Local marketing and online marketing are now closely tied together. There was once a time when taking out an ad in the newspaper or buying space on a billboard was enough to kickstart a business. But, as more businesses are formed and people flock to online retailers, it’s important to leverage local events to market a business.
Many of these marketing opportunities can be applied offline and online.
How are companies using local events in 2018 to market their businesses?
Create News Pieces or Blog Posts on the Events
If you want to gain local attention, find a topic that locals are passionate about, and create controversy. But, if you don’t want to be controversial, you can also choose to create a new piece or blog post on the event.
Let’s take a look at a blog post from Kathleen A. Sigurdson.
Kathleen is a lawyer, and she’s targeting clients in Nevada. She knows that prom night is a huge deal for parents and teens. She created a post on the dangers of prom night, and while I won’t detail the post, I will say that after it’s posted, it would be important to:
- Share the post on social media
- Email the post to news outlets in the area
- Send the post to social media influencers in the area
You’d be surprised by how a locally-targeted piece can gain quick links and publicity for a business. And since a business is local, it’s easy to keep a pulse on all of these topics.
Sponsorships Gain Attention
Local events need sponsors, and if your business has the budget, sponsoring one of these events can be very profitable. You’ll want to stick to larger events that have a marketing budget to promote the event.
A lot of local news outlets will post about the event offline and online.
Links will often be placed on the event’s site, or you may be able to secure links on a local newspaper covering the event.
And all of the event goers will also be alerted to your sponsoring of the event. You can start by scouring for annual events in your area and seeing how well they’re covered. If an annual event received praise online and, in the news, last year, there’s a good chance the same event will be promoted well this coming year.
You can also sponsor local contests.
Attend the Event or Buy a Booth if Possible
I remember going to computer shows in my area, and the shows were great because they offered lower prices than in stores. But what I didn’t realize was how this hyper-targeted, local event was one of the best marketing tools for a lot of these vendors.
Vendors would give out business cards and also fliers that would lead the person to the company’s website.
And a lot of these companies are still in business today. These local events are a great way to network, and a lot of vendors were able to receive contracts with local businesses. Small consumers, like myself, also made purchases that exceeded the cost of renting out a booth at the event.
