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In this article:\nLearn the 5 key elements of an effective marketing strategy for your independent bookstore\nOptimizing your online business presence\nEngaging with customers and getting involved locally\nWhat’s an appropriate ad spend, and where?\nHow small business software can save you time and effort\nLet’s face facts: Amazon changed everything for bookstores, and has killed off nearly all of the huge, national booksellers. Barnes & Noble is the sole remaining national chain, but recently faced serious management troubles, was hemorrhaging money, and was sold to an investment management firm in August 2019.\nIf you run an independent bookstore, you may applaud or mourn these giants’ demise, but you should take careful note and work to ensure your business offers something that Amazon (and the former big chains) can’t provide.\nIf your independent bookstore is doing well, it may be tempting to forgo budgeting for advertising or developing a solid small business marketing plan. Traditional thinking leads a lot of local bookstore owners to believe that being an edgier, quirkier, or hipper “alternative” to Amazon is all they need to thrive.\n\nThat may have worked in the pre-digital market space, but to survive today bookstores need to do more than just “be there.”\nNow, that doesn’t necessarily mean spending a lot of money. You can never hope to outspend Amazon, who last year spent over $10 Billion on marketing trying to win even more of your local customers. \nBut if you spend some time implementing the steps outlined below, a small investment in marketing can go a surprisingly long way. Let’s get started.\n1. Optimize your independent bookstore’s online business presence\nDespite Amazon transforming the marketplace by combining the seemingly incongruous components of online shopping and real, paper-and-ink books, independent bookstore owners sometimes feel that a robust online presence is not necessary or relevant to them.\nNothing could be further than the truth. Studies show that today’s local customers overwhelmingly search for everything online, and we mean everything. Did you know, for example, that Amazon is now the nation’s top retailer of \nauto parts\n? \nWhen people look for places to spend their money locally, or talk about the best places to buy locally, that conversation now takes place online. 97% of people read online reviews for local businesses, and most consumers trust those reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family. \nWhat’s more, one bad online review can cost you 30 new customers, and a one-star drop in your business rating can result in a nearly 20% decline in revenue. These things MATTER.\nSo, even you are the very indiest of indie booksellers, the first step in your marketing plan absolutely must be claiming your business profile on all of the major review sites. Click the links for our helpful how-to articles on how to claim your profile on \nYelp\n, \nGoogle\n, and \nTripAdvisor\n. \nYou should also claim, monitor, and remember to update your profile on Facebook, Foursquare, and on independent bookstore websites like \nIndieBound.org\n and \nNewPages.com’s\n bookstore listings.  \nRead our article on claiming your \nfree business listings\n for many more.\n\nClaiming your profile on these sites, updating any incorrect info (including hours of operation, location, contact info, etc.), and monitoring them regularly is essential, because this is the number one way people find your store… and people are leaving reviews for your business there, whether you want them or not. Plus, research shows that businesses that claim their listings on multiple review sites make up to 58% more money!\nThis brings us to the next step.\n2. Engage existing bookstore customers online \nHow do you feel when you text, message, or email a friend and you get no response? Not good, right? That’s how your customers feel when they take the time to post a review and you don’t let them know you appreciate it (or offer to fix any problems they bring up).\nSmart local booksellers read and respond to all their online reviews and develop plans to get more reviews (click to learn the right and wrong ways to \nget more reviews\n in our in-depth article).\nResponding appropriately to all reviews starts attracting more customers to your bookstore and enhances your online reputation. (For our primer on \nhow to deal with negative reviews\n, click the link.) \n3. Get involved in your community and capitalize on the “buy local” movement\nSmall, independent local bookstores are gaining traction, despite Amazon’s attempt to take over the market. The biggest advantages you have over the Goliaths is you can provide the unique ambiance, positive customer experience, rare/used book selection, and personal attention to detail that huge online retailers and big box stores don’t have a hope of matching.\n\nWith some effort, you can develop fanatically loyal customers who will become your strongest online (and offline) advocates. The key is to help them feel a personal connection with you and your store.