10 Social Media and Marketing Ideas for Local Businesses

Hello, hello, and welcome back to the freelance Friday podcast.

If you are a regular YouTube viewer of mine, thank you.

First of all, and second of all, you probably know that I recently signed a lease for my first ever in person office and studio space here in my local area.

I live in Michigan and this is really my.

First ever foray into anything brick and mortar into anything local community based, because honestly, I've been a social media manager for around a decade, give or take been in the marketing world, but even the social media clients that have taken on that have been local have mostly been looking to like improve their e commerce sales, for example, or just have a broader.

Global kind of reach, not necessarily focused, you know, on in person type stuff.

So this is quite new to me and has forced me to work some muscles that I've never really worked before or haven't in a very long time.

And I thought, you know what, let me talk about some of the different marketing ideas that I've tossed around.

For this new business venture that I'm going on, because hopefully it will help some of you who either are social media managers for local businesses, or for those business owners who watch and listen, hopefully it will help you too.

And if you are a social media manager specifically, be sure to check out the show notes, cause I'm going to have some updated free resources for you that will help you on your, on your journey.

So let's get into it.

The first thing to think about with.

In person brick and mortar physical marketing.

So I've got some of my, this is all old stuff that I've had for years.

Um, this is like folded.

It was in my luggage.

So don't mind if you're not watching, I'm pointing to a sweatshirt that says Jameson park and a water bottle.

says James and park.

That's the name of my marketing company and the studio will be called the creative studio, James and park creative studio.

So this is something that you can do obviously for any business truly, but specifically for in person, it's a lot more fun.

You can, you know.

Uh, walk around your local area.

I'm in a downtown area, which is really cool.

So when I go get coffee, I can wear my sweatshirt.

I can bring my water bottle or my thermos or whatever.

And it's just a conversation piece.

I've talked about this before for my online business.

I used to always have a laptop sticker whenever I'd go co work with my friends at coffee shops, and it's just a great way to.

Like get attention without having to necessarily say something.

Cause I'm quite shy and I'm not going to just walk up to people and be like, Hey, did you know that I have this like studio space?

Do you guys want to make a podcast?

You can come up there.

Like I would never do that, but having something to kind of break the ice is nice.

And then similarly, uh, paper marketing, you know, it's.

My area, at least, is very community focused, which is one of the reasons why I chose to open in the location that I did.

I'm gonna probably write a substack about why I chose this kind of smaller community over the big city Detroit, which I'm kind of close to as well.

Um, but I digress.

There are a lot of opportunities for, like, flyer dropping, community boards, you know, a lot of different coffee shops, grocery stores, just, like, random, kind of, Posting areas around downtown have the opportunity for you to put up your flyers.

So that's something to not forget about it.

When we, you're so used to online business, it's like, I haven't went to a printer and so long, but just get a stack of like 50 little flyers made about your business.

Just to have on hand, you can bring them to conferences and events.

If you go to them, you can post them around your local community.

And then another thing is local magazines.

So there are a couple in my area specifically one, like this kind of holistic bookstore that I love.

They've got like tarot cards and crystals and stuff.

They have a local magazine, a local publication that they circulate all kinds of different.

Like my favorite vegan restaurant or vegetarian restaurant, Savod.

They always have it there.

And there was another one too, that I just picked up.

Oh, I think it was at my local grocery store.

And so this is something I haven't done yet.

Because just because I don't know if the audience is 100 percent in alignment, but I might investigate seeing.

What the cost is to place an ad in one of those local magazines, because obviously you're getting local people.

You know, I'm so used to broadcasting to a global audience, but what I want to do now is say, Hey, who is in Ann Arbor, Michigan, or around the area, or wants to come to the area.

And come film their podcast with me.

So those are things to think about for you to hopefully, okay.

My second idea, and this is something that I do think I actually will be using.

I mean, some of those things I just talked about, I will actually be using too, but this one definitely I want to use.

Is I started looking on meetup.

com over the past year, just as I've went through some personal life changes and have been wanting to be meeting more people and more friends, things like that.

And I'm like, wait a second.

I could totally host some meetups at my studio.

So meetup.

com is, it's exactly what it sounds like.

It's a place where you can go find different.

Meetups, networking groups, events, there was everything from like hiking groups to singles groups to hopefully podcasting groups and meetups.

And that's something that I think would be really fun to do is just host like a podcasters of Ann Arbor.

Meet up where I can have a small group.

I'm pretty sure you can cap the amount of people who can come because my space is small.

So like have up to 10 people come and just, you know, do the bare minimum, right.

With love, right.

Have some coffee or tea, or maybe get a box of donuts or something like that.

And just kind of.

Chit chat and talk.

And it is a marketing opportunity, depending on what it is that you are marketing, of course.

