Business owners recognize the importance of proven marketing ideas for small businesses, yet many struggle to achieve and sustain growth due to a lack of consistency or innovative ideas.
The good news is that digital marketing is a dynamic field that encompasses various components, including search engine optimization, pay-per-click marketing, content marketing, social media advertising, and more. Keeping up with the ever-evolving trends can provide endless opportunities for creativity.
However, for busy business owners, it can be challenging to come up with new ideas for digital marketing. This guide is designed to offer helpful suggestions and tips in several key categories:
- Local Facebook and Google advertising
- Local listings and review websites
- Local search engine optimization (SEO)
- Social media marketing
- Email marketing
- Community-focused marketing
Some of these strategies are well-established and reliable, while others may be unfamiliar. Regardless of your experience level, there is something in this guide for everyone, whether you’re just starting out in local marketing or you’re a seasoned pro.
Efficient Local Marketing Ideas For Small Businesses: Advertising
Advertising may seem like an unusual starting point for local marketing ideas, especially for small businesses with limited budgets. However, online advertising offers targeted exposure at an affordable cost, making it an effective tool for local businesses. Here are nine tips for maximizing your return on investment for advertising spending.
Utilize Google Ads – Google, one of the leading search engines, enables you to reach local customers through pay-per-click advertising. This platform offers various ad options, including classic search engine ads, Google Local Services Ads, Google Shopping Ads, and more.
Running Google Ads can bring numerous benefits, including an increase in inquiries and sales, as well as long-term results such as improved brand awareness and recognition, which can lead to referrals and future sales. To learn more, visit these resources:
- Should I Run Google Ads?
- How to Run Google Ads
- Our free Google Ads Performance Grader
Set up Detailed Radius Location Targeting in Google Ads
Effective radius targeting is crucial in Google Ads. You can set a target within a 2-5-mile radius of your store, but taking advantage of the radius targeting feature along with location bid adjustments can make your Google Ads even more impactful. Here’s how to set up radius targeting:
Step 1: Create Your Locations
Let’s assume you own a coffee shop in Irvine, CA, and customers are only willing to drive up to five miles to visit.
Go to Campaign level settings > All Settings > Edit Locations > Advanced Search > Radius Targeting.
Type in your address and select search.
Add locations for a 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5-mile radius.
Your targeting map should resemble the image below when you’ve finished:
By utilizing radius targeting, your advertising becomes a well-targeted approach to reaching potential customers.
You are on the right track when your target is indeed a target.
Step 2: Gather Data
Data plays a crucial role in optimizing your Google Ads campaign. Now that you have set your target locations, it’s time to allow them to accumulate clicks and, more importantly, conversion data. Once you have a considerable amount of data, you can proceed to Step 3 and implement location bid adjustments.
Step 3: Implement Location Bid Adjustments
A location bid adjustment is the percentage by which you want to adjust your bid for a particular location. You can lower your bids with negative numbers or increase them with positive numbers.
To set these bid adjustments, go to the “Campaign Settings” > “Locations” tab. You will see all the radius locations that you created in Step 1 along with their performance data. The column you’ll use is the “Bid Adjustment” column.
Use the following formula to calculate the bid adjustments for each location:
Location Conversion Rate / Average Conversion Rate – 1 = Bid Adjustment
It’s important to note that bid adjustments will accumulate for a location that is within another location. For example, the bid adjustments for the 2, 3, 4, and 5-mile radius will be added up for ads appearing in the 1-mile radius. The following is an example of what actual bid adjustments will look like compared to the original adjustments calculated using the formula above:
Formula Bid Adjustments: 1 mile: 50%, 2 miles 35%, 3 miles 20%, 4 miles 10%, 5 miles 0%
Actual Bid Adjustments: 1 mile: 15%, 2 miles 15%, 3 miles 10%, 4 miles 10%, 5 miles 0%
If you don’t have any conversion data, the best approach is to assume that the further someone is from your store, the less likely they are to visit. In this case, don’t set a bid adjustment for the 1-mile radius, and gradually decrease bid adjustments for the 2, 3, 4, and 5-mile radius.
