7 Benefits of Using Local Social Media [+10 Ways to Use It Properly]

by Venchito Tampon Jr | Last Updated on July 26, 2022

With almost 4 billion social media users across all platforms, it’s no wonder that businesses are jumping on the bandwagon to connect with their target audiences. Users spent about 95 minutes per day on social media in 2022 – which is higher than ever.

Local businesses, in particular, can benefit greatly from utilizing social media platforms. For example, 2/3 of Facebook users say they are more likely to buy from a small or medium-sized local business they can connect with on the site and visit a local business page at least once weekly.

This only means that if you’re not utilizing social media for your local business yet, you’re missing out on a lot of potential customers.

 

What is Local Social Media?

Local social media refers to using social media platforms to connect with potential and current customers who live close to your business.

This could include anything from creating a Facebook page for your business and sharing content that is relevant to your local audience to using Twitter to connect with other businesses and individuals in your area.

Here’s a list of social media channels you can use for your local social media marketing efforts:

1. Facebook
2. Twitter
3. Instagram
4. Snapchat
5. LinkedIn
6. Tiktok

There are a number of different ways that you can use local social media to benefit your business, which we will touch on later. But first, let’s take a look at some of the benefits of using social media for your local business.

If you’re not sure how your business can take advantage of social media, check out these seven benefits of using local social media.

 

What are the Benefits Of Using Social Media?

1. Reach a Wider Local Audience

The first and most obvious benefit of using social media for your local business is that it allows you to reach a wider local audience.

With over 2 billion active monthly users, Facebook alone gives you access to a larger audience than any other platform. And with 64% of American adults using social media, chances are good that your target customers are already on one or more platforms.

In order to capture these local social media audiences, brands usually invest in Facebook advertising. According to a report, 80% of small businesses use Facebook Advertising to reach their target audiences.

 

2. Increase Brand Awareness and Recognition

Another benefit of using social media for your local business is that it can help increase brand awareness and recognition.

When customers see your business pop up in their social media feeds, they’ll start to become more familiar with your brand. And the more they see your brand, the more likely they are to remember it and consider it when they need your products or services.

 

3. Improve SEO Rankings

Social media can also help improve your website’s SEO rankings.

Google considers social signals when determining where to rank websites in search results. So the more active you are on social media, the higher your website is likely to rank.

It’ll be easier for Google to index your website if you have social media profiles because your website will be linked to those profiles.

4. Generate Leads and Sales

One of the main goals of any business is to generate leads and sales, and social media can help with that.

Since social media platforms are a great way to increase brand awareness and connect with potential customers, they can also be used to generate leads and sales.

In fact, social media has been shown to be one of the most effective channels for generating leads and sales. A study by HubSpot found that social media generates more leads than any other marketing channel, and another study found that social media is the second-most effective channel for generating sales.

 

5. Build Better Relationships with Customers

Social media is also a great way to build better relationships with your customers.

When you interact with customers on social media, you have the opportunity to show them that you’re more than just a business – you’re also a real person who cares about their needs and concerns.

You can use social media to address customer concerns, offer helpful advice, and build relationships that will make them more likely to do business with you in the future.

 

6. Get Better Customer Insights

Social media can also be used to get better insights into your customers.

You can use social media listening tools to track what people say about your brand, industry, and competitors. You can also use social media to conduct customer surveys and gather feedback about your products or services.

This information can be used to improve your marketing strategies and make better decisions about how to serve your customers.

 

7. Stay Ahead of the Competition

Finally, social media can help you stay ahead of the competition.

By monitoring what your competitors are doing on social media, you can stay up-to-date on their latest marketing campaigns and strategies. You can also use social media to learn about new products or services they’re offering.

This information will give you a competitive advantage and help you make sure that your business is always one step ahead.

 

10 Ways to Use Local Social Media

If your goal for this year is to improve your local social media, here are 10 ways you can utilize social media platforms to reach your audiences locally:

1) Use social media advertising to target local customers.

Running social media ads is one of the most common practices big brands use in order to reach more local audience members. By targeting your ads specifically to people in your city or town, you can ensure that only locals see them. This is what makes Social media ads effective – it allows you to be very specific with your audience targeting.