But for me, it would be a marketing opportunity because I'm introducing myself as kind of a thought leader, somebody who knows what I'm talking about in that space in the local community.

And it's also getting people into my space.

So it's basically like giving 10 people a tour of my studio to hopefully book one of them or one of their friends as a paying client to want to produce with me.

So.

If you have a store, you could do something very similar.

It depends on what your store is.

If it was a holistic crystal shop, you know, you could do a witches of Ann Arbor.

I don't know.

Um, or a, you have a yoga studio.

It could be a yogis of Ann Arbor or wherever it is that you live and just have like a little meetup.

Just to get to know people and get them into your space.

And then of course you could also like pitch to them during the event.

I don't know that I would want to go like hard pitching route, but you know, give people a little coupon or 50 percent off their first recording or their first yoga class or whatever that might be.

I think that's a great.

A great way to do it and also just meet people because referrals are so, so valuable collaboration.

This is a big one that I've been thinking about.

And honestly, I am overbooked currently with projects, but if I had more time or if I had a bigger team.

Slash, if I can make more time slash, if I can hire a team at any point, this is definitely something that I want to do.

And it's, I want to collaborate more.

And specifically for my business, what I was thinking is like, there are not very many local podcasts.

And if that is what I am really leading with, is this is a place where you can record your podcast.

I am somebody who can help you distribute your long form content through social media and email and all the things.

Shouldn't I have a podcast that collaborates with local business owners?

To build up more of that local audience.

So again, that is something that's on my wish list.

It's a big undertaking, and it's not something that I think I'm ready to do quite yet.

But collaborating, and specifically, I think podcasting is such a good way of doing this because you're inviting people.

Into your space.

Again, for me, this would be me inviting them into my studio.

So they're looking at the studio, they're seeing the tech they're seeing, Oh, wow, this is so cool.

Amazing.

What if I wanted to do something similar?

What if I have a friend or another business owner that I know who wants to do something similar, but then you're also leveraging.

They're reach you're leveraging their audience that they have built and their clientele that they have built, because they're going to share the episode.

It's going to make them look cool.

You're going to cut it down, give them clips, give them social assets.

They're going to share it.

They're going to look really cool.

And they're.

You know, you're going to reap the benefits from that.

And you're just, again, going to be meeting people in your local area.

So maybe it's not a full fledged podcast.

Maybe it is just, um, you know, a short form series that you do, or you write something like you do a different local business owner spotlight in your newsletter or on your social media.

Or something like that, um, but it's all just about building rapport, getting referrals, all of that good stuff.

Similarly, influencers is the next one that you can think about.

If I were doing this for my studio, which I'm not going to because my studio is not going to be like a, um, pure space type situation where you, like, Get your, it's like unmanned and you just walk in and rent the studio.

It's not that kind of situation.

It's really a place for me to work one on one with clients.

So I really only want to sign people who want to work with me to produce their stuff, but if it was like a true studio where anybody could use it, I would.

Consider offering like a free, you know, a free shoot day to a local content creator or a free podcast edit or whatever that might be to a local creator who has a big audience and, you know.

Same thing, yoga studio offer a free class or free group class to an influencer and their friends, or offer to host an event for them.

If you're a local boutique giveaway, a little gift basket, you know, those things can be really, really helpful.

Again, when you're first starting out in particular, I know that people have hit or miss.

Experiences with influencers.

I kind of live in both worlds.

I'm a business owner, but I'm also a content creator.

So I see both sides of it.

My advice is if you are going to require a creator and influencer to post a minimum amount of times or in a particular format.

Things like that, you need to pay them in addition to giving a little swag bag and a free hour at your studio or whatever that might be, you also need to pay them and give them a list of deliverables and say, Hey, we need an Instagram reel.

We need a YouTube mention.

We need a blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

If you are willing to let them be a little bit more organic with it and just share, if it really moves them, then you can get by with just giving in kind trades, basically.

Whenever a business, especially a small business does something like that for me, gives me a small gift card or a free service or something like that.

And they are truly open to letting me share it in my own way.

I always, always share it.

Like I am so happy to promote them.

I promote local businesses for free all the time, but when they start to get like, Hey, we gave you this one free dinner, that's worth 20 and now you need to post X, X, X. I'm out.

Like I'm not doing it.

So just keep that in mind.

Another one that is very specific for local businesses.

Actually, online businesses can do this too, but I think it is really taken to the next level when you create a Google My Business account.

So, Or profile rather, I have one already for my marketing company, but it doesn't have an address on it.

It doesn't have a local area.

I think the local area is incorrect.

I think it still has me in Detroit.

And so I need to go through and update this because when people are searching for Ann Arbor podcast production, Ann Arbor marketing agency, I want to come up, right?

Because I am one of the few who actually fit that category versus.

I am a virtual marketing agency that serves clients across the globe.

Now don't get me wrong.

That has its benefits as well.

