Announcement! We have our first guest post from fellow internet marketing ninja Shane Jones. Thanks for taking the time to write this post for us. It provides some great local marketing tips!
We often think of the Internet as a way to reach customers all over the world, but you don’t have to be a global company to reap the benefits. In fact, online marketing can be a great way to reach customers right in your own neighborhood.
Everything is moving online, including your local newspaper, magazine, and radio station. Since more and more of your customers are spending significant amounts of time online, you need to take your local marketing strategy there as well. Here are a few ways to do it.
Get Listed
Your town may have listings on Citysearch and Craigslist, but it most definitely has listings on sites like Yellowpages and Yelp. When you publish your site, get more traffic by registering it on all those sites.
Some web hosting services provide the tools and instructions for getting listed in local web searches. Many of these sites will display your business name, address, website address, phone number, and even reviews from happy customers. This helps local customers decide if your business can best meet their needs, but it’s also great if your business provides a service that people will need immediately when they search for it. After all, how often is someone going to casually browse for a service like rodent control?
Advertise on Local Media
As mentioned above, your local newspapers, magazines, and radio stations are hosting their own websites. Since you probably already advertise in their traditional formats, why not advertise online as well?
In fact, this is a good way to create an integrated strategy. Buy your usual ad space, but throw in a few well-placed banner and display ads in the process. This serves two purposes.
First, it creates a more cost-effective, accountable way to reach local customers. Second, since traditional readers and listeners also go online, it doubles the chances that they’ll learn about—and reach out to—your business.
Create Locally Based Content
Blogs and other forms of content marketing have become very popular ways to promote your business and drive more traffic and sales. But not many people create content that integrates their business expertise with their location. Now is the time for you to start.
For instance, if you run a clothing store, you could talk about the same fashion trends that everyone else is talking about, or you could talk about the fashion trends you’re seeing as you walk around your town. If you do this, you’ll see another benefit – because you’re focused on your local area, your search engine rankings will catch the attention of local people looking for your type of business, which is exactly what you want.
Find the Customers Next Door
The Internet spans the globe, but it’s a pretty good way to find customers in your own community as well. Put your local marketing strategy online and find more customers right down the block from you.
About Shane Jones : I am an internet marketer, and blogging fanatic, who loves to write about business, the current economy, anything marketing, and SEO. I also am an avid outdoors-man, who loves hiking, rock climbing, and kayaking. You can also follow my opinions on soccer and sports at http://www.localsoccernews.com
