For small businesses, lead generation can be the difference between success and failure. You need repeat clients to stay afloat but you also have to look for new leads online if you want your business to scale.
In the age of technology, it seems that everyone has a computer in their pocket. 97% of people learn about local companies through the internet so if you’re not online to meet your clients’ needs and wants, they’ll go elsewhere for what they need!
Local lead generation strategies provide a way for you to capture business from these searchers. It doesn’t require much cash up-front to generate leads and local clients who want your services.
This is the most efficient strategy if you have small resources and can’t afford expensive advertising, but still need more people walking in through the door!
If your audience is localized in a small area, and competition can be high. But you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on ads or marketing strategies when there are other ways for your business to get the attention it needs without spending more than what’s already allocated.
Here’s are 6 Lead Generation Tips for Local Businesses:
1. Build an Email List Through Localized Lead Magnets
Lead magnets are a creative way to get contact information of prospective leads. But since you’re a local business, there’s no point in sharing a generic lead magnet that will attract people across the globe.
Instead, create one specific for your target clients and localize it so it only attracts prospects who live around this area!
2. Use Targeted Social Media Ads
Ads are an excellent way to get your business in front of the right people. These targeted search results will allow you to reach potential clients no matter where they go online, making sure that you have more eyes on what you have to offer and improving revenue as a result!
If you find Google ads expensive, start with a small budget, and gradually increase it once you understand what works and what doesn’t for your business.
Facebook ads are the next best local lead generation platform for small businesses with its 2.5 billion users and unmatchable targeting capabilities.
When you run a Facebook leads ad, it shows in the newsfeed with a form for adding contact info right there in the newsfeed. This convenience gets you 20% more leads compared to Facebook ads leading to landing pages.
3. Create a Blog (and post to it)
A blog is a great way to communicate with your clients about your products, services, vision, and the commitment to serve. It allows you to attract your audience and involve them with your brand continuously.
Your blog provides a way for your company to connect with clients in an honest and meaningful fashion. Blog on subjects that will interest your audience, while highlighting the benefits of working with you.
Blogs also allow you to target relevant keywords and help your website appear in the search engines for more related keywords and it improves the overall visibility of your business.
Using your geographical location in blog titles and URLs also will be beneficial for your business as it contributes to improving local SEO (search engine optimization).
4. Build Localized Landing Pages
When you direct your leads to a landing page, it becomes the determining factor for effective conversion. When people are looking for products or services in a specific location, they are much more likely to engage with a localized promotion than one that is not targeted at their needs and wants.
Localized landing pages also improve your local search rankings when someone searches with location modifiers such as “chiropractor near me,” or “plumber in Naperville IL” etc.
You’ll see more conversions with local Google or geo-targeted ads when they lead to the closest branch, rather than a generic landing page.
5. Optimize Local Listings
With more than 96% of Americans owning a smartphone, you need to make sure your business is listed on local directory sites.
You can expect competitors in the area to be doing this too so if they’re not already prepared for that competition then it’s time they start!
Mobile technology has taken over America and with mobile usage steadily increasing people are using their smartphones as an everyday tool.
In fact, 93% of adults use their phone daily or almost every day according to Pew Research Center data from 2016-2017.
Because nearly everyone owns a smartphone these days businesses should take advantage by listing themselves on at least one major online directory site like Google My Business (formerly known as Google Places).
Top local listings are:
- Yahoo Local
- Yelp
- Bing Local
- TripAdvisor
- Foursquare
- Angie’s List
- YP
- Better Business Bureau
- GlassDoor
- Biz Journals
- CitySearch
- Manta
- White-pages and more!
Optimizing your Google My Business page not only improves your visibility but also gives your SEO a boost. It ensures that your business shows up when someone looks up the internet for related products and services.
6. Keep in touch with your leads!
This should go without mentioning, but after acquisition, one might agree the next step is to keep in touch with your leads!
It’s not enough to generate a lead by asking for their email address. Keep in touch with your leads and remember that they may be busy, distracted or forgetful when it comes to following up on your lead magnet!
Sending them an automated follow-up sequence will help you build rapport and show that you care about what matters most – keeping these prospects engaged until they are ready to purchase from your business!
Similarly, if you get some leads during an offline event, make sure to follow them up through email or a phone call to encourage them to take action or move one step down the sales funnel.
Following up on cold leads is another excellent way to keep your cold leads in the loop. Create an automated email series to pull them back into the sales funnel.
These 6 Local Lead Generation Tips for Small Businesses are just a few proven methods!
If you need more lead generation for your business, try these tips!
By the way, if you don’t have time to implement these ideas into your marketing and need assistance with the technical aspects, we would be delighted to help!
