Have you focused all your marketing efforts on social media? Do you only run a Facebook page, an Instagram profile, and a website without even acknowledging the positive effects that traditional tools like print ads and TV ads can still do? You may want to rethink your strategy and start incorporating traditional marketing tools into your campaign instead of focusing only on the new media.

Why is that? Locally, your business can and will be known because of the flyers you give out and those small posters you put up on the bulletin board of your local community center. Local advertising is all about focusing on the community—who they are, where they hang out, and what they do during their free time. The failure to realize this will ultimately lead to a non-recognition of your brand locally. And sure, while it is perfectly fine to be recognized outside of your area, for customers to arrive from far-flung places to visit your store, you want the respect of your peers, of your community more than anything.

People may come in droves from a different location but they can only get your business too far. The real battle is in your locality. Your community will be your loyal customers. They will be the steady source of your customers and your network will grow if you somehow become a part of the fabric of the local scene. For example, your business is bed and breakfast. Your aim should be to become a part of the community’s “family.” You should be where they are having their staycation or their spa treatment or their birthday dinners. You should know the community leaders by name and they should recognize you when you pass by them on the streets.

Even in big cities like New York and Los Angeles, communities are important because they are the backbone of the successes of local businesses. You can reach out to them by printing flyers and handing them out in establishments that they frequent. You can ask your local supermarket, for example, to let you have a small table outside their entrance/exit so that you can hand out the flyers to customers coming in and out. You can also partner with local stores to put up your posters so more people will know about your business. As long as you are not in competition with the business, you should be fine.

So, even if social media has basically trumped the benefits of traditional marketing, we should still take into consideration the importance of printed ads to a local business.