Which advertising medium is best for local business in 2024

The rapid change in the advertising world is undeniable, and staying up to trend can be difficult, especially for local businesses. In today's blog post, we will discuss how to gain the highest ROI for your advertising strategy by utilizing free and paid mediums.

Many local businesses are still stuck in the past, relying heavily on traditional advertising such as billboards and advertising on local TV/Radio stations to garner attention and generate leads. While this may be ROI-positive for some businesses, there are plenty of free and paid mediums that are not only more effective, but also more measurable.

An issue common among traditional advertising is identifying how to attribute performance to distinct campaigns. Yes, you may find an increase in revenue, but how can you tell if this purchase was due to this billboard or the next? With digital advertising, you can promptly see the return on ad spend (ROAS), conversion rate, and other metrics that can help you measure the success of a campaign.

We will focus on paid mediums, such as Google Ads and social media advertising, and free mediums, including Google My Business and Email Marketing.

1. Google Ads (Local Search Ads)

• Why it's effective: Google Ads, especially local search ads, are a great way for local businesses to appear when potential customers are actively searching for services or products in their area. With the use of location targeting, your ads can appear in search results and Google Maps when users search for relevant keywords near your business location.

• Best for: Businesses like restaurants, clinics, service providers, and retail stores.

• Features: Google Local Service Ads, Google Maps ads, and location extensions.

  
  

2. Social Media Advertising (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok)

• Why it's effective: Social media platforms allow local businesses to target users based on geographic location, interests, and behaviors. In 2024, social media ads are still highly effective for building brand awareness and engagement. Instagram and Facebook are excellent for visual storytelling, while TikTok offers viral potential.

• Best for: Local businesses looking to engage with younger demographics or visually-driven products (restaurants, boutiques, fitness centers, salons).

• Features: Geotargeting, Stories ads, carousel ads, and video content.

  
  

3. Google My Business (GMB) and Local SEO

• Why it's effective: While not strictly "advertising," optimizing your Google My Business listing and focusing on local SEO is essential for any local business in 2024. Appearing in Google's "Local Pack" or Google Maps search results is critical for visibility, especially for mobile users. This is a free medium that will allow you to drive organic leads to your business.

• Best for: All types of local businesses.

• Features: Reviews, photos, business hours, map location, and Q&A.

  
  

4. Email Marketing

• Why it's effective: Email marketing remains a reliable and cost-effective way to reach local customers. By collecting customer emails (through website sign-ups, in-store interactions, or loyalty programs), businesses can send out personalized offers, newsletters, and event invitations to a local audience. While this strategy will be more long-term, it is a great way to not only for promotional offers but also build brand loyalty for your customers. If you are looking to use paid advertising via email, a great resource may be using Gmail as an extension for Display ads. Another way would be Performance Max campaigns, which is a relatively new feature that has seen great success for e-commerce brands.

• Best for: Local service businesses, retail stores, restaurants, and event-based businesses.

• Features: Automated campaigns, personalized messages, special offers, event promotions.

In 2024 and beyond, local businesses will need to utilize digital advertising to compete with large corporations and generate personalized offers to suit their customers' needs. Google Ads, Social Media Advertising, Google My Business, and email marketing offer a great baseline for your digital marketing arsenal. To reiterate, digital ads allow greater insight into measuring the performance of your campaigns and can be supplemented with traditional advertising to offer integrated marketing communications for your business.