As a local business competing with huge companies, especially in the digital marketplace, it helps to have a leg up in the business. Here are 10 common mistakes that local businesses make when trying to promote themselves.

1. Not Having a Digital Marketing Plan

A strong, comprehensive digital marketing plan can make a world of difference for a small local business. Hiring a company to help you develop a digital marketing plan that includes targeted advertising, social media, email campaigns, and more can make you stand out from the crowd and grow your brand.

2. Ignoring Reputation Marketing

A business’ online reviews and reputation can make or break them. A small local business just starting out really needs to attend to its online reputation. Using a company that specializes in reputation management and reputation marketing can ensure that you’re aware of what customers are saying about your services online.

3. Not Cultivating Positive Online Reviews

Positive online reviews of your company will go a long way towards getting you new clients. In fact, it doesn’t cost a business anything to encourage customers to leave positive reviews, which will in turn attract the attention of new clients looking for your services.

4. Being Unaware of the Power of Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Your clients will do a lot of advertising for you if you build good relationships with them from the beginning. Word-of-mouth marketing is a very powerful tool – and the best part is, it’s free!

5. Trying to Do It All Yourself

You can do it all – almost. Don’t try to handle all of your social media advertising, email and content marketing, managing your brand’s online reviews, and building word-of-mouth marketing all by yourself. Consult an expert and remember that you have to budget for advertising and marketing in order to grow your client base.

6. Ignoring Your Existing Clients

A happy customer will stay loyal to your company and continue to use your services for years to come, assuming that you continue to cultivate your relationship with them! Don’t forget to include existing customers in your digital marketing campaign, and follow up with each new customer after a sale to begin building a trusting relationship.

7. Not Using Social Media

Social media marketing is an inexpensive yet powerful tool for any small local business. Don’t ignore your business’ social media accounts – customers want to interact with you online, and they may forget you exist if you never update your social media pages.

8. Not Maintaining Your Website

Many customers will turn to your website first to learn about what services you offer, where you’re located, and what your hours are. If this information is out of date or hard to find, you’re going to lose customers very quickly.

9. Not Promoting Your Success

Don’t forget to do a little bragging in your advertising! Your email campaigns and social media marketing should include your recent successes and achievements in order to set you apart from other local businesses.

10. Not Listening to the Experts

At Smargasy, we can help your local business succeed by developing a digital marketing campaign that works for you. We offer an array of services for local businesses, including search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, social media advertising, email marketing, and reputation marketing. Contact us today for a free strategy session.