The Power of Local PR for Small Businesses

Did you know that 80% of American consumers search online for a local business at least once a week? This stat shows just how big a goldmine local PR, as well as local SEO, can really be.

Let’s be honest: national PR campaigns are all very well, but they’re often expensive, time-consuming, and risky. You can spend thousands on a pro national PR campaign and end up with only a handful of new customers.

Local PR, on the other hand, has a much higher relative success rate. And it might just be the most overlooked growth lever in your playbook.

So, let’s change that. Today, you’re going to learn everything there is to know about local PR and how to leverage it. As PR professionals, we’re even going to throw in a whole load of invaluable local PR tips, too. So stick around until the end!

What is Local PR? The Basics

When we say “PR”, you probably think about press releases and exclusives in big, national media outlets. That would be “national PR”, and the results can be mixed.

Local PR, then, is all about getting your business noticed and talked about in your local area (say, your town or region). Think local newspapers, radio, regional TV, and community blogs.

Local PR is hyper-targeted. It’s about strengthening your business’s connection to its community. Especially with the people most likely to walk into your store or refer you to their friends.

You might think local PR limits your business, but you’d be wrong. When you think about it, SMBs have lots of amazing opportunities to make a splash locally. You could secure a profile in your city’s lifestyle magazine, for example, or nab a guest spot on a local podcast.

The point is: local PR builds trust. People are far more likely to trust businesses they’ve “seen around,” and local PR gives you that visibility without the noise of the national stage.

Local vs. Traditional PR

The logic of traditional PR is to chase big outlets. But that’s not always the right approach.

A feature in Forbes or TechCrunch can be an incredible opportunity for credibility and reach, especially for business scaling fast. The downside? That’s not where your actual customers are if you’re a smaller business.

Local PR gets you in front of your real-world audience. It’s:

• More relationship-driven
• Faster to secure
• Significantly cheaper

For example, a feature in your city's business journal could drive more qualified traffic to your site than a mention in a national outlet where you’re one of 20 names in a roundup. Local media is also hungry for stories, especially ones tied to community impact or small business innovation. In short: traditional PR builds prestige; local PR builds traction.

The ROI of Local PR for Small Businesses

Local PR is one of the few marketing channels where small businesses can see outsize returns on modest investments.

Why? It’s simple: the conversion funnel is tighter. Your audience already knows the context and maybe even your competitors.

A $500 spend on a community event sponsorship that leads to a story in the local paper can generate both immediate foot traffic and long-term brand loyalty. Don’t forget, either, that local press tends to stick in a way that national press doesn’t. Not only do people remember, but backlinks can boost local SEO, too.

Done right, local PR can be the growth engine you’ve been looking for. It can:

• Build awareness
• Drive sales
• Compound over time

Top 5 Local PR Strategies to Consider

There are many reasons local PR beats national PR for SMBs. One of the top reasons is that it’s simply much easier/faster to implement.

There are many reasons local PR beats national PR for SMBs. One of the top reasons is that it’s simply much easier/faster to implement.

With that in mind, here are five proven, cost-effective local PR strategies that are guaranteed to generate a buzz in your local market.

We’ve been in the game a long time, so we know what we’re talking about when we say whether you’re just starting out or looking to amp up your presence, these are the plays worth running:

Collaborate With Local Influencers

Think smaller, not bigger. You’ll struggle to get a Kardashian on-side, but your area is probably filled with local micro (between 10,000 and 100,000 followers) and nano (between 1,000 and 10,000 followers) influencers. The great advantage here is that they live where your customers live.

These influencers often have stronger trust with their audience, and they're far more approachable for collaborations.

Here are a few great ideas to get the ball rolling:

• Invite them to try your product or service
• Offer them something exclusive
• Co-create a campaign around a local event

However you go about it, remember: their followers aren’t just passive viewers. They’re real people who go out and buy things. And they all live just a short walk or drive away.

Reach out!

Host Community Events or Workshops

Showing up in person is an amazing way to build trust. In fact, it could be the best way. Few things place you as firmly in your local space as a community event or workshop. Try hosting:

• A free workshop
• A pop-up event
• An open house

Now, we know what you’re thinking: “won’t that cost a lot?” The truth is, though, it doesn’t have to. Small things like, say, a coffee tasting if you run a cafe, or a cool "behind-the-scenes" business tour don’t have to break the bank. The key thing is that events like these give local media a reason to cover you.

Plus, even if the press doesn’t bite, you’ll still walk away with great content, new customers, and word-of-mouth buzz that digital ads just can’t buy!