\nSo, get more involved in your community! Host local events such as book signings, poetry readings, slam poetry nights, coffee klatches (assuming you have the facilities), or anything else you find interesting. \nPost notices of these events and give or send physical, text, or email invitations to your customers. (63% of customers say they want more invites to local events, but only 12% report getting any).\nConsider working with local schools’ English departments to facilitate or sponsor reading marathons or book fairs. Volunteer for and/or sponsor the local symphony, arthouse cinema, or independent music scene. Maybe collaborate for a “taste of the town” event with your favorite local restaurants and retailers. Try to think outside the box.\nThe main goal is to become a landmark and champion for local business in your town. When people feel personally connected to a business, they visit more often, spend more, and tell more people about it.\n4. Invest wisely in targeted advertising \nNow that you’ve laid the ground work, you are ready to start spending some dough on marketing. But how much should you spend, and where?\nWe recommend you spend approximately 7-8% of your gross revenue on marketing. This aligns with advice from the U.S. Small Business Administration.\nIf that seems like a lot, consider the fact that the average small business spends 10% of their gross revenue on marketing, the typical large company spends 13%, and many businesses spend \nup to 50%\n. Yikes.\nSo where should you spend?\nFor small businesses, email marketing is by FAR the most efficient, powerful, and effective marketing tool, having an unmatched return on investment (ROI) of up to 44 to 1. In simple terms, for every $1 you spend on email marketing, it brings in up to $44. (Get more details our \nemail marketing\n article.)\nIf you’re worried about getting branded as a “spammer,” consider that 86% of customers say they actually want promotional emails from businesses they like. Relevant, timely emails are welcome, not hated.\nA simple email receipt with a “thanks for your visit,” happy birthday wishes, or special deals or offers delivered to a customer’s inbox can go a long way. Email marketing software can be a huge timesaver here (see #5 below).\nEmail is also a great way to notify your customers of those special events we discussed above. \nConsider Facebook and Instagram\nOne of the best ways to advertise without spending a lot of money is through social media. \nIf you’re not familiar with advertising on Facebook or Instagram, it’s very straightforward and pretty easy. Just visit \nwww.Facebook.com/business\n or \nbusiness.instagram.com\n to find all kinds of resources, as well as simple steps for creating your business account, creating ads, and all the other information you need to get started. \nDecide what kind of “persona” you want your bookstore to have, and use that persona in establishing the voice and personality of your social media accounts. \nThis helps your customers establish a personal connection with your business and become more engaged. \nWhen it’s time to spend money on targeted advertising, pay careful attention to the types of people visiting your bookstore, then use that information to dial into a similar audience when you spend ad money via Facebook or Instagram. \nFor example, if you have a lot of young mothers coming in with their kids to browse and buy books, you might ask Facebook or Instagram to target women ages 25-35 with children at home. \n\nIf you find your initial ad spend results in more traffic to your store, you can ask Facebook to create a look-alike list from that original advertising campaign and push it out to a different, broader set of people who match that description.\nThis is an effective way to expand your marketing to new people, while sticking with the type of demographic that has shown to be effective for your particular store.\nIf you can, hire a professional photographer for half a day. Using high quality pics in your ads and social posts helps boost social media engagement and ad effectiveness.\nThis could be photos of your books, your store, comfy reading nooks, your employees, whatever you think relevant and eye-catching. \nPosting regular photos of yourself and the other people who work at the store is a great way to help potential customers get to know you and feel like they’re a vital part of your small business family. \nPartnering with other local businesses for promotions and giveaways via Facebook or Instagram is also a great opportunity to leverage your social media accounts and get information about your store in front of a wider set of people. (See the section about community involvement above).\n5. Maximize your efforts and save time with small business software\nAlthough the four steps above are free (all it costs is your time), very few independent bookstore owners have the time or resources to dedicate to managing their online presence, collating and responding to reviews, gathering customer data, sending reminders or invites manually, etc. \nSo if this all seems a little overwhelming, consider automating as many of those critical tasks as possible with software specifically built to save local businesses time, facilitate customer reputation management (CRM), and increase revenue.\nThe right platform can help you visualize key revenue trends, benchmark against your local competition, send email reminders and promotions, and automatically request reviews from your happiest customers.\nFollowing these tips can help you grow your independent bookstore into a treasured local landmark. \nSources:\n
