unlocking local success

Your Guide to Location-Based Marketing

In today's fast-paced digital world, small businesses often overlook one of their most powerful assets: their local community. Leveraging location-based marketing can transform your small business into a community staple, driving foot traffic, building loyalty, and boosting your bottom line. Whether you're a brick-and-mortar store or a service provider, mastering local marketing strategies can give you the edge you need to thrive in a competitive market. This page is packed with proven tips and strategies to help you connect with your community and achieve lasting success.

Your Local Area Marketing (LAM) Tips:

Use "Hidden" Website Pages:

Update your website to include hidden (not linked anywhere else on your website) direct local area landing pages to help your SEO and your local search engine rankings. To do this, create one webpage for each local city and service you offer. (For example, a plumber would have 1 new web page for West Covina Plumbing Service, West Covina Drain Cleaning, West Covina Water Heater Repair, etc and do this same thing for each local city, like Baldwin Park, Whittier, etc). Yes, it can be a lot of new web pages, but it's worth it! But make sure to use your H1 and H2 headings with keyword rich titles and subtitles, but mostly, make sure your webpage is easy to read for an actual human being. The goal with SEO is to keep them on the page and clicking through. If they land on the page and bounce off immediately, you'll lose search engine credibility. And don't forget that call-to-action!

Join Free Local Search Sites:

Make sure you are signed up for free local search sites like Yelp and Google My Business, build out your pages and make sure to ask your customers for reviews! Don't be afraid of criticism either! And if your reviews aren't the prettiest, don't get discouraged and don't take things personally. This is your opportunity to listen to what your clients are saying, show them that you hear what they are saying, and see how you might be able to make your business even better. Don't let these local search sites fall on the wayside for your business!

Join Local Groups and Community Boards:

Join local Facebook groups and check them and other community boards daily (like Nextdoor and the Neighbors section in the Ring app). People are always asking for referrals, recommendations and help. Be there to answer their call, but always remember… service before sales! Give valuable advice, share tips and tricks, build your authority in your line of work. And whether you are replying from a personal or business page, make sure to clean up your bio! Human beings are curious creatures and will often check a person’s bio for more information on them to build trust.

Use Location Based Social Media Tactics:

Two things you can do when it comes to social media... First, make sure you are using location based tags, keywords and stickers (when using stories) specific to your area. Second, this is a bit trickier, but a great tactic... think of a popular local business that might either be similar to yours, in a parallel type of niche, or one where your target audience might likely frequent. Then, on your phone (it doesn't work on a desktop), type that local business name and hit "search" (be careful not to select the business if it shows up while you're typing, make sure to hit "search"). At the top of the results page, tap "places," and tap the location for that local business. This will bring up the location along with all of the locations top and most recent posts that they are tagged in. I suggest tapping on "recent" and you will see a solid list of potential customers. You can work to connect with those people, follow them, DM them, and send them an offer or a special one-time only deal to try your business. It works great!

Kickstart Your Email Marketing:

If you haven't already, start collecting email addresses from current, past and prospective customers (with their permission, of course). And you can use location based tags to start sending regular, value-filled emails to your local subscribers. You can share your upcoming events, specials, deals, discounts, etc. It's also a great place to ask for referrals! I use email marketing platforms like Mailchimp and Flodesk. Email marketing can make you feel overwhelmed, but don't overthink it! And don't worry about making it too pretty either... it's more about the content. So keep it short, simple and value driven... that's the key!

Hit the Pavement:

It’s time to utilize good ‘ole fashioned shoe leather marketing! Creative, clever and enticing fliers and doorhangers make a great marketing tactic when you target key neighborhoods and areas your target audience might live in or frequent. Create a nice flier or doorhanger, make it catchy or leave a space for a handwritten note and you can either target specific areas, OR when you are in the neighborhood servicing another home or client, you can drop them off to all the neighbors saying that you were just in the neighborhood and would love the opportunity to help them and earn their business as well. Sounds silly, but it works!

Start a Referral Program:

Create a referral or loyalty program for current customers. Ask them to share your business information with friends and family members for incentives. If you currently have an incentive program and it's not turning results, consider changing things up. Get business cards printed, write your customers name on a handful of them and ask them to hand them out. Or send digital posts they can share via social media the same way. Happy customers are like walking billboards for your business… utilize them!

Get Involved in the Community:

Local communities have LOTS of events and groups to join. Knowing your target audience is key though. Find local events that your target audience might frequent and look for vendor or sponsor opportunities. Join local groups that support the community and can get your name out there as well. If you're an introvert, it's time to stretch that comfort zone and break out of your shell a bit. I know this can sometimes cause anxiety for people, but I promise it gets easier each time!

Use Your Local Media:

Media personnel are always looking for fresh new stories to share and bright local businesses to showcase. Why can’t it be you? Pitch stories about your business to local media outlets, such as newspapers, radio, and TV. Start with a simple email direct to your local media personnel with an enticing pitch. Keep it short and sweet and make it captivating and time sensitive, when possible. If you don’t hear back from them, follow up within a couple of days. This is your opportunity to step into your hometown spotlight.

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