The COVID-19 pandemic taught us about the importance of community. Humans are hardwired to search for a tribe, a group of people with whom they share interests and values. In fact, 52% of global shoppers would rather buy from a company whose values align with their own. In addition, social media can drive local consumers, especially if your business is active in local groups.
Whether you’re a small business or an international corporation, the power of local marketing can boost your bottom line. A good strategy will use multiple marketing channels to attract, retain, and motivate customers in your community. A well-designed website with up-to-date information on your products and services, business hours, and contact information is essential for local marketing. Social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ can also help you reach a wider audience. In this article, we will be discussing about the importance of local marketing.
What is Local Marketing
Local marketing, also known as geotargeting, focuses on customers in a geographic area, typically within a certain radius of the business. In this way, it helps businesses increase their conversion rates by targeting customers in the local area. While local marketing can be useful for many businesses, small businesses often overlook it and take their marketing cues from larger, national conglomerates. However, local marketing can benefit small businesses of all types, from general stores to restaurants.
Increase Visibility
The first step to achieving local visibility is claiming local listings. However, only 5% of businesses follow the best practices when setting up a Google Business Profile. Once you have claimed your local listings, the next step is optimizing them. To optimize your business listings, try using additional categories, or writing blog posts that include a link back to your website. Moreover, you should encourage your customers to leave reviews about your business.
In addition to optimizing your website for local searches, you should also make use of social media. A strong presence on social media will make a huge difference, so make sure to interact with your audience and share content relevant to your location. Using the right keywords is essential if you want your business to be seen by potential customers. Additionally, your website should be mobile-friendly, since 88% of people now search on mobile devices.
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Attract Keep & Motivate Customers
There are many ways to target local customers. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram offer ways to target customers within a certain radius of your business. To use this feature, simply type in your location when creating a new post. Instagram has location stickers and hashtags, while Google Ads are an excellent choice for targeting local markets. This advertising method appears in search engines and on content websites across the web. Not only does it attract new customers, but it can also remind past customers to come back and purchase from you.
Creating video content is a great way to explain complex products and services. Make it short and sweet, and always include the call to action or testimonial. If you’re not confident in your video writing, take a copywriting course to improve your messaging and get your viewers to take action. Make sure your videos are shared on YouTube or other social media sites, as these have a far wider audience.
Increase Brand Awareness
One of the most important aspects of marketing is to increase brand awareness. Brand awareness means customers recognize a company’s name and make recommendations. In a survey, 65% of consumers are able to recall three to seven brand names, while 41% say they make recommendations at least once a week. The benefits of brand awareness go far beyond boosting sales. It also increases brand equity, which is the value a company can expect to have over time.
By focusing on your local audience, you can create a strong, long-term brand awareness strategy. Think about getting local press coverage, branded content articles, and winning “best of” titles in your area. Creating a stellar reputation in your area will help you gain more local business, because people rely on reviews and ratings when choosing a business. Therefore, a long-term brand awareness plan must include building an excellent reputation.
Boost Sales With Hyperlocal Marketing
A key component of hyperlocal marketing is choosing a platform. Social media platforms can be a great choice for a local business, as they can target a specific audience. In addition, they can help you get your business in front of locals who are most likely to become paying customers. For this reason, hyperlocal marketing can help you boost sales and drive traffic into your store. Below are some tips for using social media for local businesses to boost sales.
A robust online presence can help you reach your local customers in a matter of minutes. Customers can immediately assess the quality of your products or services. A primary focus of hyperlocal marketing is the personalized customer experience. To improve customer satisfaction, you can send out intelligent surveys that ask your customers about their experiences and preferences. You can also ask them about their shopping habits, discounts, frequency of visits, and more. By collecting this data, you can make better recommendations to your local customers.
Keep Competing
There are many ways to keep competing in local marketing, but one of the most effective is to stay up to date on the latest trends and technologies. In addition to creating a website, you can use social media to interact with potential customers. Email marketing is a great way to stay connected with your community and offer new content, insider tips, and promotions to your list. You can also leave print materials in local go-to places.
Another way to stay current is to actively participate in your community. Sponsor local nonprofit organizations or volunteer your time. Engaging with the community will increase the likelihood of customers knowing about your business. Also, local media outlets will promote you, and a small business may not have an opportunity to advertise on the larger platforms. And once your business is recognized, you can use local celebrities and influencers to create brand awareness. It’s a good idea to have marketing collateral available, since local businesses often display materials from other businesses in their neighborhood.
Appear on the Map
One of the most important components of local marketing is appearing on the map. Almost everyone uses a map or navigation tool to find a certain location or address. They are ubiquitous on mobile devices and are often used for directions, purchasing products and services, and exploring a geographic area. If your business doesn’t appear on the map, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to reach your target customers. Fortunately, there are ways to get your business on the map.
One way to get more traffic is to optimize your profile for Google Maps. Google is smart about location entity matching, and the more localized your profile is, the better chance you’ll appear on Google Maps. You can measure your map placement and performance using your Google My Business account. Moreover, you’ll be able to gauge how many new and returning customers your business is receiving through local Google Maps.
Generate Leads and Sales
There are many ways to generate leads in your area. A party planning company that has grown from birthday parties to retirement celebrations might want to focus on local demographics. For this, you may use geographic targeting technologies to develop leads in neighborhoods where people with kids and empty nesters are most likely to throw parties. Similarly, an e-commerce site could use local lead generation tactics to target potential customers in their local area. The methods of local lead generation depend on your company’s customer base, but most of them are centered on building relationships with prospects.
A website is the most common tool for lead generation, and if designed well, it can help you build a pipeline of interested customers. A responsive website, especially one that is mobile-friendly, will allow visitors to navigate easily and find information quickly. The best way to create a lead pipeline is to make your website responsive to mobile devices, since the vast majority of visitors will access your website through a mobile device.
These are a few of the key reason for why local digital marketing should be a consideration for your company. What are you waiting for, then? Let’s start our local digital marketing journey with Kaizenzo, a top-rated digital marketing agency in Toronto that can help you market your company and produce more leads.
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