\nhttps://searchengineland.com/88-consumers-trust-online-reviews-much-personal-recommendations-195803\n
\nhttps://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/\n
\nhttps://deloitte.wsj.com/articles/who-has-the-biggest-marketing-budgets-1485234137\n
\nhttps://www.spinutech.com/digital-marketing/paid-media/sem/how-much-does-amazon-spend-on-digital-marketing-2018/\n

How do I market my independent bookstore? Top 5 tips

In this article:\nWhat is Google’s Local Services?\nHow can Local Services ads benefit your business?\nHow to set up Local Services ads\nManaging your leads on Google Local Services\nHave you seen those ads at the top of the search engines with the little green checkmark, reviews, and maybe even your competitors’ names on them? Wondering how you can get there? This guide to Google Local Services ads will help. \nWhat are Google’s Local Services ads?\nGoogle Local Services ads is a lead generation tool. When you complete the setup for Local Services, Google will present you as “Google Guaranteed” and show your ad at the top of relevant search results. Customers can book appointments with your business directly through the ad or go to your website to learn more first. \n(Image)\n\nLocal Services ads can only be set up for specific types of local services, like plumbing and pest control. There’s a complete list of services that qualify for these ads. Start the setup process (see how below) to see if your company qualifies. \nAnd, the best part is, you only pay for the leads that come in. Unlike traditional Google Ads that cost you money for every click on your ads, Google Local Services only charges you when a lead comes in through your ad. \nYou can even try Local Services’ budget calculator to get a rough estimate for your campaign. Check that out \nhere\n. \nHow can Google Local Services ads benefit your business?\nBeyond bringing in new leads for your business, you can expect great advantages from Google Local Services. \nYour business will be at the top of the search results, which in and of itself will bring more traffic to your website. You don’t have to manage any keyword for this, either! Google will determine when a relevant search is conducted and display your ad. And even if you don’t get leads or clicks from every user that comes across your ad, they are being exposed to your brand and might just become a sale later down the road. \nHaving a Google Guarantee also comes with its own benefits. The Google Guarantee badge not only looks good to potential customers (it’s a great trust signal), but it also comes with a legitimate guarantee that can help people who might be on the fence.\nIf you have customers from your Local Services ad who aren’t satisfied with the work you did and you have a Google Guarantee, then Google may refund the service. In the United States, Google Guarantee currently allows a $2,000 limit for lifetime coverage on claims. \nAccording to Google, this guarantee covers:  \nThe Google Guarantee covers claims up to the amount on the job invoice up to the lifetime cap for coverage.\nServices must be booked through Google Local Services. The Google Guarantee doesn’t cover add-on or future projects, damages to property, dissatisfaction with price or provider responsiveness, or cancellations.\nHow to set up Local Services ads\nIf you think Google Local Services ads are right for your business, then let’s get started. \n(Image)\n\nStep 1: Check your eligibility\nGo to \nads.google.com/local-services-ads\n and click “Get Started.” \nGoogle will then check your eligibility by making sure you are in a relevant service for the ads. Enter your country, state, ZIP code, and job category. Click “Check Eligibility.” If you are eligible for the ads, Google will move you forward in the process. \n(Image)\n\nStep 2: Create your profile\nClick “create profile” and fill in all of the information on the form on this page:\nBusiness name\nBusiness phone\nWebsite\nOwner’s first and last name\nTotal number of field workers (excluding the owner)\nYear founded\nCheck if you are using a home address or storefront address\nBusiness address\nClick “Next.”