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Online Local Marketing for Small Businesses

What is local marketing?

Local marketing consists of marketing efforts that are designed specifically to draw in local traffic.
Before COVID-19, that meant putting sidewalk signs out front, placing ads in the local paper or with the local radio station, and getting involved with your community so that people would get to know your business through getting to know you.
In our current situation, where most of us are quarantined inside of our homes, some of that has changed and some of it hasn’t.

Why is local marketing important?

Local marketing is important because it drives local traffic to your business. It brings people through the doors — virtual or not.

Why is local marketing important now?

Believe it or not, local marketing may be more important than ever right now. As we’re being pushed apart with social distancing requirements, we are becoming more and more aware of how much we need to come together — at a safe distance, of course.
With the need and desire to come together, we are reaching out to those we are closest to — Our family, our friends, and our neighbors.
My pre-COVID-19 habit was to order delivery for lunch once a week and now that I’m working from home, I maintain that habit. Only now, I’m ordering for my whole family instead of just myself. This is just one small way in which I can support small businesses in my community. And I’m not the only one. One of my co-workers orders delivery every day for the same reason. We know that with dining rooms closed, our local restaurateurs need our patronage more than ever.

People want to shop local

Because we’re more conscious of the need, we make more of an effort to shop locally than ever before. The difference now is that instead of driving to a store or walking through a mall, we turn to the internet to shop locally.
Therefore, you need to make sure that your local shoppers are finding your local business.

How do I localize my marketing?

Whether it’s business as usual, or it’s another crazy day in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic, keeping your customers in the know about what your business is doing is imperative. So, make sure that all of your business information is up to date and consistent everywhere that you’re online.
And as you’re updating, localize. I’ll explain how.

Your website

As always, when it comes to online marketing, this is the first place you want to publish updated information. After all, your website is “the source” for all information on your business, therefore it has to be up to date and accurate at all times. So, if you haven’t done so already…

Add a map and a clickable link for directions

It doesn’t matter if you’re not offering curbside pick-up and your store is temporarily closed. If you want people to know that you’re local, you want them to be able to see exactly how local you are.
And, when you open your doors again, you want them to be able to find you quickly and easily. There’s no better place to get directions to a store than straight from their website.

Optimize your website for locally-relevant terms

Throughout your website, localize by “name dropping.” You do this by updating your About page, your Blog page, and really, every page on your website. I’m sure you’ve heard the term “name dropping” when someone wants to appear important, but when referring to your website, “name dropping” is a process of interjecting locally relevant names, terms, and even common slang like “wicked smaht.”
When you describe where you’re located, let your potential customers know that your store is “just around the corner from Shay Stadium,” or “across the street from Colonial Park” or “right next to” any locally well-known landmarks.
You can have fun with it, but make sure your location is clear, and it references something that locals can relate to.

Listing and review sites

When people are looking for a business, whether to make a purchase or obtain information, the first thing we all do these days is “Google it.” And if we’re looking to find something local, we often add the words “near me” onto whatever we’re Googling…“hair salon near me…Italian restaurant near me…donuts near me…” You get the idea.
When the search results come up, Google is nice enough to provide a map showing businesses closest to your location. Along with listings of the three closest businesses, including links to their websites, directions, addresses, hours of operation, and their overall review score.
Click here to learn more.

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