Knowing where to start to become the number one in your local community can be totally overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.
What’s the difference between a business that has its marketing all figured out and you?
The only difference between “them” and you is that they have all the right marketing foundations in place to be able to grow their business with ease, no second guessing, no making stuff up, no flying blind and achieving big results in the process.
With a few easy steps and an awesome plan, you can be well on your way. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and I believe if we can demystify local area marketing, you can reach more people.
1. Develop a word-of-mouth strategy
A better word for this is plan, and a good one at that. This is where your customers talk about you and refer you. Most businesses I work with tell me word of mouth is huge for them and everyone talks about them, but what’s commonly lacking is the actual strategy.
Think about what you can do to go the extra mile for your customers. How can you exceed expectations, be generous, be friendly, do things differently and most importantly think of ways you can show up unexpectedly in your client’s lives? Think of this as your “X Factor”.
These triggers are memorable experiences or feelings that make people want to talk about your business. You need to put pen to paper, think about how you can create this for your business and shine bright like the superhero you are!
As a brick-and-mortar business, what can you create to encourage your ideal clients to take a photo and share on their social media? Something neon, a cool chair with a fabulous backdrop, a gorgeous floral display?
For digital businesses, like mine I send each of my clients a welcome pack in the mail, both one-on-one clients and those that join my membership. This always comes with a handwritten note from me.
Lasting impressions count and people talk. Talk is important as this is what grows your businesses word of mouth, it all counts. Getting your community and audience talking, is your golden nugget to win at the local area marketing game.
2. Develop clear content pillars for your social media
Be in the driver’s seat of the free beast that continues to grow every day, don’t let it drive you. It’s not going anywhere.
I approach this by having content pillars. These are your caption categories (also known as the writing part) and your photo/video topics. Once you have these sorted, you’ll always have something to talk about.
I recommend you start by developing your photo topics. Pictures of you, the owner always go viral (a professional brand shoot is an awesome idea), a weekly LIVE, testimonials from your clients (nothing screams you’re amazing like someone else saying it) and quotes.
Great caption categories include tips and tricks, behind the scenes, what you’re loving, your why, about you, advantages and benefits, motivation and your products and services.
Batching your content will save you buckets of time in the long run. Time is money for small businesses and with limited funding and resources, this is an easy way to leverage such a critical business building resource.
Remember: when you have their attention, you can have their sale.
3. Give them what they want for free
Think of a freebie, lead magnet, irresistible offer your audience cannot resist in exchange for their email. Because when you grow your database, this is your warm audience. Those on your database want to hear from you. They’ve signed up for it.