Effective Local Marketing Strategies: Listings
Online review sites and local business directories, such as Yelp, Merchant Circle, and Google My Business, enable customers to find and learn about businesses in a specific area. To use these sites for your local online marketing, it is essential to get listed, encourage positive reviews, and monitor your listings. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Get Listed
When creating your listing on these sites, provide as much information as possible, and make sure that your information is consistent across all listings. This will allow customers to easily discover and learn about your business, engage with it, and become customers. If it’s difficult for customers to access your website, find your address, or call you from your online directory listing, you might be missing out on new customers.
Prioritize your Google Business Listing
As Google continues to improve its local search capabilities, more and more consumers are relying on this search engine to find businesses near them. To show up in local search results on Google Maps and Google Search, you need to have a Google Business Profile, which is a free listing. This listing will not only increase your visibility in local search but also help you attract more customers by providing all the necessary information for them to make a decision about and engage with your business.
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Choose Your Category Carefully
Listing categories are critical for your online marketing success, as they determine the queries your ads show up for on Yelp, and also influence your organic ranking on Google. For example, if you list your business under the right category, you can move up to the first result in a Yelp search and even impact your lead volume. On the other hand, if you pay for ads, removing categories is crucial to avoid advertising on unwanted keywords.
Optimize Your Google Business Profile
Choosing the right category is important for your Google Business Profile, and optimizing your profile is essential to improve its ranking in local search, show up for more search terms, stand out from competitors, and attract more customers. To optimize your profile, create a Google My Business account and supply all the relevant information in the account dashboard. This information will then be populated in your Business Profile, improving its quality and visibility in local searches.
Monitor and Maintain Your Directory Listings
Once you set up your directory listings, it’s not enough to just sit back and relax. If there are any changes in your business, even as small as a suite number, you need to update your listing. Maintaining accurate and up-to-date information about your business is crucial for customer engagement and building trust. Additionally, regularly monitoring your listings to respond to customer comments and reviews is important.
Encourage Reviews
Potential customers also use online reviews to learn about your business, and a lack of reviews could drive them to competitors. Encourage your customers to write positive reviews for these directories, and make it easy for them to do so.
Avoid “Not Recommended” Reviews and Yelp Filters
While having a review strategy is important, there are nuances around reviews for different platforms that you need to be aware of. On Yelp, for example, having your rightful reviews go to the “not recommended” category or being filtered out is frustrating. To avoid this, don’t send clients a direct link to your page, as Yelp can detect that you are asking for a review. Instead, ask your clients to type in your business name on Yelp and leave a review from there.
Maximizing Local Marketing Potential through Local SEO
Local SEO is an essential component of local marketing, allowing your business to rank higher in local search results on Google and other search engines. To further enhance your local SEO efforts, consider implementing the following tactics:
Establish Service Area Hubs and Location Pages
For service-based businesses, it’s crucial to have a dedicated page for each core neighborhood you serve. This approach allows you to tailor each page to the unique qualities, services, and features of each location, increasing your chances of ranking organically for relevant search queries.
Additionally, including location-based pages in your top navigation can improve your internal linking structure, which Google favors, leading to improved rankings. It also makes it easier for users to find the most relevant location for their needs.
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Boost the Relevance of Your Local Pages with Wikipedia
Creating effective local pages requires a combination of art and science. Apart from clear design and structure, the relevance of the content on your page is critical to its success. One way to enhance the relevance of your page is by including external links.
Linking out to relevant local information is crucial for Google to understand your local connections.
Local Marketing Ideas: Leveraging Social Media
Social media is a must-have in any marketing strategy and it provides a wealth of creative opportunities. Here are some ideas to help boost your local marketing efforts.
Highlight Customer Reviews on Facebook
According to a BrightLocal consumer survey, an overwhelming 92% of consumers read online reviews before making a purchase. Utilize this information to your advantage by showcasing your customer reviews on Facebook. By doing so, you can increase brand awareness and showcase your local reputation.
Here’s an example of a Facebook ad featuring a customer testimonial:
“5-star review from one of our satisfied customers! Thank you for choosing us and for your kind words. #localbusiness #customerreviews”
Run a Contest or Giveaway to Attract Locals
People love free stuff, and a great way to draw attention to your business is to run a contest or giveaway. You can promote it through various channels, such as social media, email, your website, or even the local newspaper or radio station. To encourage foot traffic, you could require in-store pickup or redemption. For example, you could offer: “The first [number] customers to visit today will receive a free [product or service].”
