Best Online Marketing Tactics for Local Businesses in 2017

If you have a business that you think is quite local, you may be wondering what the best ways are to advertise and market your brand online. There’s a lot that you need to consider, so let’s run down the various tactics in order to give you some ideas.

Local SEO

The very first thing that you need to do if you want to be found online in the local search results is to make sure that your website or social media presence is set up effectively for local searches. There are a few key principles that you need to keep in mind when doing local SEO on your own site. The first being to make sure that your pages are relevant to people searching for local businesses in your niche. You can use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner and Bing’s Keyword Recommendations to easily find popular search phrases that people are using to look for your products or services.

Second, make sure that you are implementing SEO principles like content strategy and planning, keyword research, and link building on a consistent basis. Focusing on one area at a time is usually a good idea, so if you are new to SEO, take some time to learn the ropes before you expand your efforts.

Local Social Media

Social media is definitely a worthwhile strategy for local businesses. With the right approach, you can use social media to gain a huge amount of traction for your local brand. The catch is that you need to be doing this on a very regional basis. Unless you have a presence in all the major social media networks in your area, you won’t be able to capitalize on the power of these platforms.

In addition to gaining exposure and establishing credibility, you can use social media to establish regular communication with potential customers who are already inclined to support your business. To do this, you can use platforms like Twitter, where you can find and follow individuals and businesses who have a large amount of followers in your area. You can also look into using platforms like YouTube or Facebook to establish your presence in case people want to learn more about your brand or catch up on your past videos.

Local PR

Public relations (PR) is another great way to gain credibility and recognition for your business. Similar to SEO, having a strong PR strategy can help you climb the rankings and attract potential customers to your website on search engines like Google. Getting in touch with journalists who cover your niche and pitching stories to them about your business can help build your reputation quickly.

One important thing to keep in mind about PR is to make sure that you are doing it on a regional basis. Just because your business is local doesn’t mean that all of your customers are going to be based near you. Make sure that you are targeting audiences that are likely to be interested in your products or services.

Traditional Advertising

Although the digital landscape is changing and traditional billboards don’t exist in the same way that they used to, there are still many ways to get your message out to potential customers. You can put up ads in newspapers and magazines, sponsor local events, and buy space on radio stations and TV channels. Many businesses still rely heavily on old-fashioned print and broadcast ads to get the word out about their products and services.

When it comes to local marketing, television remains one of the most popular and effective forms of advertising. You can put up signs in your neighborhood to get the word out, but if you want to find potential customers who live in your area, you can’t beat television. It’s almost like having a billboard in your living room.

Radio is also a great way to go, especially if you are looking into establishing a brand in a rural area or where there aren’t any television stations available. Local radio stations can be a powerful platform to spread your message and allow people to hear about your business without having to go online to find out more.

Online Marketing

If you are reading this, it’s probably because you’re wondering what the best ways are to advertise and market your brand online. If this is the case, then you’ve come to the right place. Here, we’ll discuss the various ways that businesses around the world are using the internet to gain credibility and recognition for their brands.

The very first thing that you need to do is to make sure that your website or social media presence is set up effectively for local searches. There are a few key principles that you need to keep in mind when doing local SEO on your own site. The first being to make sure that your pages are relevant to people searching for local businesses in your niche. You can use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner and Bing’s Keyword Recommendations to easily find popular search phrases that people are using to look for your products or services.

Second, make sure that you are implementing SEO principles like content strategy and planning, keyword research, and link building on a consistent basis. Focusing on one area at a time is usually a good idea, so if you are new to SEO, take some time to learn the ropes before you expand your efforts.

Video Marketing

Video marketing is one of the most effective forms of digital marketing. People love to watch videos, especially if they are short and concise. Having a video that tells your story can help establish your brand identity and allow people to get a better understanding of who you are and what you offer. In addition, videos can be useful for demonstrating features of your product or service.

You can put videos on your website to engage your audience or use social media to establish your presence in case people want to learn more about your brand or catch up on your past videos.

Showcasing your product in action is usually the most effective way to ensure that someone understands how it works and how it can benefit them. Let’s say that you are trying to sell gym socks for women. A good way to do this would be to put a video on your site that shows a woman wearing your product and how it fits her. This way, she will have a better understanding of how the socks work and what size she needs to order.

Infographics

An infographics is a type of graphic that combines both visual and textual information into one interactive and engaging piece of content. These types of graphics can be quite useful for businesses when used properly. People love infographics because they are easy to understand and fun to look at. If you want to make something that is both fun and informative, try creating an infographics for your business.

You can use infographics for numerous purposes. One of the best things about them is that they can be used to explain complex issues in a simple and engaging manner. An excellent example of this would be an infographic that explains how social media platforms work and how businesses can use them to gain more credibility. With infographics, you can show how your products and services fit into people’s everyday lives and why these products and services are valuable.

Blogs

Creating a blog for your business can be a great way to engage with your audience and establish yourself as an expert in your niche. While there are many different ways that you can utilize a blog, the most basic way is to use it to write articles that are related to your niche. Write multiple articles a week and make sure that they are all unique and valuable. In addition to using a blog to create content, you can also use it to promote your social media accounts and websites. Each blog post can serve as a mini ad for your website or social media accounts.

Product Trials

Offering a trial version of your product or service before you sell it is a common and ethical practice in business. From a trial basis, you can gather valuable information about whether or not people will genuinely want to purchase your product or service. Some companies will even continue to pay for unused product after the trial basis period is over.

If you want to do this the ethical way, you can put up a notice on your website that says something like “Try our product free for 30 days.” This way, people will know exactly what they are getting into.

Podcasts

A podcast is similar to a blog in that it is generally used to create and share content. However, a podcast is generally longer than a blog post and is hosted on platforms like Apple’s Podcasts or SoundCloud. You can use a podcast to release new content on a regular basis or use the platform to promote your work and engage with your audience.

Like a blog post, each episode of a podcast can be used as a mini ad for your website or social media accounts. If you want to create something that is both educational and entertaining, try creating a podcast where you interview prominent people in your niche or area of expertise. As an added bonus, you can use the podcast to promote your social media accounts and websites.