In this episode of It’s The Bottom Line that Matters, Jennifer R Glass and Patricia Reszetylo continue their series on The New Local: How Hyper Local Positioning Can Out-Perform National Marketing, this time focusing on short-form video and contests as practical tools for local business growth.
The conversation starts with short-form video and why it can be so useful for local businesses that want more visibility without needing a national-scale campaign or a massive production budget. Jennifer and Patricia talk about the value of showing what is already happening inside the business, including behind-the-scenes moments, product arrivals, team activity, customer-facing experiences, and the small details that help people feel more connected to the business before they ever walk through the door.
They also discuss how short-form video can support a Google Business Profile, which is often one of the first places a potential customer sees a local business. Posting photos and videos there can help make the business feel active, current, and worth paying attention to. Rather than treating video as something that only belongs on TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Facebook, or Instagram, this episode looks at video as a practical visibility asset that can be used wherever local prospects are already looking.
Jennifer and Patricia also get into the importance of authenticity. Local business video does not have to be perfectly polished to work. In many cases, the more useful and believable content comes from real moments: a product being opened, a chef preparing something interesting, a team member explaining a process, or a business owner documenting part of the company’s story. Planned content still matters, but so does capturing the moments that make a business distinctive.
The episode then shifts into contests and how they can be used to create participation, referrals, and local buzz. Jennifer and Patricia discuss why a contest needs to be relevant to the business and interesting to the people the business wants to attract. A generic giveaway may get attention for a moment, but a well-designed contest can create more meaningful engagement, especially when it connects to other local businesses, encourages people to participate in the community, or gives customers a reason to talk about the business with others.
From behind-the-scenes video and Google Business Profile updates to partnership-driven contests and scavenger-hunt-style promotions, this episode gives local business owners practical ideas for becoming more visible, more memorable, and more engaging in their own market.
Topics covered include: local marketing, hyper-local marketing, hyper local positioning, short-form video, video marketing, local business marketing, small business marketing, contests, business contests, social media marketing, Google Business Profile, local SEO, behind-the-scenes video, business storytelling, customer engagement, small business growth, local visibility, community marketing, restaurant marketing, content marketing, video content, social media contests, business differentiation, customer attraction, brand awareness, local business promotion, referral marketing, authentic marketing, organic content, business visibility, Fathom AI Notetaker
About your hosts:
Jennifer R Glass is the lead host of It’s The Bottom Line that Matters. In this episode, she brings a practical marketing perspective to local business growth, especially around Google Business Profile visibility, short-form video, contests, and ways businesses can create more engagement through useful, relevant marketing.
Patricia Reszetylo is a recurring host of It’s The Bottom Line that Matters. In this episode, she shares ideas from her own business-building experience, including how behind-the-scenes video, authentic content, unique local stories, and creative contest structures can help a business stand out in its own market.