Building a Local Marketing Strategy with Social Media

The internet is a big place and finding a way to promote a business on a local level with such a global platform can be a little confusing, especially if you’re just beginning to explore social media as a marketing and advertising method.

Social Media Options

When developing a local marketing strategy through social media, it’s important to realize that social media really is much more than just Facebook and Twitter. While these platforms are all the buzz in the news and with friends, family and colleagues, there are many other outlets available in the social media world and knowing what your options are is the first big step in building a successful social media marketing strategy at the local level.

Social Media that Targets Local Engagement

There are certain social media platforms that target the promotion of a business at the local level. These include sites like YELP, Insider Pages, MerchantCircle and CitySearch. It’s free to set up a business on these sites and many of the sales promotion, reporting and tracking features available through these social media outlets are also offered free of charge.

Take advantage of the ability to create a profile, post promotions and receive feedback from customers through these dynamic programs. Utilize your other social media pages on sites like Facebook and Twitter to promote the same sales and to announce your presence on sites like YELP. Encourage your fans and followers to use YELP or MerchantCircle, as well.

The Big Social Media Outlets

While there are many other forms of social media besides Facebook, Twitter and similar sites, building a presence on these sites is still important, as this is where your current customers and clients, as well as prospective customers do spend a good portion of their time. Be sure to establish a business page on these sites and maintain your social media pages, posting something new to them on a daily basis, if possible, and no less than once a week in order to keep them active.

Direct Marketing for Local Customers

Building customer loyalty is one of the biggest goals of any local marketing effort. Among the best methods for keeping your customers interested and engaged is to set up a direct marketing campaign via email.

There are many ways in which to use a direct marketing email campaign to give your customers a more personal and friendly view of your business. Create a newsletter that contains helpful information for your customers and clients. Send out special discounts to those who join your mailing list.

Just be sure that the information you do send out to your mailing list members is really useful to them. The more attractive the information, the more likely you are to see increased visits, sales and more positive customer feedback as a result of your efforts.

Encourage your website visitors to sign up for your newsletter or other special offers on every page of your site by including opt-in buttons for your mailing list. You can also encourage those who visit your store or office to sign up as well.