Marketing Your Small Business Locally

Marketing a small business is much easier when you are working at the local level

. Not as much changes in your local environment as it does in your online environment. And if you're comfortable with handshakes, friendliness, and the environment itself, that's a good thing. Still, you should not discount the importance of the digital age while employing the skills and techniques that have traditionally always worked. Start from the beginning. You've got a great idea for a business. You've put together the capital. Now it's just a matter of finding the people-your friends and neighbors-to make you a success. Sounds easy, right? Yes, it is. But it can also be complicated.

1) Chambers of Commerce

These organizations are in most every town, and they are highly supportive of the small business person. Memberships can be expensive, but it's a good place to start for potential investors and just an overall supportive environment. Chambers of Commerce frequently host events where others can mingle about their businesses and make new contacts along the way. Word of mouth goes a long way in a community, and creating positive buzz among the area's business leaders is the best way of jumpstarting your earning potential.

2) The Online World

Increasingly more effective, the online world and Web 2.0 has made it possible for you to establish business contacts well outside your immediate area. But what about locally? How can it help you there? Quite simply, it can expand your business to the surrounding area. It can make it possible for you to reach 120,000 instead of just the 80,000 in your community. It can lead to expansion initiatives and even discount promotions that drive sales. Just think about Twitter, for example. You only need 140 characters to touch base with your followers. And in those 140 characters, you can give them all the info they need about your weekend sale.

3) Online networking initiatives that go beyond social media

Not only should you be marketing via Facebook and Twitter, but you should also be exploring guest blogging opportunities and local writing initiatives online. Get your content optimized for regional coverage. Connect with businesses that are enormously popular in your area and find some connection that you can make to justify a guest blog.

4) Business cards

While they are perhaps the most antiquated form of marketing, they are also still pretty effective. It's very cheap to print up a slew of business cards and hand them out wherever you go. On a broad scale, with millions of other businesses throughout the world, it may not work. But when you narrow the playing field to just your community, you've got a great chance of using business cards to build up your business.

by: Gen Wright

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