A handful of people see a Facebook post from a Chiang Mai business, and a week later it has vanished from every feed. Organic reach keeps shrinking and the algorithm changes without warning, while the time spent feeding it comes out of the hours spent running the business.
A Chiang Mai business builds lasting visibility without social media in six ways. It completes its Google Business Profile and lists itself on the Golden Pages directory, then collects reviews on Google and Wongnai. It pitches local and trade media, speaks at events, partners with complementary businesses and takes part in the community. Most of these keep working for months or years after a single effort, unlike a social post.
Social media keeps a place in a marketing plan, but the platforms own the audience and change the rules without notice. Businesses that last in Chiang Mai tend to appear wherever their customers already look. That includes Google Maps, a friend’s recommendation, a magazine in a hotel lobby, a panel at a business breakfast and the shelf of a shop customers trust.
This guide leaves out feed-based platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. LINE and YouTube appear only where they act as a direct line to a customer or as the home of someone else’s interview.
The guide holds 100 ways in 10 chapters, each checked in October 2026 against current platform rules and published studies, with Chiang Mai sources for local detail. Figures from outside Thailand are labelled as such. Choose three ways that fit the week and finish them before returning for three more.
- Where Chiang Mai customers decide
- Which ways suit which business
- Press and journalists
- Other people’s audiences
- Search and discovery
- Awards, rankings and lists
- Speaking and events
- Partnerships and collaborations
- Local and community
- Owned channels
- Customers and word of mouth
- Data, stunts and original ideas
- Three rules that protect the work
- A year in Chiang Mai
- Where to start and the first 90 days
- Frequently asked questions
Where Chiang Mai customers decide
Reviews decide first. BrightLocal’s 2026 survey of 1,002 US adults found that 97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses and that the average consumer checks six different review sites. The same survey found that 31% will only use a business rated 4.5 stars or higher, up from 17% a year earlier. PinMeTo’s analysis reports that 74% look for reviews written in the last three months.
The sample is American, and a comparable published survey of Chiang Mai buyers was not available. The figures indicate a direction for Chiang Mai, with no local measurement behind them.
Replies carry as much weight as ratings. According to the same analysis, 80% of consumers are more likely to use a business that answers all of its reviews, and half are put off by generic, copy-and-paste replies.
Thai buyers have their own platforms. Wongnai is the Thai restaurant review platform, now part of LINE MAN Wongnai. Its Users’ Choice Best of 2026 list named 685 restaurants using the reviews, ratings and orders of more than 26 million users. Review activity on the platform turns directly into public recognition.
Thai search and messaging habits concentrate in a few places. DataReportal’s Digital 2026 report counts 67.8 million internet users in Thailand, 94.7% of the population. Elite Asia’s summary reports that LINE reaches 56 million people each month, and StatCounter figures reported in 2026 put Google at around 99% of Thai search. Worldwide, DataReportal’s 2026 overview cites GWI research naming search engines as the number one source of brand discovery.
AI assistants now form a second route to the same decision. BrightLocal reports that 42% of consumers trust AI platforms as much as written reviews for local recommendations. A Steady Demand study analysed 14,472 citations from 1,487 local queries across 50 US metro areas. Nearly 60% of Gemini’s local citations pointed to business websites, while ChatGPT leaned on Reddit and directories. The two assistants named the same top business only 4.2% of the time, and repeated queries returned different sources.
A business without social media puts its facts on its own website and its proof in reviews on several platforms. Mentions in directories, press and community discussions then confirm both, and the ways below build each layer.
Which ways suit which business
Every business needs a complete Google Business Profile and an accurate website, plus a routine for asking for reviews. The strongest additions differ by type of business, and the names in the last column match the headings in each chapter.