\n(Image)\n\nNext you will need to add your service area to the account. The city you entered for your address will already be selected. You can add more cities to this service area and/or select specific zip codes for each city by clicking the dropdown arrow by the city name. \n(Image)\n\nNext, you will set up the types of services you offer within your job category. Our example is for plumbers, but select whichever services you offer and would like to receive leads for. This will help Google show your ad for relevant searches. \nFor most jobs, you will be required to carry a professional license and provide verification of that to Google before they will show these ads. \n(Image)\n\nNext, set your business hours. \n(Image)\n\nNext, preview your ad. If you’re satisfied with that snippet, click next to continue through the process. \n(Image)\n\nStep 3: Finish Google’s checklist\nOnce you complete your profile set up, Google will provide a checklist for you to work through before your ads can be displayed. Follow these instructions and you will be set. (Google’s team will check on each item as they are submitted and inform you if everything is done correctly). \nAs you start submitting each of the items in the checklist, Google will assign an account representative to you, and they will send you emails and be your customer support to help make sure you get these last items completed. \n(Image)\nThose items are:\nSet your budget and payment information (your budget will determine how many leads you can get in a month–go back to that \nbudget calculator\n if you’re unsure what to put here)\nSubmit licenses (for each field worker you said you have) and insurance details (the business owner’s name must be on the insurance details)\nComplete a business entity and owner background check through Pinkerton or Evident (the checklist says Evident, but if that’s not working, reach out to customer support and they’ll send you a link to submit your background checks through Pinkerton)\nGet customer reviews. You need at least one review before your ad can go live. These reviews are different from your Google My Business reviews. These are reviews that are specific to Google Local Services. Google will provide you with a personalized review link that you can send to customers to get a couple of reviews up on your ads. Reviews are important because they will help convert customers when they click on your add to learn more about you\n(Image)\n\nHere’s an example of what your customer will see when they click on the review link. \n(Image)\n\nStep 4: Wait for verification and watch your ads\nOnce everything on the checklist is submitted, Google’s team will work to verify that everything is correct and complete. If you are missing something or something wasn’t done right, they will inform you so that you can get everything set up correctly. \nOnce everything is approved, your ads will begin showing up on Google. \nFrom there you will be able to manage leads from your dashboard (as they come in). \nManaging your leads on Google Local Services\nNow that your ads are approved and set up, you can watch as the leads start pouring in. \nYour Local Services dashboard will basically act as a booking system in which customers can request appointments (usually just a time frame for when they need the job done), what the job is that they need, where they are located, and when their lead came in. \nWhen a lead comes in, you can follow up and set up appointments for them. You can also mark when a job is completed, at which point, you can (and should) send that customer your review link to get a Local Services review. If Google can verify from your dashboard that this person came in through your ad, they will also add “Google Verified” next to the review, adding another level of trust for potential customers. \nYou don’t have to accept every lead. You can decline requests if the job really isn’t something you do or is too far out of your service area. But it’s always best to leave an explanation so they don’t take it upon themselves to leave you a bad review anywhere else online. \nCheck out these additional digital marketing resources\nGoogle Local Services ads are a great way to increase leads for your business, but there are other things that you can and should be doing to increase the potential for organic (unpaid) leads. Check out these articles to get started:\n\nLocal SEO: 15 free tips for better search ranking\n\n\n25 free local advertising ideas for small businesses\n\n

The definitive guide to Google Local Services ads (with walkthrough)

Step-by-step small business marketing guide

In this article:\nHow to get set up with Google Customer Reviews for your small business\nWhy setting up Google Customer Reviews is worth your time\nHow to display Google Customer Reviews in your business’s search result\nFree tips for optimizing getting more reviews\nIt’s shocking, the number of people who rely on Google for their online needs.\nIn the amount of time it took you to read that first line, there were over \n9 million \nGoogle searches. Let the sheer magnitude of that sink in.\nIt’s absolutely critical for local small businesses to be taking full advantage Google’s services for local merchants. \nIn this article, we’re going to cover one of the most important (and free) Google tools that will have a direct positive impact on your sales and search rankings: Google Customer Reviews.\nWhat is Google Customer Reviews, and what happened to Google Trusted Store?\nGoogle Customer Reviews is a new program that replaced the former “Google Trusted Store” program. The change happened in April 2018 as a result of Google shifting a seller’s reputation and source of authority away from Google’s approval to a more transparent, customer-centric, buyer approval.