By Chester Avey
In order for a local business to garner the type of success that they want to see come to fruition, they must adopt the best possible marketing practices.
It is thanks to marketing that your audience knows who you are and what you do. In fact, even if you don’t already realize it, you have been engaging in some level of marketing by simply starting a website, or creating social media accounts.
That being said, in order for you to be successful in the art of marketing, here are a few considerations that you should consider and pursue.
The importance of your copy
A good marketing business will always learn how to create the perfect and persuasive written copy in order to get people interested in what they have to say. Is your current copy easy to understand? This will make a large difference in how easily people are able to connect to your content.
Your copy should also reflect your brand while being friendly and approachable in tone, showing you are a trustworthy, reputable brand. This kind of approach will assure those who are looking for a reliable local business that you can be just that.
It’s important that you moreover find the tone of voice that best resonates with your audience. Do you prefer to take a comedic angle on your copy? What about using wit or sarcasm in order to further illustrate your point? All of these points will then couple together and effect, on a larger scale, your company’s branding.
Social and digital media marketing
Social and digital marketing alike relies on digital mediums in order to boost your brand awareness.
This is particularly useful considering the fact that so many people spend a large portion of their time on the internet, whether it’s on social media platforms, or simply when they are looking to find more information about a particular product or service.
Social media marketing is a goldmine for local businesses, who can tap into local events, trends and existing business models in order to work out their own identity and work out a niche. Holding networking events or setting up local hashtags and competitions can spread the word and give you exposure. Such strategies will let potential local customers and clients become familiar with what you are about and the services you provide.
The latest SEO initiatives
Search engine optimization, if utilized properly will always improve your visibility on the world wide web. The whole point of marketing is to grow the number of people that know who you are and thus use the products or services that you offer.
SEO involves the steps you take in order to boost your ranking on Google’s algorithm, to ensure that more people are able to find you, no matter what geographic area that you are located in. Finding local services who can, in turn, help you to develop an effective marketing strategy can save you time, money and effort. With the help of local expert services, you can rest assured you are putting the right content out there the first time around.
Undertaking an SEO overhaul is best left to the experts who have the bigger picture in mind, but for the first steps – Jon Monk of Max Your Web has provided this great resource for where to start.
Public relations
Public relations is yet another beneficial marketing tactic that you can use to your advantage. PR is particularly important for companies that are just starting out, but in addition to this, it helps place you in a different light.
Your audience is far more likely to trust you if they know that a reputable influencer, or another news outlet, has spoken about you and views you in a favorable light.
The best approach you can take, as a business, in order to garner more public relations contacts is to frequent more networking events, and simply reach out to people in order to discuss opportunities for partnerships.
Knowing that this will make a large difference to your company’s trustworthiness, why wouldn’t you pursue this as a marketing strategy?
Keep it simple but stand out from your competitors
It’s important for your marketing efforts to be kept simple, but at the same time, you must also learn how to stand out from your competitors. There is a fine balance between the two, and it may take some time until you learn the practices that will best suit your specific niche audience.
For instance, why not take a look at what your competitors are doing. This can help you, at least at the beginning, learn what has worked for them. You can then take this knowledge and expand it so that it better fits your needs and of course, you must come out as unique, at the end of the day.
Why would your customers use your products or services, and engage with your content, if it’s exactly the same as your competitors?
Consistency
Consistency is furthermore important in order for your marketing practices to be successful in the long-term. This includes the content that you post on your social media channels, how often you update your website with content, how many times you run digital ads and much more.
Growing one’s brand awareness will always be an important business goal, and the steps you take in order to achieve this is incredibly important. Do you sit back, hoping that somehow everything will work out, or do you consistently learn about the latest marketing campaigns and initiatives that will boost your reputation, your visibility, and of course, your profitability? The answer should be clear, and taking on board the points mentioned above can help you get there.
About the Author
Chester has worked in business development/marketing for over 20 years. Since retiring he enjoys sharing his knowledge and experience through his writing. Find out what else Chester’s been up to on Twitter:@Chester15611376