2 How To Advertise Locally (With 17 Steps)

doylc.com - How To Advertise Locally - Advertising your local business can be profitable, informative, and even fun with the use of the Internet as well as personal interactions. Boosting your online advertising strategies is easy by doing things such as creating a business website, uploading promotional videos, or being active on social media. Don't forget how important it is to interact with your local community in-person too — build strong connections with people you talk to, and you'll become an advertising expert.

Advertising Online

1. Create a website for your business. Without a website, people won’t be able to find your business as easily or know what it’s about. Either create a website yourself using an online template, or hire someone to build your website for you. This way, people can type in your business’s name and read all about what you offer. Wix and Squarespace are both popular website builders that are either free or let you test the site out using a free trial.

There are many websites online that will teach you everything you need to know about building a website on their platform.

Hire a freelancer to help build your website, or ask someone local to help you, if desired.

2. Submit your website to Google's index. If you want your website to be one that pops up in a Google search, you'll need to submit it to Google. Simply type in "Google Search Console" to get started. If you make changes to your website, submit the new version to Google to keep everything up-to-date.

Other search engines offer a similar opportunity, such as Bing. Do some research to find out which search engines offer indexing and if there's a fee.

3. Be active on social media accounts. Websites and apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn are great places to promote your business. Create a page or account where you can post pictures of products you offer, post important updates, and follow others to help promote your local business. Start following people you know and encourage customers to do the same.

Once you've created your social media account, start following other local businesses so that they might follow you back.

Your business doesn't need to be entertainment-related to have a social media account. Technology companies, car dealerships, and healthcare professionals, among others, can all benefit from social media marketing.

4. Buy an online ad, such as a banner ad or pay-per-click advertising. Banner ads allow you to reach a large audience. You can purchase an ad by joining an ad network, getting help from media buyers, or asking sites to let you advertise your business on their website yourself. In pay-per-click advertising, if someone clicks on the ad you created for your business, you pay an agreed-upon price. There are many pay-per-click search engines that you can choose from, and make sure to do some research to find out which ones are the most cost-efficient and successful.

5. Create a Google Places listing for your business. If you want people to be able to find your business when they search on Google Maps or through a Google search, create a Google Places listing. You can do this by typing "Google My Business" into the search engine. The listing is free!

For example, if you run a local bakery and you've created a Google Places listing, if someone nearby types "bakery" into Google, your business will pop up with its location.

6. Use email marketing to reach many people. By allowing people to sign up to receive emails, they'll hear about any updates, promotions, or general information concerning your business. You can either go online and research software you can set up yourself, or you can hire a local professional to help out.

If you're a business that's constantly creating new merchandise or coming up with new ideas, email marketing is a great way to keep people up-to-date on what you currently offer.

7. Upload videos to promote your business. Videos are an engaging and creative way of spreading information about your business. You can create a straightforward video talking about how great your company is, or you can make a creative video promoting a message. Upload your video to as many social media sites as possible, and don’t forget about YouTube.

To make your video more engaging and relatable, film it out in your local community.

8. Start blogging about your business. Creating a blog to promote your business is a great way of getting information out to the public while also allowing them to interact with you. Blogging will make your company much more searchable on the Internet, and you can let people post comments giving feedback.

Use your blog to offer insight about your products, answer questions people might have, or talk about future plans.

9. Use targeted keywords in your website or blog postings. The words that you use on your website or blog are what will determine whether or not your business shows up in search results. Come up with keywords that relate to your business and integrate them into the text of your website or blog posts.

For example, if you run a record store, use a variety of words in your titles or captions such as LP, vinyl, music, or vintage. Making sure you mention the location of your business will help as well.

10. Encourage customers to use check-ins and reviews. When a customer visits your business, encourage them to check in using a site like Foursquare or Facebook, which will show their friends where they are. Asking customers to leave reviews on websites such as Yelp about their experience will help promote your business as well, giving people access to first-hand accounts of what your business is like.

11. Post an ad on Craigslist to promote your business. Craigslist is a great, often free, way to advertise your business. When you go to post an ad, make sure you create a headline that stands out and is straightforward. Adding pictures to go along with your ad will catch people's attention and make them more likely to click on it.

You'll need to create a new post from time to time to make sure your business stays towards the top. If you go to add a new post, make sure you take down the previous ones. Ads with the most recent date are most likely to be seen.

For making headlines, if you're a real estate agent trying to advertise a property, you might say "2 Bedroom for Sale" or "New Apartment in the City." Make sure to include important keywords and the location that you're talking about.

Using Print Advertising

12. Create business cards to hand out. If you haven’t already made business cards for your company, this should be one of the first things you do. List all of your information on the card, such as your name, the business’s name, phone number, business address, etc. This way, you can keep the cards in your pocket or purse and distribute them when talking to other people.

Even if you don't have a business address or work phone number, still create a business card. Just putting your name, title, and email address down works.

13. Purchase an ad in a local publication. Local magazines or newspapers are always looking for someone to purchase ad space. Contact the person in charge of advertising to see if you can create an ad to go in their publication. Try to pick publications that relate to your business. For example, if you run a day-care, you'd want to publish an ad in a parenting magazine or something similar.

14. Put out a press release once a month. Submit a press release every month to local newspapers and magazines, letting them know what you’ve been up to. This will allow readers to hear about what you’ve been working on, any awards you’ve won, new employees you’ve hired, or any other valuable piece of information about your business.

15. Turn your car into an advertisement. You can do this in small ways, such as by putting bumper stickers or magnets with your business’s name on your car, or you can go a little bigger and write an advertisement on the windows. Advertising on your car will allow you access an audience wherever you drive.

Create a single car decal for yourself, or create them in bulk to hand out to others.

You can also do a car wrap, which is done by a professional and will display promotional material on a large section of your car, or even the whole car if desired.

16. Wear T-shirts with your business’s name on them. If you already have company shirts that you wear to work, great! Start wearing them out in public more often as free advertising — it could help spark a conversation. If you don’t already have T-shirts, you can create them through online sites that print them for you, or you can make one yourself.

Wear your T-shirt to the park, grocery store, local restaurant — anywhere where people will see it and be able to ask you about your business.

17. Design a contest to get people excited about your business. Contests are a great way to promote business. Put up flyers or an ad online to promote your contest, and you can give away prizes such as products your company creates as well as coupons or promotions.

If you're trying to advertise a grocery store, offer up a pre-paid gift card for groceries. Get creative with your prizes!

Contact your local radio stations to see if they will run a contest on-the-air for you. You can give them the prize from your business and they’ll promote it.