Business owners know local digital marketing is vital, but many small businesses fail because they lack consistency, or they run out of ideas. Effective local digital marketing combines search engine optimization, content marketing, pay-per-click ads, and social media promotion. Here are some creative local digital marketing ideas and inspirational tips to help you generate more leads online and increase your sales.
Local Digital Marketing Ideas
1. Build links to your website
Placing links to your website on other sites improves search engine optimization (SEO). Build links back to your website on authoritative webpages like high-quality directories, better business bureaus, or respected business partners to boost your ranking in search engines.
2. Build an email list
Email addresses are like online currency, and building a list of them is one of the best ideas for local digital marketing, so make sure you’re always encouraging visitors to give you their email. Once you have their email address, use it to send notifications, newsletters, special offers and anything else customers may find valuable.
3.Email a weekly newsletter to local customers
Creating and consistently sending a business-related newsletter is basic email marketing. Commit to emailing your newsletter to your entire list once a week, and make sure it always includes an offer of something valuable to them.
4. Write keyword-targeted blog posts
Creating content is an excellent way to drive online traffic and boost your search engine ranking. Research keywords for your industry and write five blog posts containing those keywords. Remember to spend as much time promoting your content as you did writing it.
5. Get more Yelp reviews
Bright Local’s latest consumer survey shows that 92% of consumers read online business reviews. Yelp is the most-used app for finding local recommendations and reviews, especially for restaurants, so ask customers to leave you a review on Yelp.
6. Make sure your Yelp categories are correct
Placing your business in the right Yelp category is crucial – and here’s why. If you advertise on Yelp, your ads show up in queries about the categories you choose. Category also influences your listing’s organic place-ranking, so make sure you’re targeting the right audience by putting your business in the right group.
7. Use your email list to target your audience with Facebook ads
Upload email addresses from your list to Facebook and retarget your customers with paid ads to entice them to revisit your business.
8.Create an Instagram account
Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms, and younger audiences use it far more than Facebook. Use creative, vibrant visual posts to reach your customers in one of their favorite online hangouts.
9. Start a Pinterest account
Pinterest has over 100 million users, and some of them are your customers. Create a Pinterest account, use your keywords to start a few different boards from, and keep adding visual content.
10.Promote customer reviews on Facebook
Yelp isn’t the only place customers find reviews. Promote your latest outstanding Yelp reviews on Facebook to make those reviews more accessible. Put reviews in Facebook ads, on your page, and in shout outs via page posts to increase brand awareness and show off your excellent local reputation.
11. Promote blog content to your local Facebook audience
Social media advertising is a branding goldmine for local businesses. Whether you’re B2B or B2C oriented, you’re still advertising to people, and people consume a lot of content on Facebook. Two types of campaigns are particularly useful for promoting content – Website Click and Brand Awareness – and you should always be running targeted Facebook ads promoting brand awareness in your neighborhood.
12. Build custom landing pages for each ad campaign
If you’re not tracking conversions or building local landing pages, you’re throwing money down the drain. Test, re-test, and test your local landing pages some more to find out which ones are getting the most positive responses, then focus on promoting those landing pages.
13. Use remarketing to get more reviews
Customers love you, but sometimes they simply forget to leave you a review. Remind them with a friendly, targeted display ad that reads something like – “Did you enjoy your visit/service/product? Leave us a review!” Then link to Yelp, Google+, Facebook, or another platform of your choice.
14. Build and promote local activity guides
Creating content that supports your business and incorporates target keywords is a fundamental local digital marketing idea, but customers like knowing you care about them too. Creating guides that highlight local activities offers value without asking for anything in return, and customers appreciate that. You can use promoted posts on Facebook to expand your visibility and boost brand queries associated with the primary keyword.
15. Add videos to your website, promotions, or business listings
Research shows that videos engage more people than written content, and videos offer an excellent opportunity to ease hesitation and answer customer FAQs. Add informative videos that help people get to know your business better to your online platforms.
Need help implementing your local digital marketing ideas? Schedule a free consultation with a local marketing expert today!
