In 2019, small businesses are more reliant on creative local marketing ideas than ever. There is competition in virtually every niche, and you’ll need to go beyond the customary TV ads that were a go-to back in the 20th century. Look into SEO for your website and superior graphic design to make it as attractive as possible, then consider some of these marketing strategies that you may wish to implement.
Tell Your Unique Brand Story
As a local business, your brand is who you are. Therefore, you should consider very carefully all of the information that you want to showcase about yourself. Studies show that individuals want to become customers of brands to which they feel a personal connection. It behooves you to tell the story of your brand in a way that emphasizes your roots and lets people know that you’re just like them.
Look for consistency with your voice on social media. If you’re stylish and elegant, use language that reflects that. If you’re funny and kooky, then be consistent with those sorts of posts. You’ll know your brand is working when a customer can look at one of your social media offerings, and they’ll be able to tell that it came from you without your name even being attached to it.
Showcase Your Best Content
Long-form blogs are an excellent way for you to get a prominent search engine ranking position because Google bots love fresh content. You can’t just go posting anything that comes into your mind, though. Your posts need to be on-brand, and they should be measured, thoughtful, and contain information or opinions that people will find genuinely useful and compelling.
Your blog posts should encourage conversation because Google also likes as many organic interactions with customers as possible on your website. You shouldn’t shy away from posting about provocative topics as long as you don’t drift into any offensive areas. Don’t let your blog become stagnant. It’s one of the best places on your site to consistently feature new content.
Create Visual Content
YouTube is a fast-growing social media platform, and you should be using it to your advantage. You should also feature video content directly on your website, though.
People will expect visual content when they come to your site. Make sure that you have a skilled production team on staff, or hire a digital marketing agency to produce the videos that you want to make.
Try to come up with some humorous or unique content that you feel has a good chance of going viral. Have excellent production values and have a tie-in with every one of your videos to events or locations around town to be inclusive of the local market. Make sure to feature keywords for your geographic area in the descriptions of the videos as well for SEO purposes.
Be One of the Faces of Your Community
Become a fixture of your community by having a presence at street fairs, charity events, or any other signature happenings with which everyone in your area is familiar. The more they see you, the more they’ll come to accept your company is an integral part of the local commerce scene.