| Business | Strongest chapters | Ways to start with |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant or cafe | Search and discovery, Customers and word of mouth, Awards | List on Wongnai and the platforms your customers use; Ask for reviews where your customers look; Earn the awards that read your reviews |
| Hotel, tour or attraction | Awards, Press, Speaking and events | Enter the Thailand Tourism Awards; Pitch the trade press first; Pitch talks to conferences |
| Professional services | Press, Speaking and events, Customers | Be the local expert who responds to the news; Speak at business breakfasts and networking groups; Write detailed case studies |
| Retail, craft or product maker | Partnerships, Speaking and events, Owned channels | Get stocked in one respected local shop; Run a pop-up in someone else’s space; Put a message on your packaging |
| Wellness, spa or health tourism | Awards, Local and community, Owned channels | Enter the Thailand Tourism Awards; Host a free workshop; Start an email newsletter and keep it going |
| New or small business | Search and discovery, Customers, Local and community | Claim and complete your Google Business Profile; Ask every customer for a Google review; Join a business network and attend |
Press and journalists
Journalists need sources, and a business that is easy to find and easy to quote receives the call. Chiang Mai has an English-language city magazine and news service in Chiang Mai CityLife and Thai-language regional news from outlets such as Chiang Mai News. The Chiang Rai Times covers the wider north in English, and national titles in Bangkok cover the region. The press kit and the list of 20 journalists come first.
Build a list of 20 journalists who cover your field
Include Chiang Mai CityLife, Chiang Mai News, the Chiang Rai Times, Bangkok national titles and the trade press for your industry. Read each journalist’s recent work before making contact and note the channel each prefers, because LINE is often the working channel in Thai newsrooms.
Answer journalist request services
Qwoted, Featured and the free SourceBottle circulate daily requests for expert comment, and international reporters often want a voice on the ground in Thailand. Answers built on your own numbers or first-hand experience are the ones that get used.
Write your press release in Thai first and English second
Issue a release only for real news, such as a new opening, a first in Chiang Mai, a notable hire or an award. Have a native Thai writer produce the Thai version. A 2026 guide to Thai media coverage says editors spot machine-translated copy at a glance. Lead with what the news means for Chiang Mai and Thailand.
Pitch a story with your business as the source
An angle such as “why more digital nomads are choosing long stays in Chiang Mai” is a story, while a new room rate is an announcement. Offer your business as the source for the story.
Be the local expert who responds to the news
When your industry makes the news, email the relevant reporters promptly with a clear, quotable view from Chiang Mai.
Keep a press kit ready
One page in Thai and one in English hold a short biography, the founding story, high-resolution photos and logo, three verified facts and contact details.
Pitch the trade press first
Hospitality, food and beverage, education and property titles receive fewer pitches and reach readers who buy.
Offer an exclusive
Give one outlet first access to your news in exchange for a fuller feature. Agree the publication date in writing, and tell no other outlet until that date passes.
Invite journalists to visit
Restaurants, hotels, studios and workshops are far easier to write about after a journalist has seen them. The agency Clout Media reports that access to a founder or product lead produces deeper coverage than a release alone.
Follow up once and time the send
Send one polite message after four or five days and then move on to the next outlet. The agency Vero PR advises sending between Tuesday and Thursday and avoiding Friday.
Other people’s audiences
Someone in Chiang Mai already holds the audience you want, and borrowing it with something useful in return is faster than building one from nothing. Begin with one specific pitch to one outlet.
Guest on podcasts in adjacent niches
Shows about expat life, entrepreneurship, travel and remote work regularly look for interesting local guests. A two-line pitch that names an episode you liked and one topic you can cover receives more replies than a general introduction.
Write guest articles for local and industry blogs
Offer a specific, practical piece. Send a headline, three supporting points and your relevant experience, and offer a Thai version.
Contribute to local magazines and guides
Publications such as CNX Mag and Chiang Mai CityLife welcome well-researched articles from people who know their subject. Travel writers update guidebooks regularly and often rely on local recommendations, so send them a short, accurate description of your business.
Appear in other people’s newsletters
Offer a tip, a reader discount or a short column, and name a recent issue of the newsletter in your pitch.
Swap newsletter mentions with a peer
Choose a business with a similar audience size and a non-competing offer, and recommend each other once. Agree the wording and the send date in advance.
Contribute to expert roundups
Articles titled “10 Chiang Mai business owners share their best advice” always need contributors. Answer with a specific number or example, and ask the author for the publication date.
Appear on YouTube interview and travel channels
Smaller hosts need guests regularly, and their videos rank on Google for years. Offer a topic the host’s audience already asks about, and ask for a link to your website in the video description.
Answer questions in forums and Q&A sites
AI assistants draw on community discussion. Reddit ranked second among Gemini’s local citations at 13.7% in the Steady Demand study, and ChatGPT relied on it more heavily. Write long answers about living and doing business in Chiang Mai, and state your connection to the business in each one.
