Promoting your small business to your community can be frustrating or ineffective. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the best ways to promote your small business. It may be easier than you think.
Optimizing your site for local searches
Local customers need to be able to find you, and they won’t be able to do that if you rely only on passers-by. Your website should offer your location (not in an image, but in actual text so it can be indexed by search engines), the products and services you provide, and other relevant keywords. More on that later.
Have a clean, professional design that’s optimized for mobile users
Your website is an integral part of your business. It should be clean and professionally designed. Mobile users report more local searches than any other type of device. This means your site needs to be mobile friendly and fast enough to keep their attention.
Update your address and hours anywhere
We’ve mentioned this before, but you should definitely update your address and business hours in critical places: social media, review sites, Google My Business, LinkedIn, and on your website. Apple Maps Connect uses Yelp to integrate address and review searches, so you’ll want to make sure Yelp is a priority update. Claim your local listings before someone else does.
Offer multiple contact methods (and actually use them)
Have a contact form on your website and offer customers to call and speak to someone. Local shopping usually requires a more personal touch. You need to make sure that people can contact you when they need to.
Host a Small Business Saturday event
Small Business Saturday is an important annual event originally created by American Express to connect local community small businesses. Create an event and include some items that will appeal to post-Black Friday weekend shoppers. Use social media to get the word out and update your website with any sales so customers can prepare.
Use Geofencing to target locals
Geofencing is a way to locally target smartphone users with ads. If you have a non-retail business, you can use this to advertise giveaways like house cleaning specials, gift certificates to local businesses, and more.
Partnership with local businesses
There is power in community involvement. Team up with other local businesses to offer promotions and discounts to each other’s customer base.
Advertise and engage on social media
This is really important. You must advertise in advance on all your platforms. Small Business Saturday Not a ‘show up and be surprised’ kind of event. Shoppers are focused and determined to do most of their shopping between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. (Even though Black Friday and Cyber Monday have passed, it doesn’t hurt to start preparing for next year.)
Share on your social media pages, check out local groups to promote and more. Engage with your social media accounts and market appropriately to get the word out.
Local targeting
Use locally optimized keywords that are relevant to your business and where it is located. Offer bonuses for local referrals and use ads to target people in your area who meet your shopping demographic.
Reset
Retargeting is a way to bring back existing customers. Satisfied customers are 75% more likely to buy from you. It’s also a great way to convert previous leads who may have been interested before but didn’t complete a purchase. Offer these customers a special incentive to attract them to your Saturday sales event.
Host a class or demo
Modern buyers are resistant to aggressive marketing. In fact, the greater the marketing effort, the more likely it is to backfire. As a result, think about how you can share your message and connect with your local community. Can you offer demos or classes for them?
Ask your current customers what they struggle with or common obstacles they face. Each class/demo should focus on one way to solve a problem. Be creative and enthusiastic about gathering your local customers. Remind them that buying local helps your local economy.
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