Do you own a local store, but potential customers haven’t heard about it yet? This is the ideal time to come forward! Before the popularity of social networks, promoting businesses cost a small fortune, but thanks to new technologies, you can now choose from a variety of ways to promote them for free or almost free. Here are some of our recommendations!

Use the free Google tools!

Google offers some smart tools that are extremely helpful in promoting your business online. To get started, we recommend creating an account on Google My Business and Google Locations.

Both tools are completely free, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t create accounts. Their functionalities will allow you to manage listing information, such as business description, more details about products or services, adding images, videos, offers and other useful links.

Consider making a website!

Creating a professional website doesn’t have to scare you; this process is most often inexpensive and easy to do! You will have to make sure that the website is easy to access, attractive, functional and adaptable according to mobile devices. Through different CMSs, such as WordPress, you can have various ready-made themes, which include all the functionalities that your website will need.

Optimize the website for search engines.

A website is not useful if it is not well indexed on search engines. But how can you do that? The magic recipe is called search engine optimization. To begin with, we recommend that you analyze the keywords that correspond to your business. In short: what terms are potential customers looking for in order to reach the business, what questions do they have? If we were still talking about Google tools above, we can’t forget to mention the “Google Keyword Planner”. After finding these terms, you can design a content strategy.

How about an email list?

A good number of small businesses do not consider the benefits of email marketing, so they completely neglect this segment. To take the first step towards email promotion, we encourage you to introduce a section on your website where users can subscribe to the latest news/articles/offers.

Another way you can introduce email marketing is by signing up via email. Provides useful materials such as digital resources or infographics. In addition, you can organize various contests. Also, in the registration form you can opt for adding additional fields, which contain questions such as: “how did you hear about the business?”, “what suggestions would you have for improving the online experience on the website”, etc.

Potential customers need valuable information!

And how else to offer them than through a blog? Besides being easy to add to your website, the blog can help you interact with your customers and provide them with useful information frequently. Another benefit of articles is influencing the position of the website in the ranking on search engines. Don’t forget to add images in the article structure! There are dozens of websites that offer free, professional-quality images. Among them we mention: Pixabay, Unsplash, Pexels.

Reuse blog content!

Creating useful content frequently takes a lot of time and effort. Although search engine optimization tells us that quality content is more than vital, creating it can require tremendous effort.

At this point, we turn our attention to recycling the current content. If you’re going to reuse previously posted information, make sure you present it in a different format so it can be distributed on new channels. Here’s a concrete example: you can use the data presented in a blog post, a podcast, or even a YouTube video.

Educate potential customers about your products or services!

If your business area requires specialized knowledge, take the initiative and voluntarily educate potential customers on the basics. Although it may seem like a naive idea, you will attract people with similar interests, which can mean potential customers or even useful connections. Regardless of the outcome, one thing is certain: you will help increase brand awareness.

Comment on blog pages with similar features!

Research business blogs and make your presence felt, either by commenting on posts or sharing content. This will help you build links within the community and will also help you from an SEO point of view by creating external links. If the website has a certain authority, Google will index the content of your website in a higher position after association.

Structure the content!

When was the last time you read an article head-to-head? It’s been a while, hasn’t it? People get bored easily, which is exactly why you will need to deliver well-structured content. Opt for multiple paragraphs, easy-to-read sentences, short paragraphs, and visual content interesting enough to tempt the reader to read the article to the end.

Visually represent the business through a representative logo!

As simple as this tip sounds, it can be very useful! By means of a representative logo and a well-thought-out branding, you can make your business known and much more credible in front of potential customers. To begin, think about the unique characteristics of the business. How can you represent them visually? Which personality would you like to convey the voice of the brand?

NAP consistency (business name, address and phone)

These three elements are an essential factor in search engine rankings. Google will take their consistency into account when displaying results to potential customers. So, if you’ve created a business account on Google My Business, check that the details above are correct and make sure they’re consistent across all networks where your business is present.

Reviews, as many as possible!

Are your current customers satisfied with the products or services you offer? Encourage them to speak their mind in the online world too! A simple recommendation can influence potential customers to consider you for their future purchase. To encourage writing reviews, you can add a link to the review page at the end of your emails. If you haven’t opted for email marketing yet, you can add a pop-up to your business website or even offer certain benefits (like x% discount on your next order).

Offer free consultation!

Another way to turn potential customers into customers is to offer free advice. Find those people who would need such a service and provide them with the desired information, without hidden costs. This will allow you to suggest practical solutions to the potential client and demonstrate the value that the targeted product or service can bring.

Be sociable!

