Local Advertising: Your Complete Guide [+Strategies & Tips]

Digital advertisements have changed marketing forever. The old phone books are now search engines, online directories, and social networking sites that can reach all corners of the globe instead of just your area code. 

Despite the increased outreach that digital advertising has brought with it, some small businesses still just want to focus on local advertisements and their community. Having a more local brand marketing strategy is definitely easier logistically and maybe better for early-stage start-ups or smaller businesses than trying to ship their products halfway across the world. 

Although you have the option of people anywhere in the world seeing your stuff, you can just focus on local matters for your advertising campaign and still be successful.

Digital advertising doesn’t have to be global. So this article will specifically address how to succeed with community-based digital advertisements and why if you aren’t using digital advertising to market your local business, you should be.

What is small business advertising? 

Small business advertising is a cost-effective brand advertising method of putting your brand/website in front of a localized and targeted audience using similar brand marketing strategies that global organizations do – but often with the added benefit of being more personal to your local consumer. 

That said, small businesses need advertisements that fit their limited budget and resources. Check out the different kinds of advertising that small businesses can use to build solid brand engagement.

1. Local brick-and-mortar advertising: This is one of the most practical small business advertising ideas since it assists small businesses by strategically growing your outreach through advertisements in high-traffic areas near and around your business.
2. Native advertising: Native advertising allows advertisers to promote their brand, products, or services on websites that their target audience frequently uses in a non-intrusive manner.
3. Mobile app advertising: People spend a lot of time on their smartphones every day, and advertising your business on them can translate into reaching a wider audience.
4. Social media advertising: Nowadays, people use social media more than ever. So, social media marketing is an essential channel for small businesses to reach their target demographic in a relatively cost-effective manner.

Pro tip: Influencer marketing is one of the most practical small business advertising ideas when it comes to social media advertising. There are numerous influencer marketplaces like Ainfluencer to help small-business advertising and your future influencer marketing campaign.

5. Guest blogging: Guest blogging involves writing your own content on another person’s website or through their own marketing channels to spread the word about your business.

What is Local Advertising?

Local advertising, also known as neighborhood marketing, is a marketing technique that focuses on presenting your small business’ ads to people who live close to your business’s actual location. This increases your chances of building brand awareness and getting noticed by individuals who are more likely to become your customers.

There are several ways to advertise locally. For example, newspapers, magazines, billboards, posters, handbills, search engines, local directories, review sites, and social media.

Brick-and-mortar stores are more likely to benefit from local advertising than eCommerce stores, but local advertising can be effective for all businesses.

The Best Places to Advertise Your Brand

Below, we name some of the most effective web-based platforms and reliable sources to learn local influencer marketing that help drive traffic to your brand’s landing page, contribute to sales, and take your localized advertising campaign to the next level.

1. Ainfluencer

Let’s look at the numbers: 82 percent of consumers check online reviews fairly regularly, with 36 percent stating they read online reviews “always” before making a purchase choice. 

Now imagine that your business was promoted to an audience that completely trusted the person speaking. 

Take bloggers. Bloggers are influential people that are often paid to post product reviews and pivot customers’ purchasing decisions toward a certain business. As a result, a local influencer marketing strategy that uses bloggers can be incredibly valuable. Or, with so many people using Instagram, consider using Instagram influencers to do the same. Finding local influencers for your company can be easily done with Ainfluencer as the cornerstone of your local influencer marketing campaign. Ainfluencer makes it incredibly easy to connect with an influencer in your area for free. Just create a marketplace campaign that describes your business and reach out to influencers using Ainfluencer’s Advanced search engine and custom search filters such as location, language, gender, hashtag, etc.

Note: Small businesses need advertisements to grow fast. Advertising can help them to improve outdated or bad impressions about their company. It can also help them get exposure in their industry, which can assist them to recruit partners that can help them grow their firm. Use authentic influencer marketing platforms like Ainfluencer to take your small business advertising to the next level and indirectly grow word-of-mouth referrals.

2. Google

Google Ads is an incredibly popular online advertising platform for businesses of all sizes that helps to grow your outreach, whatever your budget is. There are two ad networks on the platform:

· Google’s Search Network

When you use Google.com to search for something, you’ll see ads like these. The word “Ad” written in a little green box shows that they’re a kind of paid advertisement. The order in which websites with the Ad sign appear is determined by a complicated, real-time auction mechanism for “keywords” that users might type into a search. Those ready to spend the most will, of course, have their ads rank better on the search results page. Your ad relevance to the keyword, in addition to your auction budget, is also a deciding factor.

· Google’s Display Network

The Display Network uses an auction system like the Search Network. You’re competing for promotional banners or video ad space on websites owned by Google. This technique of Google advertising is known as retargeting, and it involves advertisers attempting to sell you things based on your previous online activities.

3. Facebook

Facebook is an awesome way to increase brand awareness among a specific demographic, and in many cases, a company’s Facebook page functions as its website. 

Facebook provides you with a wide variety of places to advertise, including the right hand of the homepage, the news feed on the consumer’s desktop or mobile device, short videos appearing during Facebook Live sessions or within Facebook Watch programs, Facebook Stories, the Facebook Marketplace, and the Facebook Messenger application. 

You can also directly engage with your customers through comments and messages. If you haven’t yet, definitely add Facebook to your local marketing strategy. 

4. Instagram

This Facebook subsidiary has been a hotbed for promotional content since 2012. 

