How to Market Professional Services in Your Local Community

By Raubi Perilli

Feb 18, 2021 Solutions

If you want to market professional services in your local community, you are going to need a slightly different strategy from marketing other types of local businesses.

With most professional services, your customers don’t need you immediately. You likely offer something that local audiences don't need now, but will at some point in the future. When that time comes, you want to make sure that customers think of and turn to you. To do that, you first need to build brand awareness. Second, you need to make sure that when customers are ready to work with you, they can find you.

Here are some tips for accomplishing this and helping you market professional services in your local community if you are a:

Lawyer
Accountant
Financial planner
IT technician
Designer / Architect
Doctor / Therapist
Any other type of professional service provider

#1) Know the Rules of Your Industry

Some professional services have rules and restrictions when it comes to marketing. Before you begin to market professional services, make sure you understand the guidelines for your industry. If you aren’t sure if your industry has guidelines or what they are, look to professional organizations and associations in your field. Organizations responsible for accreditation often provide resources on the dos and don'ts of marketing in your industry.

#2) Provide Value on Social Media

It’s not enough to simply set up social media profiles for your professional service business. You also need to share engaging content that makes people want to follow and keep in touch with you. Professional services can sometimes be bland and technical, but don’t feel boxed in by the content related to your industry. Think about how you can provide value to your target audience and potential nearby customers.

Share content related to your expertise. Share content that shows off your expertise and builds interest with potential customers. A tax accountant might share tax tips at the beginning of the year, and an IT tech might share tips for protecting your computer from viruses.
Share content related to your local community. Give locals a reason to follow you by sharing local events and information. A designer might share a look at a new building going up downtown, and a realtor might share details about trends in the local market.

#3) Get Local Press

Market your professional service business by getting local press for your brand. Getting on the news or being featured in a newspaper article can help you make a name for yourself in the community. Most professional service providers have a unique skill-set or knowledge that makes it possible for them to get media. Reach out to local outlets, present yourself as an expert in your field, and offer to share your expertise.

Participate in TV interviews that share information viewers would find interesting and useful.
Provide media content to local print and digital publications such as MyArea Network Local Area Sites.
Participate in local panels at community or industry events that may be covered by the news.

Recommended Reading: How to Get Local Press Coverage for Your Business

#4) Sponsor Local Events

To build brand awareness and local notoriety, put your business in front of local audiences at nearby events. Sponsor local events in and around your community. (Don’t forget about online events.) Sponsoring events is a great way to get your name out there. It helps you stand out from competitors and remain top-of-mind so customers think of you if the time comes when they need your services.

#5) Boost Your Local SEO

To effectively market professional services, you need to be available when customers look for you. You need to show up in search when nearby customers need a solution you offer. To make sure that customers can find you, work on your local SEO. Local SEO includes tactics that help your website rank on search engine results pages when nearby customers search for phrases related to what you do. A few tips for boosting local SEO include:

Creating a Google My Business page.
Identifying keywords relevant to your business and targeting them in your on-site content and blog posts.
Adding your business to relevant industry directories.
Featuring your address on your website.
Creating a location page for each business if you have multiple locations.

#6) Get More Client Reviews

Local customers rely heavily on the recommendations from other people in their community. This is why it is extremely important to gather client reviews about your business. The more positive reviews you have, the more likely that local customers will choose you over another brand with fewer or less impressive reviews. Work on building out a robust list of reviews on:

Google My Business
Yelp
MyArea Network Local Area Sites
Facebook
Angie’s List
Relevant industry directories

#7) Launch Location-Based Ads

Relying on organic reach alone is often not enough to market professional services. Look to launch paid ads to put your business in front of a local audience. Use location-based marketing to ensure that you are reaching the nearby customers most likely to turn to your business.

Use geotargeting in paid ads to target customers based on their zip code, city, or geographic region.
Use geofencing marketing to target customers based on their exact location, such as near your business or in a business related to yours.
Leverage display ads on local media sites like MyArea Network.

Make It Easier to Market Professional Services in Your Local Area

To market professional services in your local community, you need tactics that build brand awareness and help customers find you when they need you. Use these tips to start a marketing strategy to get your brand in front of customers and stay top-of-mind.

Build out your strategy faster by signing up for mySuite by MyArea Network.

Our free platform includes local marketing tools such as text marketing and geofencing that can help you launch campaigns to put your brand in front of more local customers.

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