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Audiences in specific neighborhoods want your business to build relationships with them. Here's how.
While navigating the turbulent seas of marketing, don’t lose sight of one of your most important audiences: your local market. Reaching this group may require some targeted strategies. Local marketing is different from broader marketing efforts because it focuses heavily on building relationships within your neighborhood or a specific radius around your business.
Local marketing targets customers who live within a certain distance of a business’s location. It allows businesses to promote their products or services to current and potential customers in a specific city or ZIP code. Small businesses sometimes overlook this strategy, often taking their marketing cues from large national brands instead.
“What I love about local marketing, particularly from an agency owner’s point of view, is that no matter how large your company is, you’re always going to have more loyal customers in your local area,” said Aled Nelmes, CEO and founder of Lumen SEO.
Many local marketing strategies involve tailoring tried-and-true marketing tactics to attract nearby customers. While not every approach will be a perfect fit for every business, the following tactics can help you strengthen your local presence and connect more effectively with the community around you. Consider the following strategies:
The first and most important step in developing any marketing campaign is knowing your target audience.
“You can’t market locally if you don’t first understand who you’re marketing to,” explained Nichole Williamson, chief strategy officer at Zilker Media. “Start by asking, ‘What does my customer care about? What problem are we solving for them?’ Knowing your audience allows you to develop messaging that resonates and design experiences that feel personal and intentional.”
Defining your target audience goes beyond basic demographics and market research. Consider what your ideal customer cares about, what motivates them and what types of content or messaging will appeal to them. Also, think about where they “hang out” digitally as well as physically. For example, are they active participants on Instagram or TikTok? Or is Facebook more their cup of tea? Do they attend local events or participate in community forums?
Once you understand your audience, the next step is to reach them in relevant and personal ways. This means building your local campaigns around their interests, behaviors and needs and using the platforms, messages and incentives most likely to resonate with them.
In both your traditional (print ads, flyers, etc.) and digital marketing strategies (social media outreach, email marketing campaigns), focus on what interests your audience. Use search terms they’ll likely use, and create advertisements that explain how your product or service solves a problem they’re dealing with.
Engagement often comes down to creating a sense of connection and relevance, even in small, unexpected ways. Aled Nelmes, CEO and founder of Lumen SEO, shared how subtle, psychology-driven cues can encourage people to interact with a business more naturally and meaningfully.
“My favorite [local marketing] examples have been a local café putting chairs and tables outside even if it’s raining to suggest they’re open from a distance,” Nelmes shared. “I’ve also seen a village shop offer a ‘postcode discount,’ the irony being that everyone within a 10-mile radius is within that postcode, but the consumer feels a sense of exclusivity nonetheless. It’s those psychological tricks that I’d suggest for long-term success over high-spend ads.”
Local marketing isn’t just about advertising; it’s also about building real relationships. Find opportunities to show up in your neighborhood and support causes your customers care about. Attend local events, volunteer for community projects, or donate branded prizes to raffles and contests. These simple actions can improve your visibility and give people a reason to return to your business.
Williamson encourages businesses to make community involvement a part of their brand. “Sponsor the local high school football team. Host an educational seminar for other small businesses,” Williamson suggested.
However, Williamson emphasized that true engagement takes more than just writing a check. “Community involvement builds visibility and credibility, both of which are essential for long-term loyalty.”
One of the easiest ways to drive local traffic is to ensure your business appears in local search results. You can do this by claiming and optimizing your listings on platforms like Google Business, Yelp and other industry-specific directories.
“Local directories are a powerful digital storefront,” Williamson said. “Ensuring your business is listed — and that the listing is accurate and up-to-date — boosts your visibility in local search and signals credibility to both search engines and customers.”
Positive customer reviews are among the most effective tools for building trust in your local community. While people are often quick to share negative feedback, positive experiences can be just as powerful, especially when you make it easy for customers to share them.
Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp or Facebook. If you receive great customer feedback in person, via email or on social media, ask if you can share it on your website or marketing materials. The more visible your happy customers are, the more likely others are to give your business a try.
Don’t underestimate the power of local media, especially in smaller communities. Local newspapers, radio stations and TV shows often have loyal, engaged audiences, and they’re always looking for stories with a community appeal.
Pitch a newsworthy event, sponsor a themed segment, or offer to be a local expert in your field. When you appear or are featured on local media, you can raise awareness, build credibility and drive more foot traffic to your business.
Search engine marketing (SEM) is a powerful way to reach potential customers in your area. With tools like Google Ads, you can create targeted campaigns that drive both online traffic and in-person visits to your brick-and-mortar location.
