The shift from Outbound Marketing to Inbound Marketing changed everything in the marketing game.
Marketers were used to targeting large audiences and creating strategies on a wide scale, and, then, tactics became more personalized and directed at specific buyer personas.
Even with that scenario, a huge number of prospects were still an important indicator.
However, local online marketing approaches came in, and some businesses started to realize that attracting just a few prospects based on where they live could be even more interesting and profitable.
Since then, the Digital Marketing world has turned it into a powerful way of optimizing results and generating brand awareness as well as conversions.
What is Local Online Marketing?
The Inbound Marketing era brought attention to a new way of thinking: what if brands adapted to what customers already do, which is searching for answers on Google and taking the very first step to knowledge the brand?
Inbound became massive, and marketers all over the world started applying those tactics.
But, then, after a while, you had a whole new world of companies trying to fight for the viewer’s’ attention on the internet.
Big brands have money, so they work even more on personalized ads and segmentation.
And what about small, local ones? They were competing with those big market leaders.
That’s when marketers started to notice the power of local Digital Marketing. They started thinking that a way of winning this battle could be personalization based on region and areas.
So, now we have a definition. Local marketing is a set of tactics focused on a specific group of people that live in a particular place.
That can be a whole state or just a small town. By talking only to those that are nearby, you optimize the chances of getting them forward through the buyer’s journey. It’s a very smart way to deal with big competition.
Now, let’s analyze the customer’s perspective: consider if you as a buyer have the chance to buy a product from a big company that’s miles away from you and also have an opportunity to buy from a small business that’s close to you. By the way, for the sake of this example, both offer good solutions.
The first option is a big brand, sure, but they are farther. Whereas the second option is closer, so in case something unexpected happens with your product, you can easily and quickly get them to look at it.
After all, they’re just a few blocks from you. Since it’s that easy and fast to contact and get solutions, close alternatives are more attractive and reliable.
Sometimes, the user only wants to have a great experience without having to go all the way across the state or the city, for instance. They want to see what’s best around them, and local tactics are about showing them exactly that.
Why is Local Online Marketing important after all?
Ok, but why is this a thing now? What are the most important points to remember when we talk about the effectiveness of local marketing? Let’s find out!
Less waste of time and money
First of all, you avoid waste of both time and money.
After all, your team will work completely focused on a limited set of prospects, investing all the resources and strategies to grab their attention. So it’s way less effort than it would be to target a wide group.
With local marketing, you’re surely getting a funnel with fewer prospects on top. That happens because the brand’s not going for everyone, but only for a small community of users.
Higher ROI and lower CAC
Also, the Return Over Investment (ROI) is higher, and the Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is lower.
With local tactics, you talk to people interested in discovering new solutions nearby, so the chances of a successful purchase are huge.
You need less effort, time, and money to bring them into the funnel as well, so the overall cost is smaller.
Brand loyalty
Another topic that has everything to do with ROI is brand loyalty.
Yes, that is such a buzz expression nowadays, and sometimes it feels like it’s way beyond our wildest dreams, but it’s easy to accomplish if you try a local digital marketing strategy.
After buying from you, if everything goes right with the experience, the customer will develop a relationship based on trust and loyalty.
In this case, the lifetime value is higher, as they always come back for more. That’s more likely to happen because you’re also neighbors.
So, it’s not like buying something from someone you don’t know and only have met for commercial reasons. It’s more like purchasing from a person you’re familiar with.
Buzz
Another key point about those tactics is the buzz.
Think about it: if you have a small business delivering great experiences in a tiny neighborhood, users may easily spread that around to bring more customers in, don’t you think?
People like to share the experiences they have, and they also like to recommend places and products to each other. So, going local in a marketing strategy is a way of tapping into word of mouth to improve results.
Local partnership
That is also a great method to develop partnerships with different businesses located in the same area.
If you focus more on the place you live, you will get to know other companies as well. With that bond, it’s easier to improve customer experience, and the sky is the limit for new approaches.
5 Local Marketing Strategies for Your Business
Implementing successful local marketing campaigns for your business should cover five essential areas. Get to all of these bases, and implement a successful local marketing strategy.
1. Local SEO
Most new customers search for your business online, so you need to win over as much traffic as possible. Local SEO is the best way to improve your organic visibility.
SEO is pretty big, and it covers many topics. The bottom line is you want to be at the top of the search results when someone searches for local keywords.
Google is the first place people search for something, including your business. Suppose you’re in a new neighborhood and craving Sushi. The first thing you’ll do is run a Google search for Sushi places.
Guess where you end up going first? The top result.
Here are a couple of strategies to win at local SEO for the right search terms.
Optimize your website
Optimizing your website for local search queries is necessary for improving local search results. The more localized your website content is, the easier it’ll be for search engines to understand your location for relevant searches.
The first thing you need to do is research local keywords and use them across your website. For example, the most obvious variation is “optometrist Chicago” instead of just “optometrist”. However, there are many other local keyword options. You can discover these with SEO software.