For example, on Facebook, the platform allows you to set your target location by city, state, or country. You can also set the distance radius from your business location that you want your ad to reach – between 10 and 50 miles around a point you set.

 

The same goes with Instagram – by using different types of Instagram ads, you can target people based on their location and other factors such as interests, age, gender, and even behavior.

 

2) Use geo-tagging to make your posts more discoverable to local audiences.

Geo-tagging is the process of adding your location to your social media posts. This can be done by tagging your location on the post itself or by adding your location to your profile so that all of your posts are automatically geo-tagged.

Geo-tagging makes your posts more discoverable to people who are searching for content in a specific location. For example, if someone is searching for “restaurants in New York,” and your post is geo-tagged as being in New York, it’s more likely to show up in the search results.

This is a great way to reach more local people who are interested in what you have to say. It’s also a good way to connect with other local businesses and influencers.

 

3) Use social media to improve your website’s SEO rankings.

Optimizing your social media channels for local SEO is a great way to improve your website’s search engine rankings. This means ensuring that your social media profiles are completed and up-to-date and using relevant local SEO keywords in your posts.

It also means claiming your business listing on directories like Google My Business, Yelp, and Bing Places. These listings help improve your visibility in local search results and give you another avenue to connect with potential customers.

 

4) Use social media to drive traffic to your website.

One of the best ways to use social media for business is to drive traffic back to your website. This can be done by including links to your website in your posts and bio and using effective calls to action.

Calls-to-actions are a great way to encourage people to visit your website. They can be used to promote a specific product or service or simply get people to explore your site further.

It’s one of the most underrated content marketing tactics, but it’s very effective.

 

5) Use social media to create local partnerships.

Partnering with other local businesses is a great way to reach new audiences and promote your business. These partnerships can take many forms, but they typically involve some type of cross-promotion.

For example, you might agree to feature another business on your social media channels or to include a coupon for their product or service in your next newsletter. In exchange, they agree to do the same for you.

This is a great way to reach new people without spending any money on advertising. It’s also a great way to build relationships with other local businesses.

 

6) Use local social media to retarget your existing customers

The good thing with local social media is that it does not only allow you to reach new audiences but also allows you to retarget your existing customers through remarketing.

This can be done by running ads that target people who have visited your website or interacted with your brand in some way. This is a great way to improve customer retention rates and increase sales and leads.

Retargeting can be done on all of the major social media platforms, and it’s a very effective way to reach your target audience.

7) Use social media to host local events.

Another great way to use social media for business is to host local events. This is a great way to connect with potential customers and build relationships with other local businesses.

Local events can be anything from product launch parties to charity fundraisers. They can be small and intimate, or they can be large and public. But no matter what, they’re a great way to connect with your community and promote your business.

You can create social media groups, such as Facebook groups or events to host your local business events for free or with very little money. You can run ads to promote these groups and events to potential attendees.

This is a great way to reach new people and promote your business at the same time.

 

8) Use social media to generate user-generated content (UGC).

User-generated content is a great way to connect with potential customers and promote your business. This type of content is created by people talking about your brand, which can be very valuable.

UGC can take many forms, but some of the most common are reviews, testimonials, social media posts, and blog comments. This type of content is incredibly valuable because it’s coming from real people who have had a positive experience with your business.

This will help you increase your brand mentions across all social channels. By encouraging your customers and followers to create UGC, you can get your brand in front of more people and improve your chances of converting them into customers.

 

9) Use social media to run local contests and giveaways.

Local contests and giveaways are a great way to connect with potential customers and promote your business. They’re also a lot of fun and can be a great way to build relationships with other local businesses.

Contests and giveaways can take many forms, but they typically involve giving away a prize in exchange for some type of interaction. For example, you might give away a free product or service in exchange for people sharing your contest on social media.

This is a great way to increase your brand awareness and reach new people. And, if you partner with other local businesses, you can also build relationships and promote each other’s businesses.

 

10) Use social media to connect with local influencers.

Local influencers are people who have a large following on social media, and they can be a great way to reach new people.

If you can connect with local influencers and get them to promote your business, you can reach a whole new audience. This is a great way to increase your brand awareness and drive more traffic to your website or store.