Teach inside someone else’s community
Co-working spaces, online courses and membership groups welcome guest experts.
Search and discovery
A person in Chiang Mai, or planning a trip here, searches at the moment of need. Three sources carry the facts that search engines and AI assistants read: the Google Business Profile, the business website and a handful of directories. Work on the profile first and the website second.
Claim and complete your Google Business Profile
Verify ownership, choose accurate primary and secondary categories, list correct hours including holiday changes, upload real photos and describe each service in plain language. The profile feeds Google Maps, and Gemini draws on Maps data for local answers.
Use one business name in the name field
Google updated its guidelines in August 2026, according to Search Engine Roundtable. The name field no longer allows the same name repeated in two scripts or languages, even when the shop sign shows both. Choose the name on the sign and the website header, write it in one script, and carry the second language in the description, services and replies. A profile that breaks the name rules can be suspended.
Keep Google Maps accurate
Wrong pins and outdated opening hours are common in Chiang Mai and cost real customers. Check the pin, hours and phone number every month, and update hours before festivals and holidays.
List on Wongnai and the platforms your customers use
Food and beverage businesses claim their Wongnai listing through the route Wongnai provides for registering as the shop owner. Hotels and tour operators claim TripAdvisor and the booking platforms they sell through.
List in business directories
Local directories such as Golden Pages, industry associations, chambers of commerce and niche marketplaces help customers and search engines find you. They also give AI assistants a second, independent record of the business, and ChatGPT leaned on directories in the Steady Demand study.
Keep your name, address and phone number identical everywhere
Fix one spelling of the business name, one address format and one phone number, and use them on the website, every directory and every profile. Inconsistent details, especially between Thai and English spellings, give search engines conflicting records.
Write pages that answer real customer questions
Give each page one question and answer it in the first paragraph. Take the questions from the messages customers already send you.
Add structured data to your website
Structured data, also called schema markup, is code that labels the facts on a page, such as name, address and opening hours. It helps Google and AI assistants read what the business is and where it operates.
Publish key pages in Thai and English
A bilingual site reaches two audiences in a city that relies on both. Give each language its own page.
Publish the definitive local guide on your subject
The most complete answer to a question about Chiang Mai earns links and citations without a request.
Refresh your best pages before writing new ones
Update your 10 most visited pages with current prices, hours and facts first.
Make your own website the most complete source about you
Business websites supplied nearly 60% of Gemini’s local citations in the Steady Demand study. Give the site a plain page for each service, the address and opening hours, prices where possible, and the names of the founder and staff.
Awards, rankings and lists
Recognition from a third party says what a business cannot say about itself. Some awards accept entries, some are built from customer activity, and some are chosen by inspectors, so each needs a different approach. Begin with awards that accept entries or read your reviews, since both reward work the business already does.
Enter industry and national business awards
A shortlisting alone gives a business a badge and a reason to contact the press. Read the previous winners’ entries before writing yours. The Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion runs the SME National Awards, whose 18th edition was held on 7 August 2026 and includes a provincial champion tier.
Enter the Thailand Tourism Awards
The Tourism Authority of Thailand runs these awards every two years across five categories: tourist attractions, accommodation, health and wellness tourism, tour programmes, and tourism support and sustainability. The 14th edition received 908 entries and named 254 winners, and the 15th edition conferred 151 honours in September 2025. Winners of the 14th edition were invited to join TAT marketing activities, including travel shows.
Nominate yourself
Many “ones to watch” and “best of” lists are open to self-nomination by design.
Apply for supplier and partner awards
Brands and platforms you work with often recognise their best partners in public.
Pursue certifications with a public listing
Sustainability labels, professional accreditations and industry standards publish their members.
Earn the awards that read your reviews
The LINE MAN Wongnai Users’ Choice Best of 2026 named 685 restaurants using the reviews, ratings and orders of more than 26 million users. The results were announced on 30 March 2026, and no application is involved. The route to the list is a steady stream of real reviews and orders.
Aim for guides where inspectors choose
The Michelin Guide Thailand 2026 Bib Gourmand list named 18 Chiang Mai venues, three of them newcomers. Anonymous inspectors choose the entries and no application exists, which leaves consistent cooking and an accurate public listing as the controllable steps.
