Creative Ideas for Local Brands to Run Paid Ads in 2021By Hiral Rana Dholakiya

One of the most eye-opening insights that local businesses have gained after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic is that they need to go online, ASAP. The ones who caught up with the trend have been able to survive better through these tough times.

Though organic marketing strategies such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and organic social media strategies work, they take a lot of time to show results. 

So, if you are looking for a quick boost of traffic and leads for your local business, then paid advertising is something that you should consider.

In this article, you’ll learn some creative ideas to run paid ads for your local business. These strategies are used by thousands of top local businesses and have proven to show tangible results. 

1. Run Geo-Targeted Facebook Ads

Running Facebook ads is one of the easiest and quickest ways to generate leads for your local business. Facebook is one of the most widely used platforms, and thus it is highly likely that your target audience is active on Facebook.

You can create hyper-targeted Facebook ad campaigns by customizing your audience based on their interests, demographics, and job-descriptions. 

You can also target local customers by limiting your audiences to a specific location. This way, the chances of conversions increase by multiple folds.The most important thing to keep in mind is your ad visuals and copy. Without the right messaging, all your ad spends will go down the drain. 

You should also consider creating attractive visuals and illustrations. You can use blank infographic templates and design your ad creatives using them.

2. Use Remarketing

Remarketing is the strategy where you target the users who have already engaged with your brand in some way. This includes your website visitors, your social media followers, your email list subscribers, etc.

But, why spend money on advertising for people who already know about your brand? It is because they already are familiar with your brand. You need to ensure that they cross paths with your local brand again, and again. And are finally convinced to convert.

3. Create and Leverage Lookalike Audience

Lookalike audiences are one of the best possible ways to bring about a massive increase in your conversion rates. Lookalike audiences are nothing but users who exactly fit your existing customers’ persona.

As a local business, you would definitely have an idea about what are the most common traits of your ideal customers. What demographics they fall in, what are their interests, etc. 

You can leverage this fact to create and target lookalike audiences on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

These platforms allow you to import your existing customers’ details and help you create custom audiences with similar persona. Since the lookalike audiences will fit your ideal customer profile, the chances of conversions are maximized with little efforts.

4. Experiment with Different Types of Paid Advertising Platforms

The usual paid advertising platforms such as Google ads, Facebook, Instagram, etc are good. But, the competition on these platforms is too high. Hence, you should also look for other niches, lesser-known platforms to advertise your local business.

For instance, if you are a local restaurant owner, there will be a very high competition on platforms like Facebook. Instead, you can choose other niche platforms that are specific to food and restaurants.

You can niche down based on category, age, gender, demographics, and many more. For example, if your target audience consists mostly of Gen Z, you can try to use Snapchat, as the audience there is more relevant.

It is important to do your research prior to experimenting with new platforms. Ensure that the platform consists of users who match your target customer persona. Also, try starting with a smaller ad budget and gradually scale your ad spends.

5. Hold Contests and Giveaways

Contests and giveaways are the most fun and engaging forms of marketing. After all, who doesn’t like to engage in fun competitions and win exciting prizes?

You can start by brainstorming creative and engaging contests for your local leads. Ensure that it aligns with the interests of your target audience. 

You should also make the contest easy and achievable. Do not complicate your contest or people might choose not to participate.

The most essential part of your contest is the final prize. Make sure the giveaway prizes will be loved and desired by most of your local prospects. This will be the eye candy of your contest.

Lastly, promote your contest or giveaway on paid advertising platforms. Use highly attractive ad creatives, and make your CTA as prominent as possible. Another thing to take care of is to make the signup process as hassle-free as possible.

Final Thoughts

There you go! Now you have a list of creative paid ad ideas to kill your local business’ marketing campaigns. So, start implementing these ideas now. Make sure to keep an open mind and be open to experimentation.

Hiral Rana Dholakiya is a Digital Marketing Consultant with over 10 years of experience. She’s passionate about all things Digital & Social Media and has conducted training programs at institutes like GLS University and L.J. Institute of Media & Communications. Hiral also shares her insights and knowledge with the audience of publications like AdWeek, Entrepreneur Magazine, Social Media Today and Social Media Examiner to name a few. You can follow her on Twitter @IamHiralRana.

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