How to Get Free Advertising from Your City Government

When I worked as a political/business consultant, I was constantly asked about advertising tips for small businesses. Advertising expenses can break small businesses but these owners also know that if they do not advertise, they might not have people walking through the doors. Most small business owners do not realize that they can often get free advertising through their local governments or community departments.

Online Advertising

Most cities now have Facebook pages or Twitter accounts. Some cities that have thriving downtown areas will also have a downtown development authority that will also have accounts on Facebook and Twitter. Did you know that many of these cities and dda groups love to post and tweet about local businesses. Is your store having a sale? Did your restaurant just add something new to the menu? Did you just have a new addition put on your business? Send this information to your city or dda and you might find that you have just gotten some free advertising.

Television Advertising

Many cities have governmental access channels on TV. Often, these channels will spotlight local small businesses and show how they impact the community. If your local government has a channel like this, contact the station manager to see how you can get interviewed about your small business. If they do not have a program like this, contact them anyways to plant the seed for the idea. I could turn into some free advertising for you in the future.

Community Talks

More and more politicians are having open-air meet-ups with the voters of the city. Sometimes they are around elections or when major events are happening in the city. Sometimes, they will happen just to give the politician a little exposure. Contact a city politician or two to see if they would like to use your parking lot for an event like this. Usually, the politicians pay for everything with city money, so you will not have to worry about incurring expenses. Make sure that you contact your local news station so that they can send a truck out for you so that people in other communities see what is going on outside of your business as well.

A Simple Call

I cannot count the number of times in which I contacted a local city for a client just to see what the city could do to help out with advertising. Cities want to make sure that their small business owners are happy with the services that they are being provided. If a city has the option and ability to give free advertising to local businesses, they will do it. Make a call today to see what you come up with. I once called for a client and was invited to have pictures take of the front of his store for a commercial that the city was filming. The commercial was shown in tens of thousands of homes in the area at no expense to the owner.

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