Advertisement ideas for small businesses can be challenging with the power of the internet and continued growth of social media, but the reality is these powers are not going anywhere and they can actually be one of the best ways to advertise locally.

Sprout Social recently revealed that 75% of people purchased something because they saw it on a social media channel.

The hard part is where to start. So, let’s look at some key pieces that make social media platforms one of the best places to advertise online and how it ties to advertising your business locally.

1. Effectively Use Facebook Ads

81% of the U.S. population has a social network profile of some kind. That’s a lot of people. This can also create a lot of noise for your brand but by effectively using Facebook Ads it can be one of the best ways to advertise locally.

By configuring a Facebook ad to promote your business locally it can become one of the best places to advertise online. Facebook’s goal with this type of ad is to quickly and easily target new customers by showing ads to people near your business.

Facebook knows people are near your business by their location or settings on their account.

Facebook also takes it to the next level by allowing advertisement ideas for small businesses that are locally relevant, this mainly focuses on a message that allows people to understand the unique value your business offers as well as their proximity to the brick and mortar location. 

2. What about Instagram?

There is a lot of hype around Instagram but rather than just joining the excitement, let’s consider some real points that make Instagram one of the best places to advertise online.

Much like Facebook, Instagram allows you to tailor online ads to specific audience types including location, which can be one of the best ways to advertise locally.

Instagram’s audience is skewed on the younger side, but crossed the 700 million user mark earlier this year.

There is a lot of diversity in the types of brands advertising on Instagram from beauty companies to consumer tech companies. However, the one thing they have in common is excellent visual content.

At its core, Instagram is about imagery that captures users and keeps them the in the app for an average of 15 minutes. This, coupled with the ability to build an ad that targets people based on their specific locations, puts Instagram up for one of the best places to advertise online.

3. Remember to be Mobile Minded

We’ve talked a lot about the value of social media being on its’ ability to target the location of people who see your ads. This in part owes attribution to the mobile shift. Social media access from mobile devices made up 80% of social network uses.

This means when it comes to the best ways to advertise online, targeting location can be very successful and ads optimized for mobile use will likely have even greater reach.

Being mobile-minded opens up advertisement ideas for small businesses. Some of those ideas can live in Facebook with maps and addresses, others can tap Instagram with visual stories showing your local community and location.

4. The Value of Content to Google

While Google falls on the search engine side of the fence, it also has components that are social media related that can ultimately lend it to being one of the best places to advertise online.

Google loves content and content marketing is a less invasive way to engage with your target audience. It allows you to present highly engaging and useful content while subtly promoting your business.

Another fact about good content is that it increases brand loyalty and allows you to be relevant to your customer beyond having products or services to sell.

Sharing valuable content across social media outlets can further brand loyalty. A recent study found that 53% of Americans who follow brands on social media are more loyal to those brands. This loyalty comes as your target audience finds consistency in the messaging from your company, both on social media, online and in person. It also positions your company as a thought leader to your target audience and provides them with something of value after they have interacted with your brand.

So try it out and see if social media is a good advertising solution for your business. What other tips do you have for advertising on social media? Share them below in the comments!