Engage in Partnerships With Local Businesses

Strategic partnerships are a shortcut to instant credibility. However, you shouldn’t just blast out collaboration requests to every business in your vicinity. Be strategic.

Think about businesses which could complement yours and vice versa. Take these two examples:

• A yoga studio teams up with a local juice bar
• A boutique store partners with a local photographer

Collaborative partnerships (which we sometimes call “co-branding”) can be incredibly powerful. Not only do things like inter-brand referral programs and joint events basically double your exposure at zero cost, consumers actually love them. One study found that a huge 71% of consumers enjoy discovering more product options through co-branding.

Plus, these partnerships often attract attention from community blogs or small business newsletters looking for innovative local stories to cover. Win-win!

Utilize Geo-Targeted Social Media Ads

Local PR and paid ads aren’t mutually exclusive. Combined, they’re a recipe for success. That’s right, we’re talking about geo-targeted ads.

Geo-targeted ads are ads that are shown to users based on their location. Like then you see an ad for a local restaurant or retail store. You’ve probably come across them most regularly on social media, specifically on Instagram and Facebook (and even TikTok). These are the best places to advertise.

Getting your ad “pitch perfect” is a lesson for another day. Just know that once you’ve got your messaging down, it’s actually very easy to target your ads by zip code, neighborhood, or even people who’ve recently visited a specific location. The result? Your message shows up exactly where it matters.

That has real-world consequences. In fact, one study suggests that as much as 89% of marketers see higher sales with geo-targeted advertising, so it’s worth trying!

Sponsor or Participate in Local Charity Initiatives

“Community-first” is a word we hear a lot in marketing nowadays. But what percentage of the businesses that use it are actually making an impact in their local community?

Cause-based PR isn’t just a buzzword. It’s a credible strategy that feels great and actually works. People are much more likely to back your brand if they associate you with an important charity.

You could:

• Partner with a local nonprofit
• Sponsor a charity event
• Organize a fundraiser

It takes a bit of planning, but local media outlets love stories that spotlight businesses doing good, and these initiatives often come with built-in promotional support from the organizations themselves.

In short: local involvement is a fast, almost bulletproof path to goodwill.

How Local PR Supercharges Your SEO Strategy

Remember the statistic from our intro? Local PR and SEO are a powerhouse combo. Every time your business gets a mention in a local blog or event listing, that’s another backlink pointing to your site. This, in turn:

• Boosts your domain authority
• Helps you rank higher in search

Even better, many local media outlets have high-ranking, trusted domains, so a single link from your city’s business journal can do more for your SEO than a dozen blog comment backlinks. Plus, when those mentions include keywords like your industry and location (e.g., “Denver interior designer”), it helps Google connect your business to relevant local searches.

This isn’t just theory, either. The evidence is clear. Try these statistics:

• Almost half of all internet searches (46%) have local intent (i.e., searchers are looking up local businesses)
• There has been a 900% increase in “near me/close by” searches in recent years.

What Budget Should Be Allocated to Local PR?

Our favorite thing about local PR is that costs can be super affordable. You don’t need to spend big to see big results. For most small businesses, allocating 5–10% of your marketing budget to local PR efforts is a solid starting point.

That could be anything from $500–$2,000/month. But it could be even less. Even $100 for a community event sponsorship or a few hundred dollars to hire a local freelancer to pitch media outlets can go a long way.

The most important thing isn’t money, it’s actually consistency. That’s because local PR tends to compound over time. Relationship-building may not double your revenue overnight, but it can more than double it given enough time.

How Do You Measure the Success of Local PR Campaigns?

Local PR isn’t a black box. There are a few ways to see how your local PR campaigns are doing:

Start by tracking:

• Media placements
• Mentions
• Backlinks

Simple tools like Google Alerts are your best friend here. Failing that, even manual searches can give you an idea how you’re doing locally. From there, you might also want to look at things like website traffic spikes.

Don’t forget about social media engagement, either. Comments, shares, and follows can all illuminate a lot about your PR success.

Finally, don’t overlook qualitative feedback. What people say is always valuable. Has anyone said “I saw you in the paper” recently?

Conclusion: Become a Household Name in Your Community

The evidence is clear: local PR is a smart strategic move for SMBs everywhere. It’s one of the best ways to build real visibility and trust in your own backyard. And that’s the kind of trust that drives real sales.

So, what are you waiting for? Start brainstorming today! Whether you’re a brand owner or a PR specialist, start in investing in your local presence for better SEO and rock-solid community connections. Your bottom line will thank you.

At Influize, we specialize in helping brands like yours amplify their presence with strategies that actually move the needle. That includes local PR. We know how to get you seen where it matters most. Want help putting a local PR plan into action? Let’s talk.