Create your own award or annual list
Recognise other Chiang Mai businesses in your field against stated criteria, such as the best independent coffee roasters of the year. The winners share the news widely and the organiser becomes the host.
Enter design, packaging and website competitions
These reach audiences who do not search for your service at all.
Display every badge you earn
Show them on your website, email signature, menus, packaging and proposals.
Speaking and events
Chiang Mai has a strong events calendar and an active networking scene, and standing at the front of a room is one of the fastest ways to become known. The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau lists Chiang Mai as one of its MICE cities, the industry term for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions. It reported six international conferences for 2025 with an expected 3,600 delegates. One talk at a network that already holds events is a good first step.
Speak at business breakfasts and networking groups
Chiang Mai has many hosts for a short, specific talk. Hosts include the Chiang Mai Chamber of Commerce, BNI chapters and the Federation of Thai Industries. The Netherlands-Thai Chamber of Commerce runs Chiang Mai Connect, and the Thai Hotels Association and business networks such as CMBN hold events of their own.
Pitch talks to conferences
Chiang Mai hosts conferences in the Chiang Mai International Exhibition and Convention Centre and in hotel convention halls. Submit early with a specific title and three clear takeaways. An organiser of a business event can also submit it to the TCEB events calendar.
Host a free workshop
Teach one useful skill in an hour and keep the room small enough for questions. Collect an email address at the door, with permission to write to it. Attendees become clients and referrers.
Run a panel and invite people better known than you
Attendees remember the name of the person who organised the panel.
Give a guest lecture
Chiang Mai’s universities and colleges welcome practitioners, and lecturers become strong referrers.
Plan around the city’s major moments
Yi Peng and Loy Krathong in November, the Flower Festival in February, Songkran in April and Chiang Mai Design Week each December bring crowds and media. The lantern festivals follow the lunar calendar, so confirm dates with the organisers each year and plan something relevant well ahead. Chiang Mai Design Week publishes open calls for exhibitors and programmes ahead of each edition, so watch its website early. The calendar further down lists the dates.
Sponsor a small event in exchange for a speaking slot
This costs less than a large sponsorship and gives more visibility.
Host an open day or behind-the-scenes tour
Visitors learn how coffee is roasted, textiles are woven or a kitchen runs, and they tell others what they saw.
Run a pop-up in someone else’s space
A cafe, co-working space, hotel lobby or weekend market has an audience that already exists. The Jing Jai Weekend Market, run by Central Group, opens on Saturday and Sunday mornings and also hosts a vintage market on the first Friday of the month. The Sunday Walking Street and the Kad Na Mor night market at Chiang Mai University offer other venues.
Record every talk you give
One talk becomes an article, a video, a podcast episode and a downloadable guide.
Partnerships and collaborations
Chiang Mai’s business community is small enough for a good partnership to be noticed quickly, so look for businesses that serve your customers without competing with you. The first step is one joint offer with the business your customers visit next.
Create a joint offer with a complementary business
A hotel and a cooking school, a cafe and a yoga studio, or a wedding planner and a florist each share customers without competing for them. Write the terms on one page covering price, dates, who delivers what and how referrals are counted.
Build a referral arrangement with three trusted peers
Agree who refers what, and follow through on every referral.
Donate prizes to charity and community events
Raffles, school fairs and fundraisers need prizes and name their sponsors. Ask how sponsors are named and send a print-ready logo.
Supply something visible to a hotel, office or venue
Branded amenities, artwork, coffee, plants or snacks put your name in front of their guests. Agree who restocks the item and how often.
Get stocked in one respected local shop
Placement in a well-known store tells other shops and customers that the business is trusted. Bring a sample, a one-page price list and a margin the shop can state.
Join a supplier’s case study programme
Brands you buy from want customer stories and will publish yours. Ask your account manager for the marketing contact.
Work with a university or association on a report
Their name adds weight and yours sits beside it. Agree the credit line and who owns the data in writing.
Partner with a charity or foundation on a campaign
A cause with a visible result attracts coverage that sales messages do not. Choose a cause your customers already mention and agree what the charity will say in public.
Join a board or committee
The seat brings visibility among Chiang Mai’s business and community leaders.
Local and community
Chiang Mai still runs heavily on relationships, and the most reliable marketing here is often to show up regularly and be useful. Pick one network and attend every month.
