Strategically promoting yourself as the expert in your industry or specific product category will go a long way towards branding your business locally.
According to Karen Post, “You must clearly identify your number one ideal customer, and you need to make sure you’re doing things that are tied to the world you’re trying to touch. If that customer is local, it’s key that your marketing efforts are also local.”
What are the most advantageous ways to brand your business in your community? Here are a few:
Make friends with the local media. These folks are people you know from your kids’ soccer games – who you can develop relationships with. Make a point to speak and get acquainted. After all, it’s not like calling Fox and Friends and waiting on a return call from Regis or Kelly.
Partner to Give Back. There is a strategy in giving back to local charities. And, it is a great way to get your business name out in the lime light. Connecting with the cause that aligns with your brand and helps you reach your target audience is a practice in astute research and judicious diplomacy.
Daily Social Media. Make a consistent effort to attract local as well as national followers via Twitter and Facebook. For example: Give away something every day on Twitter or Facebook — making sure its a product or service that your target audience desires and is picked up in person. This makes for an excellent reason for prospects to be following you via Facebook and Twitter on a daily basis.
Exercise Your Voice. All business owners love to talk about their products and services. Yet, putting that ‘gift of gab’ to work in an intimate and powerful way is often overlooked. Speaking at local events — large and small — is the key to providing valuable information, and not selling your products.
Last but not least, Ask for a Regular Column in your local newspaper. This will position you (and your business) as the local expert. Adding value for the readers and positioning yourself as the ‘go to’ source for additional information generate leads and new clients will follow.