There are a few different ways to connect with local influencers. You can reach out to them directly or use a tool like BuzzSumo to find influencers in your area.

Once you’ve found some local influencers, you can reach out to them and see if they’re interested in promoting your business. If they are, you can work out a mutually beneficial agreement where they promote your business to their audience in exchange for some type of compensation.

If you want to find local influencers on social media, we’ll detail it in the next section.

 

How to Find Local Social Media Influencers

Influencer marketing in 2022 is no longer a new concept. In fact, it’s one of the most effective marketing strategies out there.

But with so many influencers to choose from, it can be tough to know where to start. That’s why we’ve put together a list of tips to help you find the right local social media influencers for your business.

1) Search your own following. 

The first place to start is your own social media following. Look through your list of followers and see if there are any influencers in your area.

 

2) Use a tool like BuzzSumo.

BuzzSumo is a great tool for finding influencers in your industry. Just enter a keyword related to your business, and it’ll show you a list of influencers who have written about that topic.

 

3) Check out local hashtags.

Another great way to find local social media influencers is to search for local hashtags. For example, if you’re a business in Los Angeles, you could search for #LAinfluencer or #LAblogger.

This will give you a list of people already talking about your city and likely to be influencers in your area.

 

4) The basic — Just Google it.

Finally, you can also use Google to find local social media influencers. Just enter a search like “top social media influencers in Los Angeles” or “Los Angeles fashion bloggers.”

This will give you a list of influencers in your area, and you can reach out to them and see if they’re interested in working with you.

Reaching Out to Local Social Media Influencers

Once you’ve found some local social media influencers, it’s time to reach out to them and see if they’re interested in promoting your business.

The best way to do this is to send them a personal message. Just introduce yourself and your business, and explain why you think they would be a good fit for promoting your products or services.

Be sure to include some information about your offer, such as how much you’re willing to pay or what type of compensation you’re offering. And, if you have any ideas for how they could promote your business, be sure to include those as well.

Once you’ve sent your message, all you can do is wait for a response. If they’re interested in working with you, they’ll get back to you, and we can start working out the details.

If you don’t hear back, don’t be discouraged. Just move on to the next influencer on your list and try again.

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

How effective is social media for local SEO?

Social media is a great way to improve your local SEO and local link building campaigns. By creating social media profiles for your business and actively engaging with your audience, you can increase your visibility in search engines and drive more traffic to your website or store.

 

What does social media offer to local businesses?

Social media offers local businesses a number of benefits, including the ability to reach a larger audience, build relationships with customers, and create a more personal brand.

 

What types of local businesses have a social media marketing budget?

Nearly all local businesses have a social media marketing budget. In fact, small businesses are the most likely to allocate money specifically for social media marketing. The industries, restaurants, retail, and beauty are the most likely to have a social media marketing budget.

 

Why local retailers’ social media is better than national brands?

Local retailers have an advantage over national brands when it comes to social media because they can connect with their customers on a more personal level. Local retailers can also use social media to build relationships with other businesses in their community, which can help them get more exposure and drive more traffic to their stores.

 

What local businesses spend the most on social media marketing?

The industries that spend the most on social media marketing are restaurants, beauty, and retail.

 

How do you create brand loyalty on social media for local businesses?

The best way to create brand loyalty on social media for local businesses is to engage with your audience and build relationships with them. By responding to comments and messages, you can show your customers that you care about them and their experience with your business. You can also use social media to offer exclusive deals and promotions to your followers, which will help create a more loyal customer base.

 

How does budgeting affect the local levels of social media?

Budgeting can have a big impact on the local levels of social media. If you don’t allocate enough money for social media marketing, you won’t be able to reach as many people or create as much of a connection with your audience. However, if you spend too much on social media marketing, you could end up wasting money that could be better spent elsewhere.

 

How much do local businesses spend on social media?

Local businesses typically spend between 5-10% of their overall marketing budget on social media. However, this number can vary depending on the size of the business and the industry they’re in. Restaurants, for example, tend to spend a larger percentage of their budget on social media than other types of businesses.

 

Which social media should I use for my local business?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The best social media platform for your business will depend on a number of factors, including your industry, target audience, and budget. However, local businesses’ most popular social media platforms include Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.