Join a business network and attend
Membership achieves nothing alone, while regular attendance produces introductions. Chambers of commerce, BNI chapters and CMBN hold regular meetings, and co-working spaces host meetups and events of their own.
Sponsor a local sports team or event
Shirts, banners and announcements reach the same families week after week.
Support school events
International and Thai schools both run fairs and fundraisers, and parents remember who helped.
Put your name on something lasting
A scholarship, community garden, library shelf or bench carries it for years.
Make your storefront and noticeboards work
Clear bilingual signage, a good window display and a chalkboard worth reading give passers-by a reason to come in. Co-working spaces, condo lobbies, supermarkets and community centres still have noticeboards with readers.
Get into event listings
List every event you run in local event guides and calendars. Chiang Mai CityLife runs CityNow, an events listing service, and the TCEB business events calendar accepts submissions from organisers.
Hold a clean-up, fundraiser or skill share
Local media cover community action readily.
Mentor through a business or startup programme
Programmes publish their mentors and introduce them to their founders. Chiang Mai University’s Science and Technology Park, the headquarters of the Northern Science Park, and the university’s builds Startup and Entrepreneurial Program both draw on outside mentors.
Help newcomers first
Chiang Mai welcomes new residents, digital nomads and business owners every month, and they recommend the person who helped them first.
Owned channels
These channels belong to the business and nobody can take them away, and they compound when built steadily. Permission comes first, then the newsletter.
Start an email newsletter and keep it going
A useful monthly issue beats a forgettable weekly one.
Collect permission before adding anyone to a list
Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act treats marketing messages as something a person agrees to and can refuse at any time. Ask for consent in writing or electronically, record it, and place a working unsubscribe link or stop keyword in every message. The rules section below explains the detail.
Set up a LINE Official Account
LINE reaches about 56 million people in Thailand each month, roughly 78% of the population, so it is often the most direct line to a Thai customer. Creating the account is free, and one-to-one replies to customers do not count against the monthly message limit. Broadcast messages do count and the free plan caps them, so confirm the current limits on LINE’s Thailand pricing page. Keep broadcasts to useful updates.
Blog the questions customers ask
Every enquiry and sales conversation hands you a topic to write about.
Put your best offer in your email signature
Every email you send becomes a small advert.
Hand out a proper business card
In-person introductions still drive much of the business done in Chiang Mai. Print Thai on one side and English on the other.
Send postcards or letters
Physical mail to past clients gets noticed because few businesses send it.
Create a printed leave-behind
A map, menu, local guide or checklist stays with the people who keep it.
Put a message on your packaging
Inserts, stickers and thank-you cards get photographed and passed on.
Publish a short book or guide
The author of the guide to a subject in Chiang Mai receives the invitations that follow.
Add short video answers to your website
A face on the page helps at the moment a customer is deciding.
Customers and word of mouth
Word of mouth remains the strongest form of marketing in Chiang Mai, and it works better when the business helps it along. A review request to every customer is the first job.
Ask every customer for a Google review
Send the same request to every customer. Google’s policy prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews, pressuring customers to review on the premises and asking for specific content. The Google Business Profile dashboard provides a short review link for the message.
Ask for reviews where your customers look
Use Wongnai for food, TripAdvisor for travel and Google for nearly everything. The average consumer in the BrightLocal survey checks six review sites, so a spread across platforms carries more weight than a single high count.
Reply to every review in the reviewer’s language
Future customers read your replies as closely as the reviews. Thank positive reviewers by name, answer a negative review with the fix, and write each reply by hand, since half of consumers dislike templated answers.
Write detailed case studies
Describe the problem, the approach and the result, with real numbers and permission to name the client.
Ask directly for referrals
Asking “who else do you know who has this problem?” produces more introductions than waiting.
Offer a simple referral reward
Make it generous and easy to explain, and give it for introducing a customer, and keep reviews outside any reward. Google treats incentivised reviews as fake engagement.
Surprise loyal customers
An unexpected upgrade, gift or handwritten note gets talked about. Give it without asking for anything in return.
Collect short video testimonials in person
Film them on a phone, unscripted, in Thai or English.
Create an insider list
Early access and small perks turn regular customers into advocates. Join the list only by consent.
Make sharing easy
Give customers a card to pass on, a link to forward or a line they can repeat to a friend.