Pay-per-click (PPC) ads and other location-based targeting options help ensure your business appears when local customers conduct searches for relevant products or services. These campaigns can help you get the most bang for your marketing dollar by reaching the right audience at the right time.
Search engine optimization, especially organic SEO, helps your business show up in search results without relying only on paid ads. For best SEO results, you’ll need to create valuable content for your audience and optimize your website.
“Good local SEO ensures that when someone searches ‘best bakery near me’ or ‘community bank in Austin,’ you show up,” Williamson explained. “That means optimizing your Google Business Profile, using localized keywords, and ensuring your website is technically sound and mobile-friendly.”
Organic SEO takes time and consistent effort, and it could take months before you see real results. However, the long-term benefits can be enormous. As search engines continually change and refine how they present relevant local results, like nearby restaurants, service providers and shops, your SEO strategy becomes even more valuable.
Social media is a great way to connect with your local community in a way that feels both professional and personal. For best results, focus your social media marketing on the platforms your audience already uses, whether that’s Facebook, Instagram or Nextdoor, and use those social channels to answer followers’ questions, share updates and start conversations.
Consistent, authentic interaction can help build trust, help sustain and grow customer relationships, and help nearby customers remember your business.
Contests and promotions can be great tools for engaging a local audience. You can even go viral with a contest that captures interest quickly online. Get creative with your approach, and offer prizes your ideal customers will actually value. You can also tie promotions to local events, holidays or community causes to build goodwill and brand awareness.
Nelmes advises brands to reward more participants with tiered incentives instead of offering a single big prize.
“I recommend offering a 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize to increase the number of entries,” Nelmes shared. “You will also enjoy stronger word-of-mouth benefits following the competition, with more winners advocating for your now more generous brand.”
Positioning yourself as a trusted expert in your field can help you stand out from local competitors and build lasting customer loyalty. To do this, create relevant, helpful content on your website, blog and email newsletter that answers common customer questions or explains industry trends. This strategy builds credibility, supports your SEO efforts, and helps you stand out from the competition.
Nelmes points out that becoming an authority or noted expert doesn’t have to mean winning national awards. In a smaller local market, being the go-to provider in your niche can carry more value than broader recognition.
“Establishing yourself as an authority varies in importance depending on the size of your local area,” Nelmes noted. “You can gain authority in hairdressing by being the only hairdresser in your area, and therefore can often waste time trying to win national awards instead of developing new services to offer to your regular customers to increase lifetime value.”
Cross-promotion is a simple, mutually beneficial strategy where two or more businesses market each other to their customers. It helps each business expand its reach, attract new clientele and boost sales, all without significantly increasing marketing costs.
“There’s a reason theme parks place drink stands next to salty food restaurants; they grow each other’s demand, like a symbiotic relationship,” Nelmes explained. “The potential wins here are huge, and therefore collaborating with local brands is essential and very important.”
Nelmes encourages small businesses to think creatively about potential local partners. “In an ideal scenario, you would be located close to those partners, but a great social media campaign can bring brands closer together than ever,” Nelmes said.
He also recommends tying these partnerships to specific seasons or events to maximize engagement. “For example, a florist could partner with a local deli to offer a competition in which customers could win a Valentine’s Day experience. Watch how seasonality, social media and the power of two brands create more local interest than you’ve ever seen.”
Hosting or sponsoring local events is a great way to raise brand awareness and connect with your community in person. Whether it’s a seminar, fundraiser, festival booth or neighborhood celebration, these gatherings let you meet potential customers, share your brand’s personality and create positive experiences people associate with your business.
Choose an event that appeals to your target audience and matches your brand values. You’re not just providing entertainment or information — you’re building relationships and trust that can lead to long-term customer loyalty.
Local customers often discover businesses through mobile searches, whether they’re looking for a place to eat, shop or book a service. A mobile-friendly website helps provide a great user experience and is also a key factor in SEO, as search engines prioritize responsive, fast-loading websites.
Follow responsive web design best practices to ensure a smooth user experience across devices. Your site should automatically adjust to different screen sizes, with quick load times, clear navigation, clickable buttons and easy-to-read content.
Nelmes emphasized that mobile-friendly sites help consumers make more purchases.
“Whilst having a mobile-friendly website varies in importance depending on your target audience, you can’t deny that for all demographics, it’s becoming increasingly important, especially as users become more confident paying for and booking things online via their smartphone,” Nelmes explained.
Amanda Hoffman contributed to this article.
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