But when hitting on that very geo specific, you know, area, I want to come up and a Google, my business is free.

You can create a free account and it can be a great way at being discovered on, on Google, which is still a massively powerful platform.

And by the way, Google, my business is.

Actually one of the platforms that can be managed through my favorite social media, scheduling tool, analytics tool, metrical metrical is the sponsor of the freelance Friday podcast.

And yeah, I actually didn't even really realize this until I started putting on this local marketing hat.

And being like, Oh, I should update my Google, my business.

Oh wait Metro.

Cool.

Actually works with Google, my business.

So that was a cool little discovery.

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Okay.

So these next five are kind of, they are still very specific to local business, but I think there are things that are.

That are helpful to any business online or offline as well website.

This is something that I am going through right now.

Gotta love a good old website update.

Gotta love it.

But my jamesandpark.

com website is so out of date and it has been, even before I had the studio, honestly, most of my clients were just coming in through referral or through my own personal website, latashajames.

com.

So jamesandpark.

com has been no.

Collected for a very long time.

So I'm going through and doing an audit of that website, updating all of my packages, updating imagery.

You know, that's something really cool.

If you have a brick and mortar, invest in a branding shoot of your space.

Because again, I think there are pros and cons to online and offline business.

I'm not saying one is better than the other, but just by simply saying, Hey, I have a physical location.

You can come meet me at that is going to attract a specific type of client.

And it's, you know, it's going to attract a local client.

If they can say, Oh, you're over there on, you know, main street or whatever street you're on, it builds up familiarity and that trust for those local clients.

So invest in a brand shoot to actually show off the fact that you do in fact have a real.

Yeah.

Physical space.

And also you will want to think about SEO with that website update.

You know, this is something again, that's new for me.

I've never, I've actually kind of done the opposite of like, kind of tried to be.

A little slightly mysterious about my location for lack of better words, just because I do create content on the internet as well.

And so from a safety perspective, I've never wanted to brand myself too locally.

And that is something that actually still freaks me out a little bit.

However.

The town where my business is in is different from the town where I live in.

And, you know, there's safety measures in place and security and all the things and, you know, whatever.

But the point is there's nothing about Michigan on jamesinthepark.

com currently.

So I need to be injecting that local area into my website through its website.

Copy thinking about maybe doing blog posts.

That's a great way to.

Build SEO value and so on and so forth.

Um, so yeah, website, very important for any business, but SEO, local SEO, particularly important for local businesses, Facebook ads, Google ads is my next piece of advice or thing to consider.

So I actually, unless you're like an e commerce brand, I.

Generally, I'm not recommending Facebook ads to most of my clients for what they tend to offer.

I just do not find that they are incredibly effective, and I know some people will argue with me about that, um, and, you know, will have had better luck than me, and that's great.

But, I personally have not seen a huge return for the types of clients that I serve unless they are local.

Because the huge benefit of running ads is that you are able to geo target where your content is going.

So I can post this YouTube video, right?

And it's going out to the whole world.

Anybody who has access to youtube.

com is.

Having the ability to watch this.

But if I say I only want people in Ann Arbor, Michigan to see this, well, then my messaging can change, right?

It can say, Hey, come down to the studio at blah, blah, blah address, or Hey, get this free hour in the studio or whatever your offer might be.

Um, and you can really make sure that only people in your local area are seeing it.

So that really is a huge benefit of running ads to me more than like.

I don't know.

Like, I think sometimes when you're in the global online business space and you're not geo targeting, it kind of just get like lost in the ether sometimes.

So that can be great.

Also Google ads.

When people talk about ads, they often forget about Google, just like Google, my business, Google ads will come up.

If you type in.

Ann Arbor podcast studio.

Like that's a keyword that I should bid on because I want to come up at the top of those search results.

I want to come up at the top of Ann Arbor marketing agency or whatever that might be.

So those are all things to think about for sure.

Networking groups.

Again, these can be helpful for online businesses as well, but I actually just joined my local chamber of commerce.

Woo.

Woo.

Um, yeah, I mean, stuff like that.

Pretty much every city.

Has a chamber of commerce that you can join, depending on how big your city is.

You might also have other networking opportunities.

Like, especially when I lived in downtown Detroit, there was always something going on.

There were always like women in business brunches and I don't know, like just marketing events, there was an event called creative mornings.

It took me a minute to think of what it was called.

I know they're, they have a chapter in Detroit.

They have a chapter in pretty much every major city across the United States.

So that's when you can think about if you're in a creative industry.

So just attend those different networking events.

Again meetup.

com is where you can find those events.

Um, but yeah, I just joined my local chamber of commerce and every.

Chamber is going to have different benefits and a different cost benefit analysis.

For me, I thought it made sense.

It was 240 for the year.

It's an advertising expense.

And they, honestly.

