Online Marketing Ideas for Local Businesses

Your marketing is likely to rely on a host of different strategies and tactics. However, if you’re the owner of a local business, it can be challenging to decipher which avenues achieve the greatest return on investment. Local businesses do not have the budget available to market extravagantly across multiple channels like bigger corporations and, therefore, it’s important to select your marketing tactic/s wisely! In this article, we share a few marketing ideas for local business.

Whether you’re a small local business or a multinational corporation, your website (if you have one) will probably be one of your most effective marketing tools. Your website provides you with plenty of opportunities, allowing you to promote your products and services, display your contact details and advertise your location.

Furthermore, a brilliant website design with an Our Work section will allow you to share work you have done in the local area. For example, if you’re a gardener, you could showcase some of your latest and ongoing horticultural projects!

Finally, it’s a great idea to have an area for customer reviews – it’s good to have reviews anyway, regardless of business size, but for local businesses, local reviews help to support and underline the authenticity of feedback you receive.

Social media can be a cost-effective way to build awareness and show people what you offer and where you are.

A lively social media account could be an excellent strategy for a very visual product or service, for example, a restaurant. Frequent posts with photos of your most appetising dishes will engage and provoke interest (particularly desserts - yum!). Competitions to win prizes can also be a great way to encourage interaction - likes, comments and follows - these increase exposure.

Facebook allows businesses to create and promote local events, with confirmation of attendance to help you with planning.

Furthermore, paid advertising may be a good option, particularly if you have a specific audience. With Facebook Advertising, you can target by gender, age and location. Moreover, you can target further detailed, personal information. For example, you could display your advertisement to people who like a particular TV show, or the local sports team.

So, if you have a local bike shop, you could target cycling enthusiasts, perhaps those who like “British Cycling: Road to Glory” or “Tour de France”.