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5 Ways a Local Phone Number Can Increase Business Visibility

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When entering new markets, businesses need more than a great product or service—they need to be visible, approachable, and credible. One way to do this is by using local phone numbers to establish a presence in target regions without the cost of setting up physical offices.

Local numbers make it easier for customers to reach you, improve call answer rates, and help you build trust in new markets. Here’s how your business can use local phone numbers to boost visibility.

How to Improve Business Visibility Locally?

Improving local visibility starts with being where your customers are—and making it easy for them to contact you. A local phone number is a simple yet powerful way to show that your business is accessible and relevant to a specific community or market. Whether you’re launching a regional campaign or entering a new international territory, a recognizable local number can give your brand the familiarity and credibility it needs to connect and grow.

With that in mind, let’s look at how local phone numbers can increase your business visibility in the following ways.

1. Create a Local Presence in Target Markets

Local phone numbers come with area codes that are familiar to people in specific cities or regions. For example, in the United States, almost every state and city has at least one area code. In Florida, some area codes include the Orlando 407 area code, Miami 786 area code, Jacksonville 904 area code, etc.

When customers see a local area code, they are more likely to answer the call or return it. According to Software Advice, people are four times more likely to answer calls from local numbers than unfamiliar ones. More specifically, 27.5% said they would answer an unknown number with a local area code while 7% would answer an unknown caller with a recognizable toll free area code.

This is because local calls incur local calling charges and make the business or caller seem local instead of long-distance or international.

With outbound caller ID management, you can display a local number (previously purchased) as your caller ID during outbound calls. This gives prospects the impression that you’re nearby and easily reachable—a key to building early trust.

Using our Local 2-Way Voice service, you can also make outbound calls and receive inbound calls on the same local number, giving you a consistent and authentic local presence.

2. Make It Easy for Customers to Contact You

Local numbers signal familiarity, giving customers a reason to call you back. Customers are more inclined to return a call or dial a number that looks local, believing it could be a known contact or a nearby business. This creates a reliable channel for ongoing communication and follow-up.

Forward these calls from local numbers to your main support or regional sales teams globally, ensuring seamless connectivity without compromising customer experience.

3. Expand into New Regions Cost-Effectively

Virtual phone number providers offer various local and toll free numbers from countries across the globe. United World Telecom, for example, can help you get local phone numbers from more than 160 countries across the world.

With virtual local numbers, your business can reach customers across cities, states, or even countries without opening new offices. This is especially useful for international expansion; you get the benefit of geographic reach while maintaining operational flexibility and low overhead.

4. Support Local Marketing and Advertising Campaigns

Local phone numbers can complement your geo-targeted marketing campaigns. Use these numbers in:

  • Local ads, search results, and landing pages
  • Regional social media posts and profiles
  • Community event promotions or sponsorships

Having a local number listed in ads reinforces your presence in that area and increases response rates. Plus, it helps you measure campaign performance more accurately when paired with advanced analytics such as call tracking, Custom Reports, and AI Call Insights.

5. Improve Accessibility and Customer Experience

Being accessible is one of the most important components of business visibility. Offering a local phone number shows customers that you’re available, responsive, and attuned to their needs.

Whether it’s for sales inquiries or customer support, local numbers make your brand feel more approachable. And with features like voicemail-to-email, IVR, and call routing, you can manage these interactions efficiently from anywhere.

Start Building Your Local Presence

Local phone numbers are more than just a way to receive calls—they’re a strategic tool for growth. Whether you’re entering a new region or trying to improve engagement in an existing market, local numbers can help your brand connect and stand out.

At United World Telecom, we offer:

  • Local phone numbers in 160+ countries
  • Local 2-Way Voice (inbound and outbound calling)
  • Outbound caller ID management
  • Advanced call analytics and AI call insights

Ready to improve visibility and scale your business into new markets? Explore our local number solutions today.