Data, stunts and original ideas
Original ideas earn attention because they give journalists and customers something new to discuss. Begin by asking every new customer how they found you.
Run a survey and publish the results
Original data about Chiang Mai is rare, and the press uses it. Keep the survey to a few questions, state how many people answered and publish the method beside the results.
Publish an annual report on your sector
A report such as “the state of Chiang Mai’s cafe scene” becomes a reference that journalists return to every year.
Make a clear, specific prediction
Reporters like a confident view with reasons behind it.
Attempt something unusual
A first, a largest or a longest works when it stays relevant to what you sell.
Launch something limited or co-branded
A seasonal menu, small batch, one-off collaboration or joint product creates a story, and a collaboration counts as news.
Tie in with seasonal moments
Burning season, rainy season, high season and festival weeks give journalists a reason to cover you in that period.
Build a free resource your industry needs
Templates, glossaries, maps and checklists get shared and linked.
Share your process openly
Explain exactly how you do something, because openness earns attention and trust.
Tell your founding story properly
Write it once, well, in Thai and English, and send it to every outlet that runs profiles.
Ask every new customer how they found you
Record the answers for three months in a notebook or spreadsheet. They show which of the other 99 ways is working and where to spend the next hour.
Three rules that protect the work
Three platform and legal rules apply to the ways above. Breaking them removes the benefit and can cost a business its listing.
Reviews must be real and requested from every customer
Google’s Maps content policy prohibits incentivised or biased reviews, and it says merchants must not pressure customers to review while on the premises or request specific content. PPC Land reported an April 2026 update that added explicit bans on staff review quotas and on asking customers to name staff members. Penalties range from removal of reviews to restrictions on the whole profile.
One name per profile
Google’s business name guidelines require the name used consistently in the real world. The August 2026 change bars the same name repeated in two scripts or languages in the name field. A business with a Thai and an English name picks one for the field and places the other in the description, the website and replies.
Permission before marketing
Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act requires a lawful basis for processing personal data, and marketing messages generally rely on consent that is clear and recorded. People can object to direct marketing and withdraw consent at any time, so every message carries a working opt-out. The Direct Sales and Direct Marketing Act can also require registration for direct marketing to consumers. This section is general information and not legal advice, and a Thai lawyer confirms the details for a given business.
A year in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai’s calendar gives a business a reason to appear in print, in listings and in conversation at least six times a year. Several dates follow the lunar calendar, so the table shows the most recent confirmed dates and each organiser publishes the next.
| Month | What happens | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| February | The Chiang Mai Flower Festival ran from 13 to 15 February in 2026 at Nong Buak Haad Public Park. The dry and burning season runs from February to April. | Pitch seasonal stories in January and tell customers in advance how the business operates on days of poor air quality. |
| March | LINE MAN Wongnai announced its Users’ Choice Best of list on 30 March in 2026. | Keep Wongnai reviews and replies current all year, since the list draws on reviews, ratings and orders. |
| April | Songkran, which Chiang Mai observes as Pee Mai Muang over a longer period than the national three days. | Confirm holiday hours on the Google Business Profile and with customers before the holiday begins. |
| May | The Inthakin City Pillar Festival, held in early May on the lunar calendar. | Confirm the dates with organisers and offer community support. |
| June to October | The rainy season, usually a quieter period for visitor businesses. | Use the slower weeks for workshops, directory listings, press kit updates and outreach. |
| August | The Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion held the 18th SME National Awards on 7 August 2026. | Prepare entry documents early in the year and check the OSMEP website for the call for entries. |
| September, every second year | The Thailand Tourism Awards ceremony, with the 15th edition held in September 2025. | Prepare entries early, since the call for submissions for the 14th edition opened in March. |
| November | Yi Peng and Loy Krathong fall on 24 and 25 November in 2026. The Michelin Guide Thailand revealed its 2026 Bib Gourmand list on 20 November 2025, a week before the full selection on 27 November. | Pitch festival-week stories well ahead and prepare for the busiest visitor weeks. |
| December | Chiang Mai Design Week runs for nine days each December and is organised by the Creative Economy Agency. The 12th edition runs from 5 to 13 December 2026 under the theme Local Thunders, Global Transformation. | Pitch craft, design and process stories, open the studio or workshop during the week and watch the festival website for next year’s open calls. |
Where to start
Three tasks each take less than an afternoon. Check your Google Business Profile for one business name, correct hours and a working phone number. Send the same review request to your next three customers. Confirm your listing in one local directory.
