11 Ways to Win at Local Marketing (Online and Off) + Examples

What Is Local Marketing?

Local marketing is any tactic a business uses to get local customers to shop at their store or use their services.

When you think of local business marketing, you might imagine a billboard for a real estate agent or a bus stop bench with a lawyer’s photo on it.

But don’t forget that local customers are online, too.

For example, local marketing for businesses may include a Facebook ad offering coupons for hair care products at the salon downtown. Or the results that pop up when you Google the phrase “Italian restaurants near me.”

Successful local marketing strategies can help you:

• Reach more of your target audience

• Build brand awareness in your local community

• Win new customers living in (or visiting) your local area

• Drive more foot traffic to your physical location (and digital traffic to your website)

• Develop deeper relationships with customers to increase loyalty and retention

Here are 11 proven ways to win at marketing a local business—online and offline.

1. Set Up Your Google Business Profile (and Other Listings)

Listing your business in relevant online directories keeps your business data consistent across the web. Which means you can be found more easily.

If your business data isn’t consistent, search engines may lose trust in your business and not show it in search results.

By listing your business in these directories and updating your information, search engines like Google will count your business as legitimate and...