\nThankfully, Google Customer Reviews is a leaner program than the Google Trusted Store program, taking over the protocol for displaying the prized \nSeller Ratings\n in ads and search results. \nSeller Ratings is the aggregate scoring buyers experience shopping with a seller, rated on a five-point scale of “stars.” It’s arguably the most important component to your business’s search listing because it features a prominent data point of social proof and strong visual. According to Google, ads with Seller Ratings receive a 17% increase in click through rates compared to ads without them.\n(Image)\n\nNote: Google Customer Reviews and your Seller Rating won’t show up until you collect 100 customer reviews (it used to be 30 when it was the Google Trusted Store program). \nWhy setting up Google Customer Reviews is worth your time\nBefore setting up Google Customer Reviews (and therefore displaying Seller Ratings), it’s worth mentioning why this is worth the time it takes to set up. \nOne study found that 94% of online purchases using Google’s Product Listing Ads (screenshot below) were products with an average rating of either four or five stars. The study when on to note that ads with five stars generated 126% more purchases than listings with four stars.\n(Image)\n\nIn Google search results, stars make all the difference between whether an online shopper becomes a customer or remains a mere passer-by. It builds customer trust immediately, proving the credibility of your business through multiple sources. Also, having Google’s brand badge associated with the name of your business tends to help, just a little *wink*.\nWithout further ado, let’s get into how to add the magical stars to your business’s search results. \nHow to display Google Customer Reviews in your business’s search result\nGoogle Customer Reviews resides inside Google Merchant Center, so you’ll want to sign into your account there. If you don’t have a Google Merchant Account, you can create one by going to \nmerchant.google.com\n.\nOnce inside your Merchant Center, follow these steps to opt into your Google Customer Reviews dashboard:\nLog in to your Merchant Center account\nEnsure your Merchant Center account is \nverified and claimed\nClick the 3-dot icon dropdown in the upper-right corner\nSelect Merchant Center programs from the dropdown menu options\nFrom the Merchant Center programs page, navigate to the Google Customer Reviews card\nClick Enable to sign up\n(Image)\n\nOnce inside, you should see your Google Merchant Center dashboard like this:\n(Image)\n\nNavigate down to the bottom of the menu on the left hand side where you should see “Customer Reviews.” If you don’t see Customer Reviews, it means you skipped the part above about opting in to Google Customer Reviews — you must do this first.\nSelect “Customer Reviews.” \nHere’s where it gets a little tricky. But this is crucial to make this work. It’s time to \nonboard your store and integrate with Google Customer Reviews\n. \nUnder “Program setup,” you’ll find the code you need to add into your store’s website. You need this to \nintegrate the survey opt-in module\n into your small business’s site. \nBefore you become overwhelmed, here’s the good news: this is very easy — just type into a Google search “google customer reviews [name of your online store software (e.g., shopify, bigcommerce, magento)]” and step-by-step setup instructions will come up.\nOnce you have this setup correctly, Google will automatically send any of your customers who have made a purchase on your site and \nhave opted in\n to the program a one-question survey that looks like this: \n(Image)\n\nYou can now view all the data collected and processed by these Google Customer Reviews surveys in the dashboard, divided into five key metrics: \nOpt-ins received\nSurveys offered\nSurvey responses received\nSeller rating\nProduct reviews\nOnce you reach the threshold of 100 reviews, you will become eligible for Seller Ratings to display in search results — this is the big win for your business!\nHere are some tips to speed up this process and reach that 100 Google customer reviews mark as fast as possible:\nTake a moment to review the \nFAQs for Google Customer Reviews\n to uplevel your knowledge about how the program works.\nAsk customers in person at your store.\nRequest for customers to write a review in your email correspondence. Consider adding a link to your email signature or in a PS. at the end of the email.\nLeverage social media direct messages. Don’t be afraid to make the ask — remember, you don’t get what you don’t ask for!\nRespond to all of your reviews. It will show customers that you care and demonstrate that you will read and respond to their review.\nFor more creative ideas for how to ask customers for Google Customer Reviews, read our blog post “\nHow to Get Google Reviews\n.”\nYou might also like: \nHow to respond to reviews\n.\nIf you’re still on the fence when it comes to setting up Google Customer Reviews on your small business’s website, remember this: once it’s set up, it’s done — you’ll be hands off while your online reputation management will be automated by today’s most powerful search engine. 

