Effective marketing and communication are pivotal in engaging both locals and visitors, fostering a sense of community, and bolstering civic pride.
At Locable, we collaborate with communities across the country to spotlight local events, businesses, and the significant impact of their main streets or downtown areas. Our efforts help to attract new businesses, increase volunteer involvement, and enhance financial resources, ultimately bringing people together and enriching the community spirit.
By addressing common marketing mistakes with simple approaches, communities can maximize their appeal and vibrancy, making them more inviting and dynamic.
Mistake: Not prioritizing marketing efforts, which leads to the community appearing uncared for and stagnant.
Solution: Implement simple, consistent marketing activities that showcase the assets in your community. Highlight local businesses, attractions, and events through regular updates and stories to maintain public engagement and interest.
Mistake: Using only - or primarily - social media platforms for marketing where you don’t own your audience and your efforts are low-impact and short-lived.
Solution: Use social media as part of a distribution strategy starting with FB. The Marketing 3-4-5™ Distribution approach enables you to leverage your website, distribute content to social, distribute via email newsletter (where you own your audience), and collaborate with community partners and businesses, which all enables you to effectively leverage Search Engine Optimization to grow discovery via Google.
Mistake: Expanding into trendy platforms like TikTok or Twitter without a strategic purpose. For many, even Instagram is a waste of time if you’re not a major tourism destination and incredibly photogenic.
Solution: Start with Facebook and the distribution strategy listed above, once that’s rolling then consider experimenting with additional platforms.
Mistake: Believing that a perfect, comprehensive marketing strategy is necessary before making progress - “We want to do it the right way” is the wrong answer.
Solution: Start with what you know and what you have. Share the unique aspects of your community through simple stories and posts about local events, notable residents, history, and more. Let these elements naturally demonstrate the value of your community.
Mistake: Thinking you need a perfect plan, vision, tagline, or generally have everything figured out is a waste of time, money and energy.
Solution: Utilize the Marketing 3-4-5™ approach to begin with straightforward, manageable actions that highlight the community's charm and appeal. Showcase immediate opportunities and experiences that are unique to your locale, which can effectively attract interest and involvement.
Mistake: Assuming that only marketing experts, gurus, or tech specialists can execute successful online campaigns.
Solution: Leverage simple tools and strategies that do not require expert knowledge. Focus on creating content that resonates with your audience and use accessible platforms to distribute your messages effectively. Embrace straightforward tactics that reflect the community's identity and values.
By addressing these common mistakes with practical and straightforward solutions from the Marketing 3-4-5™ framework, rural communities, and main streets can enhance their visibility and appeal, fostering greater local and visitor engagement. This approach emphasizes starting with the basics and building on successes, using tools and platforms that are easy to manage and resonate well with the target audience.
