If you’re looking to expand your brand influence and footprint (and let’s face it, if you’re in business, it should be a constant focus), tap into your local community. By becoming more visible to nearby prospects, you can generate more repeat business close to home. Even a small town can present big promo opportunities

The data bears it out; RevLocal, a firm specializing in local search and digital marketing, reports that 75% of Google searches for local solutions to individual’s product and service needs lead to brick-and-mortar visits within 24 hours. And people love to shop local these days. A recent study by financial management software firm Intuit found that 70% of consumers support local business, primarily to keep money in their area and patronize nearby creators and entrepreneurs.

Here are five ways to build your brand presence in your local community.

1. Join professional organizations.

Increase your visibility by joining your local chamber of commerce, business association and/or tourism board. You’ll be consistently in front of other local entrepreneurs who will give you business and refer you to others, plus you’ll build your personal brand as a leader in your space. Also consider being an advisory board member for a nearby college’s school of business to emphasize your expertise.

2. Sponsor local events.

Put your name front and center by sponsoring local parades, 5K walk/runs, farmers markets, sports teams and tournaments, church and street fairs, music festivals, and a myriad of other events. Take a look at your town’s (or nearby towns’) calendars and start getting in touch with organizers about sponsorship opportunities, including banners, signage, booths, programs and social media mentions.

3. Volunteer time and space.

Find nearby volunteer opportunities like food drives, cleanups, homeless shelters and Meals on Wheels, and get to know the other participants. This is a fantastic way to build a local network of peers and prospects in your area, build your brand beyond sales and possibly find sales opportunities. If you have space at your facility, consider loaning it out to charitable organizations that could use it for events.

75%
of Google searches for local products and services lead to brick-and-mortar visits within 24 hours.

(RevLocal)

4. Create a community identity.

Position yourself as the hometown expert in branded merchandise. On your website or in your storefront, display apparel and hard goods with other local businesses’ logos (with their permission, of course) and offer those companies specials on self-promo as a thank you. Also consider putting your business card on display at those companies whose employees wear or sell items that you provided to them.

5. Focus on digital marketing.

Hone your search engine optimization (SEO) game so leads and prospects quickly find your website that shows quality images of sample products, along with a solid social media presence. You don’t want to undermine your extensive local marketing efforts with lackluster digital marketing. Consumers are fickle; if they don’t like what they find online, they’ll go elsewhere … fast.