8 Simple & Easy Tactics to Start Marketing Your Business Online Locally
Ever dreamt you were invisible? What about dreaming you are unable to speak? Both can have positive benefits and even be fun, but for businesses, this is not the case. A business always needs visibility and a voice to tell its story and speak with its customers.
In our current age, being visible and accessible is mission critical to the success of your business.
Why you ask?
Your customers have their heads buried in their phones. Heads are down when they do everything — walking, standing in a line, driving (when they are passengers), watching tv, eating, on the subway, shopping, etc.
Smartphones and the internet have led to massive changes in how people communicate, their posture :/ and how businesses communicate with their customers.
Businesses need to cut through the noise.
Getting the right message out to the right people has become increasingly more difficult. You can no longer just have a storefront, an office, a listing in the Yellow Pages, a billboard, or just a website. You need to be where people are searching for you and where they are having conversations. Sounds simple, right?
For some people it is. But for most people they do not know where to start. Here are 8 quick and easy starting points to market your businesses locally.
1. Bid On Your Brand
When people search for you or your company, you need to be the first result in the search results. This is a fairly simple setup in the Google Ads and it will bring in customers at the bottom of your funnel searching for you or your brand.
2. List For “Near Me” Searches Related To Your Business
List for geo-targeted / hyper local searches like “[service(s) your business offers] near me” or “[business category] near me”.
Example “Lawyers Near Me”
Here is our guide:
3. List Your Physical Location Everywhere You Can
Your physical location(s) are listed on Google My Business, Apple Maps, Yelp, and any other platform your business could be discovered locally. Ensure your listing(s) are robust and cover all of your core services and results your business offers.
Here is our list of 42 platforms that offer free local listings:
4. You Are Social
Make sure you have pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin with a spokesperson for your company / business. Ensure they are available on social media channels to communicate with current and future customers.
You Are Social | Go Where Your Customers Are
Quick Guide To Social Media Use for Businesses
medium.com
5. No Leaks
You are consistently retargeting & re-marketing people who have come to your website with campaigns on Facebook and on Google. Providing them with more information about your business and offers enticing them to re-engage with your business.
6. Create Your Audiences
Make sure you have installed Google Analytics and Facebook Pixels (on your site) plus have conversion goals setup for both platforms.
7. Get Testimonials
Encourage all forms of feedback and testimonials on all platforms. Then showcase them on your site or in your marketing materials.
8. Build A List
You have captured your current and past customers on an email list and mail to them regularly with content (relevant to your business) and/or promotions (for your business).
The hardest part about all of this is just getting started. If you have any questions please connect with me on Twitter or Facebook.
Happy Marketing!
-Michael