Whatever keywords you choose to target, always include your location on your website. For example, don’t just say “Optometrists operating since 2000,” rather “Optometrists serving Chicago for the last 20 years”.
You also want to publish localized content. This works particularly well on your blog – something with a major impact on your SEO results. Write content that focuses on and is specific to your area. A blog post like “10 free things to do in Chicago this summer” will appeal to your target audience.
Finally, use Google Maps on your website to show your location. This makes it easier for visitors to locate your business, and it helps Google understand your business’ location. This way, when someone searches for “Sushi near me,” Google knows exactly where the “near me” part is.
2. Paid advertising
Relying on organic search only can be tricky to gain enough traffic for your business. The solution to this is paid advertising.
Paid advertising allows you to claim the top spots of search results for relevant keywords. You can also show ads to specific people based on their actions, interests, and location.
The great thing about paid advertising is that it allows you to target particular audiences, so you can run ads that only your target audience in your location can see. Here are some ways to use paid advertising for local marketing.
Run Google Ads
Google Ads allows you to appear at the top of the search results for the right keywords. This can bring you loads of traffic.
Google Ads works on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis, where you bid on certain keywords and pay each time someone clicks on your ad.
You can run three basic Google Ads, including:
- Search Network campaigns: Text ads that show on Google search results pages showing products or services
- Display Network campaigns: Image ads that appear on different websites your target audience visits
- Video ads: Short video clips before the start of a YouTube video
You can run Google ads within a certain geographic radius for local targeting. This makes them visible only to people who could be your customers. Try to optimize your ads with local keywords and search terms for the best results.
Run other PPC campaigns
Pay-per-click (PPC) ads get you more visibility and bring in more traffic. You can find these ads on various platforms like Google, Facebook, Bing, Twitter, and more.
If you understand your audience and their online habits, it’s always good to try relevant PPC ads.
3. Social media
Of course, you need to incorporate social media into your local marketing strategy. Social media makes up an essential part of digital marketing, and it can be a great way to reach a specific audience and engage with your local community.
Here are some of the best ways to use social media for local marketing.
Create social media profiles on relevant platforms
You don’t need to experiment with different social media platforms as a local business. Yes, TikTok can be an awesome way to go viral, but will that bring in more local customers?
Instead of trying every platform and spending too much time experimenting, understand your audience’s online activity and know where they are. Generally, local businesses do best when focusing on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also try TikTok if you want to reach a younger audience or LinkedIn if you’re a B2B.
For local marketing, it’s usually best to stick to the basics and do it properly. You can always expand to other platforms at a later stage.
Use local hashtags and location tags
Localize your social media content with local hashtags and location tags. Whenever you post, add your location. This makes your content more accessible for local users and helps potential customers locate it.
Automate your social media posting cadence
One way to improve your social media marketing is to post when your audience is online. As a global business, this can be tricky because your content covers different time zones. However, as a local business, you know exactly when your audience is most active, and you can post during these times.
Using regular localized posting helps you develop a clear social media presence. For example, posting at the right time can help you beat the Instagram algorithm to improve your reach. The best way to do this is to use a social media scheduling tool and develop a well-planned content calendar.
4. Email marketing
Email is a great way to build customer relationships, offer special promotions, and keep your community up to date with your business news.
As a local business, email marketing can be one of your most powerful tools. Here are some best practices for local email marketing success.
Create personalized local email campaigns
With email, make sure the right people get the right content. Having a leads database that allows you to segment your leads into different lists helps you deliver personalized content.
The next step is to make your email content relevant to your local community. Use localized terms, speak about local places, share local content, and clarify that you’re part of a specific community.
5. Community engagement
Community engagement is all about joining your target audience and connecting with them. This is critical for a local business to get right. You need to be present in your community and build strong relationships with your local target audience.
Here are some best practices for solid community engagement.
Actively engage with your community
As a local business, you need to be present in your community. Get to know your customers, host events, attend community events and gatherings, and get out there.
Local businesses should make social media engagement a priority. Respond to comments and queries, share your brand images, and make it easy for people to contact you. Mentioning your customers on social media can also make them feel special and help you develop stronger relationships.
Word-of-mouth marketing is compelling for community businesses. By actively engaging with your audience, you improve this significantly.
Connect and collaborate with other local businesses
You can also grow your community engagement with other companies. Find a business that compliments yours (not a direct competitor) and collaborate with them on marketing.
You could run a co-promotion giveaway or event where you use each other’s audiences. This creates a win-win situation that expands your reach and helps improve community engagement.
Wrap Up
Local Digital Marketing is all about sending messages to those who are nearby.
You narrow your audience, so you can work focused on bringing them in and turning them into customers. With limited scope, the effort is smaller, whereas the ROI is higher.
And if you are thinking about investing in a local online marketing strategy, it’s really important to understand all the terms in the Digital Marketing ecosystem.