I think are giving me a good amount of stuff.

Number one, you get listed on the chamber of commerce website.

So if you are a business, and especially if you're like a municipal, you know, service, like if you are a local government looking for contractors, you're probably going to go to the chamber of commerce website to search for different businesses.

And organizations that can help you.

So that can be a great lead generator just by being listed on that website.

It can also contribute to SEO for you.

So that's nice.

I just got my welcome packet in email.

So I'm trying to remember what else they're giving me.

I get a, an interview at a radio.

It's like.

I think it's like an AM radio show, but honestly, I'm going to get really cute social content out of that.

I'm going to take a cute pic.

It's perfect for what I do.

Since I do podcasting, I'm going to be able to talk to this radio station and maybe we can, you know, start to, um, Get some lead referral type situation going on.

And then they also just have a ton of different events.

They've got like entrepreneur breakfast, small business owner, breakfast and golf tournaments and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

And again, those are just great ways to meet others in your local area, either to.

You know, picture services or to get referrals from there's some other stuff, newsletters, social media promotion, but I think it's well worth 240.

Honestly, number nine is giveaways again.

Any business can do this, but I think they're really powerful for local.

I remember one time I was back in college and this new organic grocery store.

They're like, kind of like a knockoff of whole foods.

They opened in my hometown and I was a poor college kid.

You know, I. Was struggling out here and so I entered a Facebook giveaway that they had to win a gift card and I want it and it was honestly such a cool experience for me because I actually really needed it at that time in my life and I became a very loyal shopper there because it got me into the store I had to go to the

store to pick up the gift card they didn't email it to me or anything like that so I went into the store to pick up the gift card and So it forced me to actually walk in there and be like, Oh, wow, they do have a lot of things that I really like.

And yeah, I became a very loyal shopper.

So I think this works particularly well if you are a retail store, but you could even do it for like.

A service when a free podcast shoot with me, when a free yoga class, when a free massage and so on and so forth, what I would advise you to do.

If you do choose to do a giveaway, you know, that one that I mentioned with the grocery store, it was on Facebook and I think they just required you to like, like their Facebook page or something, I would actually choose to use it as lead generation through emails.

So I would say join our.

Email list or like an SMS text list, because you can then keep them on your email newsletter and you're building your email list while, you know, having a marketing cost of maybe 50 bucks, a hundred bucks, whatever the cost of your service or product is that you're giving away.

Uh, so that's what I would do.

And I don't think I'm going to do that for my studio, but if I were, that's exactly what I would do.

I'd have them join an email list.

Um, and then send newsletters out, you know, and then lastly, you could just think about doing local content, which I already kind of talked about a little bit with the podcast idea, but you know, take whatever social platforms you are choosing to be active on already and just.

Put an emphasis on local, right?

So for me, I'm probably not going to do the podcast idea.

At least not right now.

I just don't have the time, but I have a YouTube channel and I do vlogs all the time on my YouTube channel.

So I'm going to be showing you, uh, hopefully if I ever am able to leave my studio right now, I'm in like full build set up, like getting dirty mode.

But as soon as I get into a more consistent routine of shooting there, working with clients there, I'm going to be vlogging down there.

And I'll also vlog going to get coffee at my favorite local coffee shop and going to get brunch at my favorite little brunch spot and going down the street to my favorite record store, things like that, just to kind of.

Build a sense of community and start to make friends with those other local business owners.

Again, I think local business ownership is really all about networking, especially if you are in a smaller community like mine, because honestly, people are just so nice and like the few people, the few business owners I already know and have already met are like, Oh my gosh, like, how do I help you?

Like, how do we help each other?

And that's a really.

Wonderful thing.

And again, it's one of the reasons why I chose to open where I am opening and not in a huger, huger, a much larger city, because I think you lose a little bit of that somewhat.

I could be wrong though.

Who knows?

But anyway, um, people really want to help each other and it is really If I win, we all win, right?

Like if I'm bringing clients in to come shoot at my studio, well, they're going to walk down the street and go to that local coffee shop.

They're going to go maybe buy a record, especially if I recommend that they go check out the store.

They're going to go to the bookstore down the street, you know?

So it really helps everybody if we are all winning.

So I think that really is what local.

Marketing is all about, or at least what is at the heart of it.

So let me know if you have any other ideas again, I'm new to this.

So if you're a social media manager for local clients, let me know if there's anything else that you found has worked really well.

If you're a local business owner, I love that you're here.

Let me know what has worked well for you.

And if you are a social media manager, again, be sure to check out the show notes.

I've got some updated free resources for you and a huge thank you to the sponsor of the podcast, Metricool.

You can use my code LaTosha.

Uh, the link in the show notes to give any of their premium plans, a try free for 30 days.

Thank you so much for being here and for tuning in.

I hope this was helpful and I'll talk to you in my next one.

Bye.