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Boost Local Business: How to get wanted, get found, and get chosen in Harrisonburg, Virginia

Photo: Metro Services


The local advertising journey starts with being wanted by consumers.

HARRISONBURG, VA (Rocktown Now)– Let’s be real, the old “wait and hope” approach to advertising doesn’t work anymore. If you’re relying on random visibility, you’re already behind competitors who are actively attracting customers. In today’s market, it’s not enough to simply exist, you have to make people want your business, find it easily, and ultimately choose you over everyone else.

Get Wanted – create real demand

Most businesses try to reach anyone looking for their specific industry. But top local brands aim higher if they want someone looking specifically for them. The difference? You create awareness before the need arises. By staying visible and building trust with consistent messaging, people will try and find you.

  • Emotional connection wins—advertise convenience, quality, or local expertise that hits home. This creates a “want” for your business.
  • People will go specifically searching for your business.
  • It’s not just about ads; it’s about messaging that sticks. Create rememberable messages, bold, clear, and problem-solving messaging that customers can relate to.

Get Found – show up where it counts

You’ve created demand, but if people can’t find you when they’re ready to act, you’ve lost the sale. Being “findable” means more than just having a website; it’s about showing up exactly where your customers are searching. That means optimizing your presence on Google Search and other digital assets. Making sure your business information is accurate and consistent everywhere. If you’re not visible at the right moment, you’re just sending customers straight to someone else.

  • Align your messaging with the media that created the desire for them to search for you in the first place.
  • If you build a “want” for your business and they can’t find you, they will choose someone else.
  • Be visible with a solid SEM (Search Engine Marketing) strategy to appear in paid and organic search results.

Get Chosen – win the click, call or visit

When customers find you, the next step is winning their decision. This is where execution matters. Your website, display ads, and social media should make it effortless for someone to say “yes.” Clear calls to action help to remove hesitation. Quick response times, visible reviews, and simple contact options build trust and confidence. If a competitor makes the process easier or looks more reliable, they’ll get the business. The key is to eliminate obstacles, so choosing you feels like the smartest and simplest choice.

  • Follow up with smart retargeting—remind them why you’re the best choice.
  • Use direct, clear invitations that allow instant action—book now, call today, or request a free consult.
  • Drive action with persuasive offers and urgent calls to action.

Why This Works: You’re meeting customers exactly where they are in the decision-making process!

What you should do next

  1. Audit your current advertising: Are you driving awareness first or waiting for passive searchers?
  2. Optimize for search: Local SEM, make sure your website is mobile friendly, directories—have all bases covered.
  3. Craft strong call-to-actions and retargeting campaigns.
  4. Track your clicks, calls, visits, searches—and tweak as you go.
  5. Create consistent messaging in all phases of the wanted, found, chosen process.

You deserve more attention. You deserve better results. And you deserve to be chosen more often.

Ready to start your “Get Wanted. Get Found. Get Chosen more often.” journey?

Connect with your local media experts at Harrisonburg Media Group. They’ll build a customized plan to turn people into real customers by maximizing the effectiveness of your advertising.

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