9 Inexpensive Advertising Ideas to Promote Your Local Business

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Are your marketing efforts not bringing enough customers to your local business? Then it’s time to reinvent your approach and try new ways of advertising. Here is a comprehensive list of 9 small business advertising ideas to promote your local business.

Small Business Advertising Ideas: 9 Proven Methods

Sometimes executing just one or two marketing strategies isn’t enough, depending on the type of company you run and the response you want from potential customers. So, what are some other small business advertising ideas you can try? Here is a look at some of the most successful advertising options available.

1. Create a Google Listing

Most customers are looking for services and products online and they find potential companies through Google. This is why it is important to list your business on Google. This usually includes the name of your business, your website, address, contact info, photos of your products and services, and more. Then, you can have users and customers leave online reviews about your local business so that new customers can see how people are using your services.

2. Design a Website with SEO Practices

Your business website is the most important tool you have to reach customers and educate them about what you have to offer. Create a user- and mobile-friendly website and write relevant and original blogs related to your industry and services. This will help web visitors learn about your services but will also help with search engine optimization. SEO best practices can help your website appear higher on search results, increasing the chances of interested customers viewing it. The more people look at your website, the more followers you will generate. And this will lead to more customers converting.

3. Be Active on Social Media

Besides the internet, social media is yet another growing marketing tool. Most individuals are on some type of social media, whether it be Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, etc. And so, this is a good place to target potential customers. Be active on social media, share blogs, customer reviews, the latest news, and so on. You may even respond to customer queries and questions in a timely manner and use these platforms to offer customer support.

4. Offer Promotions and Specials

To keep your small business relevant, it is important to attract customer attention. And one of the best ways to do so is by offering promotions, discounts, and specials. These can occur throughout the year or on special occasions. But running promotions encourages customers who were on the fence to complete a purchase. For example, you can create a QR code that links to a page offering discounts or exclusive promotions for customers who scan it. Place it on flyers, posters, business cards, or even receipts. And this way, you can increase your customer base.

5. Consider a Toll Free Number

Most business owners don’t realize that one of the top small business advertising ideas is your business phone number. For example, a toll free number is free to call and encourages interested customers to reach out to your small business for queries or customer support. On the other hand, locals calling a local phone number incur local charges instead of long-distance charges. So choosing your business phone number can make a big difference in the way potential and current customers interact with your business.

6. Run a Customer Loyalty Program

Almost all businesses have some kind of reward or loyalty program or membership to reward valuable customers. Through such a program, the more customers purchase from you, the more they benefit. It works as a win-win for both you and your most valuable clients. You may even run special promotions for members only. This will show customers you care about their business and increase customer loyalty, which leads to recommendations made to family and friends.

7. Display Reviews, Affiliates, Testimonials

Online reviews, testimonials, and word of mouth recommendations: these are all important and enticing ways to advertise your local business. Display these on your website, online and local directories, social media platforms, etc. You may even conduct case studies of high-profile clients and display them along with affiliates on your website.

8. Invest in Email Marketing

Email marketing is another common advertising tactic for small businesses to get customers. Build an email list with potential clients and customers including those that:

    • Interact with your website
    • Fill out a sign-up form online
    • Interact with you at exhibitions
    • Reach out via social media
    • Call your business to inquire about products, and so on.

Then, send them newsletters, promotions, and educational posts to help them understand the value of your small business and the benefits of working with you or purchasing your products. In addition, regularly monitoring and updating your DMARC policy can further enhance your email marketing efforts, safeguarding your communication and fostering trust with your audience.

9. Try Traditional Methods: Billboards, Newspaper, Magazines, & Radio

Finally, try traditional methods of advertising. Think billboards with a catchy phrase and contact information, product reviews in newspapers and magazines, jingles on the radio. These advertising strategies have been used for years and continue to prove successful.

Promote Your Small Business Today!

Advertising doesn’t make change happen overnight. You need to lay the groundwork and watch the results. Then, make adjustments as needed such as targeting certain areas more with a virtual number or advertising more on certain platforms. Try the above advertising ideas to see which ones work best for your business!