Instagram is the perfect platform to target Millennials and Gen Z because the majority of Instagram users are between the ages of 18 and 34. Your Instagram influencer marketing campaigns on the platform are more likely to result in sales if you target these groups – especially if you use a trusted influencer to promote your brand. 

5. Influencer Marketing Hub

Influencer Marketing Hub is a trusted resource for influencers, agencies, and platforms. Their website includes influencer marketing platform reviews, tools, templates, and case studies. It also offers you the latest news about influencer marketing.

This reliable media company’s blogs about local influencers and local influencer marketing will teach you valuable tips and tricks. So you get to learn anything you need to know about advertising locally with influencers and also find the local influencers in just one place.

6. Quora

Quora is a place to get and share the experience. It’s a platform for people to ask questions and join with others who present unique insights and quality answers. Businesses utilize Quora to stay in touch with customers and answer questions about their products and services.

What’s interesting about this website is that you can follow meaningful discussions surrounding a brand and understand how clients feel about it. Moreover, users can express their honest opinions and communicate with other consumers who share their related interests, questions, and criticisms.

Therefore Quora allows you to ask all your questions about local advertising. You can get the correct answers from marketers and qualified people and also become familiar with their experiences.

12  Effective ways of Local Advertising

You can save a lot of time and money by focusing on the right tips and tricks for your local marketing campaign. Set yourself on the right path. 

1. Focus on Local SEO

Did you know there’s a difference between organic SEO and local SEO? When it comes to local search engine optimization, you need to focus on some locally-relevant terms and keywords to help you rank higher than your competitors in your target territory.

Google Trends can be a helpful tool for identifying popular terms and keywords in your neighborhood as well as in your niche.

2. Optimize Your Google My Business Account

Your Google My Business (GMB) profile can be one of the best small business advertising ideas and methods to rank higher in local search engines. When customers search for your name, primary and secondary industries, products, or any other relevant facts, enhancing your Google business profile boosts your visibility. Creating a network of information about your account helps a lot.

To avoid losing potential customers who have searched for you, keep all information in your GMB profile up to date, such as a business address, phone number, email address, business website, and so on.

You can personalize your online appearance by using GMB’s unique features and attributes – like setting your business’ hours of operation. If your brand is active in the hospitality industry, like cafés or restaurants, it’s good to attach your menu to GMB for easy access.

To access the relevant features on GMB for your business, make sure you’ve listed yourself under the right category. This helps to establish your company’s online presence and increase your search engine results.

3. Claim Your Local Listings on Directories

Your local community probably has a business directory with a list of businesses in your area. You should be there to take your local advertisement to the next level. 

Type in “business directory” and the name of the city where your business is based into a search engine to find all relevant business listing websites. Then, contact the directory with your business information so that people can find you through this directory. There are also programs like Moz Local and Localiq that will do this for you.

4. Go Local on Social Media

Keep a constant and solid presence on social media channels that best suit your business.

You can use localization choices to stand out in your neighborhood, such as selecting a location in your profile, tagging the location of each post, interacting and engaging with other local businesses, and using hashtags in captions with the name of your city or neighborhood. 

You can also organize a regionally focused social media giveaway and promote it using targeted ads or social media promotions.

5. Be Active in Your Community

Get to know your community members to stand out. You can join community events, purchase a booth at a local event, or even host a local event to get your brand out there.

Create a good reputation by being professional and kind while associating your brand with things like charitable activities in your neighborhood.

6. Don’t Turn a Blind Eye on Your Local Media

Radio and newspapers are still valid forms of local media that can help local advertisement. You can headhunt potential clients who are not into technology and rely on traditional methods by using TV, radio, or newspapers instead.

7. Focus on Local Paid Advertising

Localized paid advertising, in addition to local SEO, is another effective technique to target a specific local community and boost your advertising locally. You can run advertisements based on your location and boost their performance by bidding on relevant keywords in your ad content. You can use tools like Dealfront to develop an advertising solution that will help you reach your ideal customers. Dealfront Promote can target specific companies with programmatic display ads, which can build product and brand awareness locally and globally.

8. Build Relationships with Your Community Using Email Marketing

Businesses can use email marketing to establish a close relationship with their target audience and keep them informed about their small business. Not only does sending emails regularly keep your company’s name current and relevant, but it can also help you retain leads and customers through coupons, promotions, and more.

9. Ask Customers for Ratings and Reviews

Landing higher in the Google search results depends highly on your ratings and reviews. Online reviews are critical for attracting new consumers and preserving your business position at the top of local SEO rankings.

Positive reviews legitimize your business and help to establish authority and trust around your business.

10. Partner Up with Local Influencers

There have to be bloggers in your neighborhood, town, or city that make money by influencing decisions. By finding local influencers and matching up with them, you can piggyback on their popularity and boost your brand awareness. And if you’re looking for Instagram influencers, partner up with Ainfluencer.

11. Leverage Existing Customers to Get New Customers With a Referral Program

Encourage your consumers to tell their friends and family about your small business. Then, reward both of them. Everyone appreciates a discount. 

12. Target Locals Using Facebook Ads

Similar to Google Ads, you can use Facebook Ads to advertise your business to locals that might be interested in you. Keep your content consistent and specific while also focusing on keywords and visual quality. Make sure to target keywords specific to both your service and location (e.g. landline phone service in North Carolina).

Conclusion

Growing your business in your local community may not happen overnight. But, if you keep these methods in mind, we can guarantee that your outreach will grow.