How to set up Google Customer Reviews for your small business

In this article:\nHow to claim your business listing on TripAdvisor\nHow to start a new TripAdvisor business listing\nHow you can improve results with reputation management software\nWord-of-mouth is still the top way people find local businesses, but in the past few years that conversation has moved online to sites like Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor. This means that local businesses must stay laser-focused on their “online presence” on these review sites by keeping their information up-to-date, responding to reviews, and more. Plus, research shows that businesses that claim their listings on multiple review sites make 58% more money! The first crucial step is to claim your business listing on TripAdvisor and all other review sites.\nNot sure if your business is listed on TripAdvisor, Yelp, or Google My Business? You almost certainly do—even if you didn’t know it. Review websites automatically create a listing for your business when customers leave reviews, so it’s important for you to manage that listing to ensure your information is up-to-date and correct. Something as simple as \nresponding to your reviews\n can have a positive impact on revenue. And it all starts by claiming your listing.\nThis post will show you, in a few easy steps, how to claim a business on TripAdvisor, so let’s get started!\nHow to claim your business listing on TripAdvisor\nStep 1: Start a new TripAdvisor business account (or log into your current account)\n(Image)\n\nVisit \nTripAdvisor.com\n and Click the Join button in the top-right corner of the page.\nIf you choose to continue with either your existing Facebook or Google account, you will need to login with the email and password associated with the Facebook or Google account you choose.\nIf you choose to continue with another email address, please enter any existing email address you own and have access to (e.g.: @gmail.com, @yahoo.com, @businessname.com), create a password, then click Join.\nIf you already have a TripAdvisor account, simply enter it and log in as you normally would.\nNote: The email address you provide when creating your TripAdvisor account will NOT be visible to your customers. Please provide the best recovery email address in the event you forget your login password.\nStep 2: Search for your business listing on the TripAdvisor owners page\nOnce you’re logged into your TripAdvisor account, visit the business owner page at \nTripAdvisor.com/Owners\n to claim your listing.\n(Image)\n\nStart typing the name of your business in the search field provided. \nOnce your business listing appears in the dropdown list below, select it and click Claim Your Business.\nNote: If your business doesn’t appear in the search results, then you’ll need to add the listing yourself. Simply go to \nTripAdvisor.com/GetListedNew\n and follow the steps on the page.\nStep 3: Claim your TripAdvisor business listing\n(Image)\n\nEnter your name as you want it to appear when you reply to customer reviews. TripAdvisor will not display your full last name, just your first name and your last name initial. For example, John Smith with appear as John S.\nUpdate your business phone number if necessary. \nUpdate your business email if necessary.\nSelect your role in the business as you want it to appear when replying to customer reviews. For example, “John S. Owner replied”\nCheck the box to certify you are an authorized account user representing the business and to agree to the Terms of Use & Privacy Policy guidelines. Then click Continue.\nStep 4: Verify your identity\n(Image)\n\n(Image)\n\nTripAdvisor requires that you verify your identity to claim, manage and update information on your business listing. Most businesses chose to verify via phone, but make sure you (or an employee) are able to receive a call or text at your business line at the time you request this option. \n(Image)\n\nOnce you’ve submitted the code, you will have successfully claimed your TripAdvisor business listing! (If this method doesn’t work, you can also verify your identity by providing a credit card under your name).\nNow that you’ve claimed your listing, you can add photos of your business, respond to reviews, and more. Simply log in to your account to get started.\nStay on top of your online reputation \nAfter you’ve claimed your TripAdvisor business listing, check out our other guides:\n\nHow to claim your Google my Business listing\n\n\nHow to claim your business on Yelp\n\nClaiming your business on every review site is just the first of many important steps when it comes to managing your local business in today’s digital world. Reading and responding to reviews on all the review sites that are relevant to your business type is key, so be sure to keep up on that important task as well.

