​How to Become Recognizable in Your Community

I often talk about the 3Be's when marketing yourself and your company. Be Seen, Be Heard, and Be Remembered. But how? One way to boost the success of your business is to become recognizable as an expert in your community. It might seem surprising, but being known doesn’t happen by accident most of the time. Even though it may seem like some people are "overnight" successes, that overnight success likely came from years of planning. 

If you want to become recognizable in your community, there are some steps you can take and things you can do to push yourself in that direction.

• Advertise Online and Offline – Don’t limit your advertising and press releases to just online. Instead, send out press releases locally, and advertise in the local publications as well as on TV and the radio.
  
  
• Be Active Online – You can become well-known in your local community by being very active on Facebook with your local people. Join local Facebook groups, publish locally-focused articles on LinkedIn, and mention local people and businesses on Instagram. This is why I created the digital publication ​LocalMeA - The Best of Local. It allows our partners the opportunity to become known as the local expert in their field and the face for their business.
  
  
• Attend and Sponsor Local Events – Start making it a point to go to live and local events. Not only go to them but when the subject matter is appropriate, sponsor the events too. The more people hear your name and connect your business to your expertise, the better.
  
  
• Join Local Business Organizations – Don’t just be someone who attends things; be someone who joins things and runs things. Every local business organization needs people to keep the organization going. As you get known, start stepping up to volunteer and help out with these organizations. Your local Chamber of Commerce is a great resource. I know ours is ;) Local Networking Groups are another resource to participate in.
  
  
• Be a Resource to Others – Be open to interviews with the press and offer yourself up as an expert on your topic so that they know to call you when they need info about that topic. The more often you can be quoted by others, the more people will start seeing you as an expert. Plus, the more known you’ll become locally.
  
  
• Publish a Book – A great way to become a minor local celebrity is to publish a book and then use that book as your calling card. Have a local book signing, and send out a press release about the book and the signing. Send a free book to the library and other business centers if it’s appropriate and on the right topic.
  
  
• Host Local Events – Once you get really involved locally, it’s time to start hosting your own local events. In fact, you can even break into the local scene by hosting a local event that you market and promote very well in a way that gets the eyes of the movers and shakers of the community.
  
  
• Speak at Local Events – Send out a one sheet to your local groups and organizations so that they know they can call on you to speak locally and on which topics. If you have it, provide links to them showing your speaking creds and examples of speeches and talks that you’ve given in the past.
  
  
• Volunteer – While volunteering for business organizations have been mentioned, another way to get known in your community is to choose a charity and volunteer for that one charity as much as possible. If your audience also likes that charity, that’s even better. 

At some point, you’ll know that you’ve made it because people such as the press will start calling you more often to get information, and you’ll become a regular invitee for less well-known events as well as be asked to speak more often for clubs and organizations based on your expertise. If I can help you with any of these suggestions, please feel free to contact me. I'd be more than happy to help.