Marketing for Local Businesses: You’re a Marketer First

Marketing for Local Businesses

If you are a small business owner, is marketing yourself and your business something you think of regularly? My experience shows that marketing is essential for local businesses, so the faster you embrace this idea and put it into practice as a strategy the more likely you are to reach and exceed your goals. Let’s discuss some strategies for marketing for local businesses.

During all of the more than twenty years I worked in real estate before coming online in 2006, I gave almost no thought to marketing for local businesses, whether my own or someone else’s. In fact, other than taking the required course on marketing in order to sit for the Broker’s exam, I knew very little on this topic. To me, marketing meant making cold calls and sending out postcards to the homeowners in the area I farmed. Once I had a live prospect in front of me I gave no more thoughts to marketing until I had no clients again. I would put my stack of postcards and stamps, along with my reverse phone directory back into my filing cabinet until I was once again desperate for clients.

Fast forward a few years, and once I became an entrepreneur I began to have great respect for marketing and all that it had to offer. So I quickly became a student of all types of marketing and learned first how to use it to help market for local businesses. Instead of looking for reasons to stop marketing, every day became a new opportunity to reach out to new prospects through marketing. People connected with me and I made sales. This was fun!

You’re a Marketer, First and Foremost

I want you to think of yourself as a marketer, first and foremost. With that at the forefront of your mind you will be able to take action on exactly what needs to be done in order to get your name and your business out in front of your prospects, customers, and clients in a way that shows you in the best light. And now that so much can be done online to reach people on a global level, marketing for local businesses and for businesses that serve people around the world can be accomplished in record time and with minimal expense.

Here is how to begin:

• Purchase some domain names that include the name of your community, as well as your business or industry. Examples would include domains such as SaugusAutoParts.com or ChildrensDentistinCanyonCountry.com. And remember to always buy the dot com extension, because that is what people will naturally think of when they visit Google and want to remember your website.
• Add a blog to your main site so that you can post information about your business and what it has to offer those living in the community who need your products or services. Blogging is the single most effective method to market for local businesses. You will want to include your own original content on this blog, as well as guest posts and curated content.
• Connect with a non-profit that is in alignment with your core values and beliefs. Share why you chose to work alongside the group or groups you choose and how their mission and vision is in alignment with you and your business. I chose to work with Rotary because they serve people both locally and around the world. I wanted to be a part of something much larger than I could ever do on my own.
• Get active on social media. Again, use the name of your community and industry to identify yourself. Then locate as many local businesses as possible and begin interacting with them. Again, have fun with this and decide in advance how much time you will devote each week. My rule is no more than fifteen minutes per day on social media, and many days I am not on any social media platforms at all. Yet my numbers continue to grow and I’m able to connect with the exact people I want and need to meet.

By now I hope you see that marketing for local businesses is essential for local businesses and that it is not a complicated process. Implement the steps I have included here and see how quickly you experience some tangible results. Much of this can be easily outsourced to people who create content and manage social media to market for local businesses. I am happy to give you a referral to those I have trained and worked with personally in this regard.

You may also be interested in my recent post on using SEO for small business. Additionally, I have written more articles on marketing for small business, including this one.

This is The Course I Co-Teach on How to Market for Small Business that Teaches You Everything You Need To Get Started Right Away.

I’m author and online marketing strategist Connie Ragen Green. I work with entrepreneurs to create multiple streams of online income and would love to connect with you. Pick up my Online Entrepreneur’s Blueprint and get started right away.