Ways of Promoting Your Local Business

19 May 2017

For business owners in Harrogate, and indeed the entire world, marketing and promotion methods have changed. In the past, before the internet, businesses made themselves known through flyer campaigns, magazine advertisements and, if they could afford it, a billboard here and there. While these methods are still popular, a lot of advertising and promotion has migrated to digital spaces and social media. This is for good reason; people spend more than 20 hours online a week, and local businesses are using this to their advantage. This means that the internet is an indispensable tool to growing your business and attracting locals, whether you’re a café, an ironmongers or a florist. This doesn’t mean traditional marketing methods should be done away with, however. In that case, what methods should you be using to promote your local business?

 

SEO

 

Ensuring that your company’s website can be found locally is of utmost importance to stand out among other competing businesses. Local online marketing is therefore a significant tool for attracting customers who are looking for products and services online, especially regionally. The best way to achieve this is by making your website easy to find using local search engine optimisation, or SEO. There are various different ways to go approach local SEO. Opening an account on Google My Business in a good starting point. This information is used by Google for local search ranking, so providing contact details, a business description as well as adding photos will add invaluable detail when potential customers search for you. You should also optimise your website to have both quality content and a good site structure that includes internal linking and intuitive navigation. Google loves unique, consistent content as well as sites that are naturally linked back to, and this helps boost your ranking within the search engine. If your site has value, Google is more likely display it.

 

Using social media to connect with local residents

 

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn – these are all platforms which every business should be subscribed to. Although it is free to sign up, each offer paid advertising opportunities that can be used to target people in specific areas and help ensure your posts reach as many local people as possible. This allows you to reach out to customers as well as providing room for feedback, which is vital for developing meaningful and long-lasting relationships with your patrons. To attract followers you’re going to need a content strategy, and this is achieved by posting consistently useful, locally relevant content. Remember, it’s about the value of the content not the volume of it; one great post is worth more than ten inferior ones. For more information about getting started with social media check out this guide.

 

Physical advertising

 

Although the internet is a prevalent platform for marketing, that doesn’t mean that physical advertising should be ignored. People still commute to work, walk down the high street and stroll in the park, providing great opportunities to gain exposure in your local area. Take advantage of billboards, poster spaces and street panels. Companies like signkick are great place to start. They show you the available advertising spots, and can even design and place it for you. This includes phone boxes, bus shelters and digital screens, and is ideal for targeting local traffic and those who live nearby.

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