What Really Works In The World Of Local Marketing?
Local businesses are best suited to focusing their marketing on the local area. It’s a way to build a client base in the very neighbourhood you live and work in, where you’ve got the chance to make a real impact on the community.
And that’s the kind of thing that brings in good will, customer loyalty, a strong reputation, and plenty of in person recommendations. It’s a very unique advantage that small and local businesses have over their bigger competitors.
So let’s try and grab the bull by the horns here. When it comes to local marketing and engaging real customers in your real area, what are the best methods to try?
Here’s a quick rundown that every local business owner should read through.
A Focus on Local SEO
Local SEO covers a wide range of optimisation tactics, including local keyword targeting and Google Business presence.
And when you think about local keywords to use in your content, don’t forget about the ever powerful ‘near me’ tail.
You don’t have to use it exactly, but you can use it to help you think about where your local customers are searching from. Then, you can create landing pages geared toward each of these areas.
Collect as Many Google Business Reviews as You Can!
Speaking of Google Business, make sure you encourage your customers to leave reviews. The more reviews on Google, the higher your business’ standing in the immediate area.
The amount of reviews matters too. It’s great to have a 5 star review on Google, but if only 3 people have ever left a review, that’s not a great sample size.
People may be likely to take their chances with a business that has a lower score but more reviews, as more reviews means a better guarantee of quality.
Advertising in High Footfall Locations
Local marketing already presents you with the benefit of attracting nearby, easily-accessed customers.
However, you need to be sure your advertisements are placed in high footfall locations. The higher the footfall, the more eyes on your ad.
This means a wealth of potential customers are going to see your ad again and again. Whether they’re going back and forth to work, taking the kids to and from school, or when visiting their usual haunts.
You’ll need to understand your ideal customer and their lifestyle first, but high footfall locations tend to remain the same across most demographics.
Let’s go through a quick example here. Everyone needs reliable transport – especially those that don’t drive. That makes rail advertising a good choice for real-world marketing, with train stations getting an average of 10,000 to 100,000 visitors per day.
Reward Programs Geared Towards Local Customers
Every local business can have a rewards program of some kind, whether it’s a discount when you refer someone or it’s getting something for free after a certain visit.
For example, many cafes hand out loyalty stamps every time someone buys a coffee. Once they’ve filled their card, they can get a coffee (and often something extra) totally for free.
And this is a great example of a reward program that’s geared toward local customers and them only. They’re the only people who have access to this reward, which gives it an element of exclusivity.
On top of that, it encourages them to keep popping in whenever they get the chance. If you’re already located in a high footfall area (such as a high street or next to the local gym), this simply maximises your potential for attention.
Local Marketing: What to Remember
When it comes to local marketing and making your efforts count, you’ll need to remember the golden rule: to build a local customer base, you need to be local. Focus both your online and offline efforts on presenting this local picture.
Your SEO should focus on the town or city you serve, as well as its surrounding towns and regions. You should collect reviews from real, local customers, which help to build a stronger online presence.
And if you’re using traditional methods to market yourself, you should get your name featured in high footfall locations. Once you do, you can build on this presence by investing in your local goodwill with a rewards program made for those that live and shop nearby.
All in all, if you’re going to spend on local marketing, make sure you’ve thought about the needs of your local customers in particular. Target these for a much higher marketing campaign ROI.
