers called Google My Business. You’ll need to set up an account and then go through all of the prompts to make sure all of the relevant information about your business comes up when people run a search. The nice thing is that people don’t need to search for your business specifically. They only need to search for the thing that your business does followed by the area where you are located.
There is other helpful information that comes up when you are listed. For example, pictures of the business and even a way for people to write reviews. When you start getting reviews, then this helps you get even further up in the results.
3 – Direct mail
Sending material to the home mailbox of your target audience is a very effective strategy for local businesses. This is mainly due to how often people use email for their correspondence which means that any mail they get in their actual mailbox now gets noticed right away.
Once you have their attention you can often get them interested. You’ll need to use some creative mailings to get their attention but luckily there are a lot of options. Instead of a plain flier, you can send video brochures.
With the right targeting, you can get a great ROI since you are only sending the mail to those that would have an interest in exactly what you are doing. You should sign up with a local marketing company that will give you the metrics and demographics you need to create a good mailing strategy.
4 – Hire a PR firm
Local PR firms are implanted into the local fabric of the area where your business is located. They are the perfect people to have on your side because they know exactly how to create a buzz around what you’re doing.
For instance, if you have a restaurant, then a local PR firm will have an event with a lot of the local leaders in your area so they can get to know your business. This will make it into the local papers and the word will spread. It’s a great way to get the right type of clientele to know about your restaurant so you will always be busy.
This works for any type of business as the PR firm will know exactly the right type of event to help promote you.
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