The first step towards socialization (online) begins with the creation of business accounts on social networks. If you’ve reached this point, make sure you’ve entered the correct information. Later, in order to increase visibility, we recommend you to sign up for different groups, which have a specifics similar to that of your business. But just signing up for groups won’t help you make your presence felt in the online world! Post useful information, offers, event details and visually appealing photos on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.

Paid online promotion, regionally.

Connect locally with customers through regional online promotion! For starters, consider paid promotion through Facebook Ads. With the help of Facebook ads, you will be able to reach potential customers in a certain region, with the possibility of investing a minimal budget. Since Facebook has an impressive database of demographic characteristics of its users, you will be able to effectively target people who may need your products or services. Users can be targeted based on the following characteristics: age, marital status, geographic location and hobbies.

In addition to Facebook Ads, another incredibly effective promotion channel is Google Ads. By opting for Google ads, you will list your business website on search engines when certain keywords are accessed. As with Facebook Ads, you will be able to target potential customers based on their demographic characteristics and interests.

Scared of high costs? One of the biggest advantages of Facebook Ads and Google Ads is the control over the daily budget.

Use the power of videos!

Videos are a great resource among today’s consumers and offer a unique way to promote your business. By making videos that present details about your product or service, you can increase the interest of potential customers and, by implication, your fan base. Don’t know what topics to cover? Take a look here to see some of our ideas!

Which infographics would be right for your business? Post them on Pinterest.

Even though it’s a lesser-known social media platform, Pinterest can be an innovative way to promote products to a specific target audience. Platforms that focus on sharing images or videos have a higher level of engagement than other platforms. Take advantage of the functionality that Pinterest offers: post attractive photos of products, ideas for their use, ways to personalize the product, tips and any other visual resources you find useful.

Create a consistent presence on social networks!

When creating content for social networks, try to always opt for consistency! Use the same tone on all channels, even approach a similar color palette! In short, you need certain characteristic elements, so that the potential customer can realize that it is about your brand, from the first contact with the content.

Start a YouTube channel!

By 2021 it is estimated that over 82% of all types of content will be represented by video content. These figures do not surprise us, because anyone with access to a camera can create a video. However, users are attracted to interesting ideas, unique concepts and content that conveys an emotion or a story. Having said that, what exactly stops you from offering video content to potential clients?

Don’t forget the calls to action!

Above I mentioned about posting regularly on the social media accounts of the business. When making posts, don’t forget to direct users to take a certain action, such as: learn more about products/services/business, discover the new goodies in stock, be aware of our new events, etc.

How about hosting a webinar?

Another great way to educate potential customers is to host a webinar. Through online seminars, you will be able to easily reach potential clients and at the same time you will be able to enjoy useful connections. Webinars can be held even on Facebook, Instagram or YouTube. Use the “Ask a question” functionality on Instagram, take different questions from the comments or answer private messages in that seminar to increase the engagement of potential customers.

Organize local events aimed at the target audience of the business.

Yes, you can organize an event with a low budget or even zero! But you will need a lot of patience and management skills! Establishes all the details of the event, respects the periods and takes into account the order of the proposed steps.

Encourage the use of your products!

If you don’t wear your products in public, no one else will! Be the main representative of your business! You never know when you will come across people interested in the concept or idea.

Customers love discounts!

It is not a new thing for anyone! However, many businesses forget this aspect! Even a trivial discount can generate an increase in sales. On the other hand, potential customers need to know about these discounts! To achieve this, you can opt for paid promotion. If you have an online e-commerce store, you can use discount codes. Send them by e-mail or announce the offer on the social media pages!

Emphasize the relationship with customers.

There is nothing worse than poor customer service! Not only do you face the risk of losing current customers, but you can also “enjoy” a bad reputation. The customer relationship management strategy should also include responding to negative reviews. Give customers the opportunity to complain when they have experienced unpleasant events, communicate with them and try to solve the problem in the most professional way possible. To solve the negative situation, you can offer them a free product or a discount on the next service. Remember, a sincere apology can make the difference between losing and keeping a customer.

Mentions in local newspapers

Get in touch with local newspapers or magazines! Find out if publishers want to refer your business! Not only is it an almost free process, but you’ll be able to give your business and products far more credibility than any paid ad could.

Create interesting, attention-grabbing visual materials, such as flyers or business cards.

Flyers are a great way to promote a business, product or even a service in a particular region. Here’s an example: Let’s say you want to promote a night club through flyers. An ideal location to distribute them can be in dormitories or student areas.

Final thoughts

By applying these ideas for local business promotion, you will be able to stand out and at the same time influence potential customers to consider you for future purchases. The methods above must be tested and adjusted according to the specifics of your business! Would you add any other ideas to this list? Do not hesitate to share them with us!