How to claim your business listing on TripAdvisor

In this article:\nThe 5 most effective traditional marketing methods for small businesses\nWhy you need to get your online presence right before you spend on advertising\nKnow your customer or you’re wasting your money\nBillboards and signage\nDirect mail\nNewspapers, magazines, and other print advertising\nLocal broadcast media\nOne of the cardinal rules of marketing is “diversify.” You don’t put all your advertising eggs into one basket, and never rely on one avenue to reach and retain customers. For certain types of local businesses, traditional advertising methods such as direct mail, print, billboards/signage, and broadcast media can bolster the results you get from pay-per-click, social media advertising, and other online marketing.\nIn this article we’ll go over several traditional marketing approaches that can make sense for small, local businesses. However, before you consider spending some of your marketing budget, we need to go over a few very important points first.\nDon’t spend on offline ads until your online presence is solid\nBefore you spend a dime on advertising, traditional or otherwise, it’s absolutely vital that you get your online house in order first. \nAs we explain in our \nsmall business marketing guide\n, if you spend on advertising before you have claimed your business listings and optimized your online reputation on the major review sites, you will effectively be paying to send potential customers to other businesses.\nWhy? Because, the first thing almost everyone does when given a recommendation or seeing marketing messaging for a business (even local ones) is to search their online reviews. \nIf you have great advertising but a miserable online presence with a bunch of negative reviews—or worse, if you haven’t even \nclaimed your online business listings\n—nobody is going to spend money with you, no matter how big your marketing budget is.\nDefine your specific marketing goal \n“Make more money” might sound like a good enough goal for your marketing efforts, but you really need to think deeper than that. What \nexactly\n do you hope to accomplish?\nIf your primary objective is to spread the word that your store even exists, then you might approach things differently than a business owner who is trying to stand out in a crowded local marketspace and win a specific type of customer with specific tastes and spending habits.\nIf you decide that your goal is to improve your brand recognition or general knowledge about your business, then some of the more broad-reaching traditional advertising methods outlined below may be most effective in reaching a broad range of potential local customers.\nHowever, if you wish to target a very specific customer base with very particular habits, then you may wish to begin with \nsocial media\n, \nInstagram ads\n, and/or \nFacebook advertising\n.\nKnow who your customer is\nIt should go without saying that the most important question in marketing is “who is my customer?”\nYou can’t market to your customers effectively if you don’t know who they are, what they respond to, how they consume media, where they spend, how they spend, and much more.\nThrowing money at an advertising campaign in order to \nfind out\n who your customers are is a special kind of stupid.\nSmarter business owners know that customer data is gold, and unless you have a very good idea of who your customers are (and which type of customers you want to target), spending money on advertising is akin to setting it on fire, and isn’t as fun.\nHow much should small businesses spend on marketing?\nThere is a lot you can do with traditional/online word-of-mouth and fantastic service, but eventually most businesses will want to devote some of their yearly budget to paid marketing efforts.\nExperts typically recommend that a small business spend about 8% of its gross revenue on marketing, which corresponds to guidance from the U.S. Small Business Administration.\nGo deeper: \nHow much should I spend on marketing?\n\nAnd while it usually makes the most sense to devote the majority of your budget to the \nmarketing method with the highest ROI\n (email marketing), and the digital platform that’s 900% more effective than Facebook (Instagram), there is certainly truth to the business adage: “diversify or die.”\nSo let’s talk about some of the traditional marketing/advertising methods that can still be valuable and effective for small businesses.\n1. Billboards and signage\nThe old “Eat At Joe’s” type billboards were reasonably effective in their day, but thanks to today’s high-tech digital/full motion multimedia billboard displays, you can do better.\nHowever, even static billboards and signage can be effective (and more budget-friendly) if you get the location, the message, and the market right. \nDepending on the size of your town, your competition, and your business, a well-crafted billboard can be very effective at attracting new customers to your brick-and-mortar location, or even to your website or online store.\nbillboard for local marketing\nAn eye-catching image and a sticky (and \nLEGIBLE\n) catch phrase on local buses, taxis, trains, or other marketable spots around your town can spread awareness and drum up interest.\nDid we mention your messaging must be easily and quickly readable and simple to comprehend? We’ve seen too many billboards and other “too clever” advertisements that, while they may have caught the eye or satisfied the artistic whims of the designer, were completely illegible and therefore worthless for all practical purposes.