6 Local Lead Generation Tips For Small Businesses

When it comes to owning a small business, lead generation can be the difference between success and failure. As a business owner, you need repeat customers to stay afloat, but you also have to look for new leads online if you want your business to scale.

In today’s age of technology, it seems that everyone has a computer in their pocket in the way of a smartphone. 97% of people learn about local companies through the internet, on their phones, so if you’re not online to meet your customers’ needs and wants, they’ll go elsewhere for what they need!

The local lead generation strategies mentioned here provide a way for you to capture business from these searchers. 

It doesn’t require much cash up-front to generate leads and local customers who want your services when you know how to go about it. So, if your marketing budget is slim to none, this is the most efficient strategy when there is a lack of resources and your business can’t afford expensive advertisements, but you still need more people walking in through the door!

If your audience is localized in a small area, your competition can be high. The good news is you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on ads or marketing strategies with the methods we share here. Your business can receive the attention it needs without spending money you just don’t have. Lead Generation doesn’t have to be expensive.

The following are 6 Lead Generation Tips for Local Businesses:

1. Build an Email List Through Localized Lead Magnets

Lead magnets are a creative way to obtain and collect 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 audience and localized 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 reach potential customers no matter where they go online, making sure that 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, and you can even ad forms making lead generation almost automatic. 

This convenience can help you get 20% more leads compared to Facebook ads leading to landing pages. 

3. Create and maintain a Blog

A blog is a great way to communicate with your customers about your products, services, vision, and commitment to serve. It allows you to attract your audience and involve them with your brand continuously by providing value about what you know how to do.

Your blog provides a way for your company to connect with customers in an honest and meaningful fashion. Consider running a Blog on subjects that will interest your audience, while highlighting the benefits of working with you.

Blogs also allow you to create content as you target relevant keywords and helps 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 Hershey PA” 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).

The following are some Top local listings:

• Yahoo Local
• Yelp
• Bing Local
• TripAdvisor
• Foursquare
• Angie’s List 
• YP
• Better Business Bureau
• GlassDoor
• Biz Journals
• CitySearch
• Manta
• White-pages and more!
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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. (see link for a free Google My Business Course I offer)

6. Keep in touch with your leads!

This should go without saying, but after giving you their information, one might agree the next step is to keep in touch with the people asking for more information. 

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 email 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!

So, if you need more lead generation for your business, give them a try and be sure to come back and comment and let us know how it goes.

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! Just contact us 

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