Automate Your Social Media for In-Shop Conversations
Staying on top of customer conversations on social media can be challenging for local businesses with a high volume of foot traffic. To make it easier, consider automating your social media presence. This can be set up easily using Zapier and a Twitter account, even for those without programming skills. The idea is that your Twitter account can respond to any mentions of your brand or products in your location with a pre-determined set of responses
Utilize Facebook Groups
Take advantage of Facebook Groups to reach out to local customers. Search for local groups that are related to your business, such as business networking groups, industry groups, or parent or yard sale groups. By joining these groups and actively participating in them by posting relevant content, you can increase engagement with your target market. However, make sure to also engage with other group members, promote articles from other sources, and participate in a two-way conversations.
Incorporate Location Tagging
Social media can be a powerful tool for promoting your business. To attract local customers, make sure to use location tags when posting on platforms like Facebook or Instagram. This will put your business on the map and make it easier for customers in your area to find you. Learn how to add a location on Facebook or Instagram.
Utilize Local Hashtags
In addition to location tags, make use of local hashtags to engage with customers in your area. By using relevant hashtags for your city, state, or town, you can increase your visibility to those searching for local businesses. This can help you attract more customers and make your business easier to find on social media.
To optimize your social media presence for SEO, include important information such as your business name, website, and a brief description of your services in your profiles. Additionally, adding your location to all your social media platforms can help increase your visibility to local customers. Your location acts as another keyword that people can search for to find your business on the map.
Collaborate with Local Influencers
Identifying and connecting with local influencers can be a valuable way to reach more customers. Find bloggers or influencers in your community that people trust and offer them a complimentary product or service. Getting these individuals to try your business can result in endorsement to their followers, increasing your local reach and credibility.
Leverage Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Word-of-mouth is one of the most effective local marketing tactics. To encourage it, make sure you provide excellent customer service that will make your customers want to recommend your business to others. You can also ask for reviews, either in person, via email, or on social media. Another way to promote word-of-mouth is to create a shareable offer that your customers can share with their family and friends. This way, your business will get more local exposure.
Utilize Printed Material
Printed material is still a valuable tool for local marketing, even in our digital world. Ensure that your business cards, brochures, and flyers are visually appealing, briefly explain your products or services, and include all necessary contact information. You can leave them at your physical location, hand them out to potential customers and partners, or place them in popular local hangouts like coffee shops. These materials will keep your business top of mind and may reach potential customers you haven’t reached yet.
Implement a Referral Incentive Program
Offer referral incentives such as discounts and other perks to kill two birds with one stone. Not only will it bring back past customers, but it will also attract new ones. These new customers, who are friends and family of current customers, may also refer others to your business, increasing your reach even more. This is one of the most rewarding local marketing tactics you can use.
Create a “Get Directions” Page and Track Micro-Conversions
If you’re a local business, it can be challenging to track the impact of your online efforts on offline conversions. To make things easier, set your “get directions” page as a destination URL goal in Google Analytics. This way, you can build a reliable attribution model for your paid efforts. A more effective way to track your results is to compare your advertising channel spending with overall revenue growth. For example, if you spent $1,000 on Yelp and $500 on another platform, you can see which channel resulted in a higher increase in revenue. This way, you can see where your dollar yields the greatest marginal returns.
Create Seasonal Content
There are many observances and awareness causes that are allotted to specific months of the year. These observances provide you with the opportunity to add a touch of philanthropy, festiveness, and fun to your marketing content and build a sense of community. Here are some monthly marketing ideas:
17+ Free and Creative September Marketing Ideas
21+ Free and Effective October Marketing Ideas
19 Simple Yet Superb November Marketing Ideas (with Examples)
20 Super-Festive December Marketing Ideas
15 January Marketing Ideas to Start the New Year with a Bang
20 Fabulous (and Affordable) February Marketing Ideas
The goal of these local marketing ideas is to help you stand out from your competitors and make an impact. Test these creative advertising and marketing ideas and see which ones work best for you.