\nDon’t get distracted by a desire to create high art at the expense of effectiveness in the message. You’re not out to win a Clio… you’re trying to convince more customers to give you their money.\n2. Direct mail and local ad mailers\n“Junk mail” tends to have the same pallor about it as “junk email” these days, but the reason you still get so much of it is because it still works. \nvarious coupons for direct mail small business marketing\nSome studies show that physical mail “direct response” campaigns perform better than digital as far as brand recall, response speed, and percentage of respondents who purchase.\nToday’s direct mail marketers also benefit from digital-age demographic information, so you can often selectively target your ideal customer base, rather than blanket an entire town with indiscriminate mailbox stuffing.\n\nEmail marketing\n is hands-down the most powerful, effective, and efficient marketing tool for small businesses. But for small, local retailers with the ability to selectively target a specific group of people that are their ideal customers, direct mail can still be an effective way to increase your customer base, send coupons, and even drive repeat business—assuming you maintain an accurate customer directory, including contact information.\n3. Traditional print advertising is evolving\nNewspapers and magazines are certainly not as influential nor ubiquitous as they once were, thanks to digital media and the explosion of information technology. \nHowever there is some evidence that a growing number of people prefer to read actual books, newspapers, and magazines, though they are available in various digital formats—even among younger consumers.\nattractive redhead woman reading a newspaper for small business marketing\nIt seems many modern Americans miss the physical/tactile experience of interacting with good old paper pulp and ink.\nBesides, you can still advertise in the printed editions of local newspapers and magazines, and most companies will also include your ad in the digital/online version of their publications, so you can get a double-whammy for your advertising buck.\nIf your ideal customers are consumers of “traditional” print media, you may find it an effective avenue to reach them.  \n4. Brochures, flyers, and handouts\nThis is where coupons, discounts, and limited-time special offers really live. \nBefore you get started with this, make sure you adhere to any local ordinances regarding posting of bills, handing out flyers, or leaving them on cars or people’s property. \nman handing out flyers for small business marketing\nHowever, if you follow local laws and you specific marketing goal (remember that?) is to spread the word about your business or to incite people to visit with a coupon for a special deal, flyers can be an effective tool.\nAs we mentioned in our \n25 free advertising ideas\n article, you might be able to save money by swapping your goods and services with a print shop.\n5. Local TV and radio\nFor small, local businesses, broadcast media can be prohibitively expensive, depending on the market and the channel/s you wish to utilize. \nHowever, many towns offer what used to be called “cable access” channels where local businesses can buy promotional time for a relatively small expenditure. The problem there is the viewership is usually correspondingly small.\nIf your target customers (remember, you have to start there) listen to a lot of radio, you may be able to reach them effectively with a small radio spend, particularly if they are the type to listen to “alternative” or independent local radio stations.\nKeep your messaging straightforward, memorable, and clear, and you might see a good return on a modest broadcast media spend.\nAnd don’t forget that you can be leveraging your small business blog content with local media for free local PR benefits, which is another effective way to spread the word about your business\n6. Phone book advertising (just kidding)\nIs this really still a thing? Yeah… you don’t want to go there.\nThose of us who remember looking up take-out pizza shops in the yellow pages know that at one time the phone book was the acknowledged source of all truth for local businesses. \nToday, the traditional phone book has nearly gone the way of the dodo, like the coin-operated payphones that the white-and-yellow pages used to be chained to. \n(20 years ago there were over 2 million payphones in the U.S.; today only 100,000 remain, with a fifth of those being in New York City).\nbattered yellow pages phone book\nHowever, the need for local “business listings” is huge, and online business listings have taken the place of paper phone books. \nData shows that 9 out of 10 shoppers search online for local stores and restaurants, and the smartphone is the 21st-century version of the yellow pages.\nSo getting your business listed on all relevant online business listings is absolutely vital for small, local companies.\nWe’ve listed our step-by-step guides for claiming your pages on some of the major sites. If you’re not found here, you’re missing out on a lot of potential customers.\nGoogle My Business\nYelp\nFacebook\nTripAdvisor\nOpenTable\nFoursquare\nRefer to our \nfree business listings\n article for many more!

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