Local Advertising Tips For Your Store

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Looking for ways to promote your local store? There are a few different marketing tactics that you can try. Below are just several local advertising tips that you may want to consider for your store.

Choose Prominent Signage

To effectively grab attention, having a bold sign is essential for your business. A well-designed, eye-catching sign ensures that passers-by notice your store. Customers who find you online also need to easily locate your physical store. This is where clear and noticeable signage comes in, making it easier for them to find you in person. Incorporating creative local advertising tips, such as using the right font and color schemes, can greatly improve visibility and readability, helping your signage stand out and attract attention.

Additionally, illuminating your sign with proper lighting can make it more noticeable, even at night. Projecting signs are another great option. These signs extend out from the building, helping your store stand out from a distance and from the side of the street. For businesses located on busy roads, pole signs and pylon signs are particularly effective. These elevated signs are visible from far away, allowing drivers to spot your store long before they arrive.

Observe Local Laws

Signage laws vary by city and zone, with different rules for size, lighting, and placement. Urban areas often have stricter regulations to maintain safety and aesthetics, while commercial zones may allow larger or illuminated signs. Businesses must understand local ordinances and obtain necessary permits to avoid fines and ensure compliance.

Create An Eye-Catching Window Display

An eye-catching window display will also get you noticed by passers-by. There are a few different ways to make a window display stand out:

• Go busy and layered: Displaying lots of different products will force people to stop to take it all in.
• Sell a lifestyle with mannequins: Mannequins are useful for letting people see how clothes look when worn, however, you can take things further by adding props and backdrops to sell a lifestyle.
• Use digital screens: Digital screens can display slideshows or videos. This movement can grab people’s attention.
• Focus lighting on products: Certain products can be lit up with spotlights or backlighting to draw attention to them.
• Advertise sales and discounts: Posters and window stickers are effective for showcasing promotional offers and can help draw people in.

Get On Social Media

Social media marketing can be vital for stores wanting to get noticed locally, and it’s a key part of local advertising tips. Many social media platforms allow you to target ads to local audiences, ensuring your store reaches nearby customers. Using geo-tags and local hashtags on posts is another effective way to connect with your community. Social media also provides an opportunity to build relationships by engaging your local audience with questions, polls, contests, and challenges. Following these local advertising tips can help grow your audience, making your store appear more popular and established in the area.

Invest In Local SEO

Local SEO is a form of SEO that involves improving your search engine visibility to local search engine users. In order to rank high in local Google results, you will first need to create a Google Business Profile and fill out information such as your company address and postcode. This helps link your website to a location – allowing your store to display on Google Maps and also displaying a Knowledge Graph (containing information such as reviews and opening times) whenever people Google your company. Using specific keywords on your website, such as ‘near me’ and ‘local,’ is a crucial component of local advertising tips, helping your store rank higher when people search for nearby businesses. Partnering with an SEO company can further refine your strategy, ensuring you target the right keywords to stand out from competitors and attract local customers effectively.

Post Leaflets Through People’s Mailboxes

Flyers and leaflets are a traditional form of marketing that is still effective today. A great way to promote your local store in your area could be to print off some leaflets, and then post them through the mailboxes of people living in your area. In some cases, it may be worth targeting certain neighborhoods or properties. For example, if you’re a store that sells kid’s clothing or toys, you may want to focus on mailing flyers in areas that are popular for families. Make sure to invest in high quality leaflets that clearly display information such as your address. 

Get In Your Local Newspaper

Local newspapers are still popularly read in some areas. Paying for an advert in your local newspaper could be another way to get your store noticed and attract customers. You may also be able to get yourself featured as a news story – providing that you have a newsworthy angle. The opening of your store, an event your company is doing for a charity or even a disaster such as a burglary could be spun into a news story to help you build brand recognition. News stories may also be published online – helping to boost your company’s web presence. 

Advertise On Your Local Radio Station

You could also pay to run an advert on your local radio station. This advert could include information about your store and a catchy jingle. The cost of radio advertising can vary depending on what time slots you choose to broadcast your advert – expect to pay a lot to feature your advert during a peak listening time (such as 8am to 9am or 3pm to 6pm), while paying significantly less to broadcast your advert during quiet periods (such as in the early hours of the morning).

Connect With Local Influential People

Networking with the right people is a valuable local advertising tip that can help get your name out there. Building relationships with popular figures in your community can lead to them spreading awareness about your store, whether online or through word of mouth. Joining local business groups and participating in community events are excellent ways to meet other business owners and connect with local event organizers. You might even have the opportunity to collaborate with influential individuals, such as politicians or the mayor, further boosting your store's visibility and credibility.

Cross-Promote With Other Local Stores

You could also connect with other local store owners and agree to promote their store in exchange for them promoting your store. This allows you to both reach out to each other's customer bases. For cross-promotion to be successful, you should try to select a local business that has a similar audience, but that is not a direct competitor. For example, a vinyl store could consider cross-promoting with a book store. 

Enter Local Awards Competitions

Some towns and cities host annual awards competitions for local businesses. Entering this competition could help you to get your name out there – whether you win or not. If you do win the competition, you’ll be able to advertise your company as ‘award-winning’, which could help you to attract more customers. You can search for local business awards online.