The first 90 days
Month one: foundations
Complete the Google Business Profile with one business name, and fix one spelling and one address format across every listing. Claim Wongnai or TripAdvisor as relevant, list the business on Golden Pages and publish the key pages in Thai and English. Build a review request into the end of every sale.
Month two: pitch and appear
Build the press kit and the list of 20 journalists, send three pitches, answer journalist requests each week and speak at one event.
Month three: partner and compete
Agree one partnership, enter one award, start a newsletter with consent and publish three pages that answer customer questions.
A simple weekly plan
Each week, choose one way from three different chapters: one pitch, one personal ask and one listing or profile update. After 12 weeks the business appears in up to 36 new places, and none of them depend on an algorithm.
Return to the list every quarter, keep what produced enquiries and add the results to your press kit.
How to tell which ways are working
The Google Business Profile dashboard reports how people found the profile and how many called, asked for directions or visited the website. Record every new customer’s answer to how they found the business, count press mentions and directory listings each quarter, and compare one quarter with the last. A way that produced no enquiry in two quarters makes room for another from the list.
Frequently asked questions
Can a Chiang Mai business grow without social media?
Yes. Google search, reviews, referrals, partnerships and local networking each bring customers to a Chiang Mai business without a single social post. Social media supports these channels and does not need to be the foundation.
What is the fastest free way to get more customers in Chiang Mai?
For most businesses, a complete and accurate Google Business Profile with a steady flow of recent reviews. It places the business in front of people at the moment they search for what it sells.
Which review platforms matter most in Chiang Mai?
Google reviews matter for almost every type of business. Restaurants and cafes add Wongnai, and hotels, tours and attractions add TripAdvisor and the booking platforms they sell through.
Can a business pay or reward customers for reviews?
No. Google treats incentivised reviews as fake engagement and removes them, and it prohibits pressuring customers to review on the premises or asking for specific content. Rewards apply to referrals only.
Can the Google Business Profile name be in Thai and English?
No. Google’s guidelines bar the same name repeated in two scripts or languages in the name field, even when the shop sign shows both. The business uses one name in the field and carries the second language in the description and on the website.
How do I get featured in Chiang Mai media?
Have a story with news value, such as a first, a hire or an award. Prepare a short press kit, pitch journalists who already cover your subject, offer Thai and English versions and invite them to visit.
Which Thai awards can a small business enter?
The Thailand Tourism Awards run every two years for attractions, accommodation, health and wellness tourism and tour programmes, and the SME National Awards cover small and medium businesses across sectors. The LINE MAN Wongnai Users’ Choice and the Michelin Guide accept no entries and choose from reviews, orders and inspections.
Is Thai or English better for marketing in Chiang Mai?
Both languages work best. Chiang Mai’s customers include Thai locals, domestic tourists, international visitors and long-stay expats. Bilingual listings, signage and key web pages reach all of them.
Is networking still worth it in Chiang Mai?
Yes. The business community is relationship-driven and well connected. Regular attendance at networking events produces referrals, partnerships and speaking invitations that advertising does not.
Do I need permission to email or message customers in Thailand?
Yes. Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act expects clear, recorded consent for marketing messages and gives people the right to object to direct marketing at any time. Every newsletter and LINE broadcast carries a working opt-out.
Is a LINE Official Account free?
Creating the account is free, and one-to-one replies to customers do not count against the monthly message limit. Broadcast messages count, and the free plan caps them, so the business confirms the current limits on LINE’s Thailand pricing page.
Do AI assistants recommend local businesses?
Yes, and the sources differ by assistant. A study of 1,487 local queries across 50 US metro areas found that Gemini cited business websites most often, while ChatGPT leaned on Reddit and directories. A business therefore keeps an accurate website, directory listings and real reviews at the same time.
Get your business in front of Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai Business Network connects local business owners, professionals and decision makers through events and introductions, backed by a growing directory. Its community includes more than 2,000 entrepreneurs, digital nomads and businesses, according to the CMBN website. Networking, speaking, directory listings and local features all begin with membership of a community that meets regularly. Membership details are here and a business listing can be added on Golden Pages. Several of the ways above start with an introduction from someone in the room, and membership puts a business in that room.
