Importance of Local Marketing

Did you know more than 70% of local businesses spend less than $500 per month on marketing? Most small business owners have limited marketing budgets, but still need customers to walk through their doors. So how do you attract clients without breaking the bank? Simply put, strategize and localize your digital marketing.

Strategy directly affects the success of your local marketing campaigns. Without careful planning, business owners may feel like they’re merely throwing spaghetti at the wall and waiting to see what sticks. Before a campaign begins, you need to know who it is you’re targeting and with what results you would consider the campaign a win. How else will you know if it was worth your money or effort?

Having a clear game plan allows you to assess both where you are currently and where you’d like to be. Then you can track and measure your growth and tweak future campaigns to bring you closer to your goal.

One of the fastest ways to jump-start your local marketing or build confidence to try something new is to look at what’s working for your competition. This isn’t about playing copycat. Rather, by taking a look at what practices local competitors are employing, you can find inspiration for your own marketing. You can also glean what is and isn’t working in your area. And if there are other communities across the nation similar to yours, feel free to see what the local service providers in your industry are doing there and try it out for yourself.

Once you’ve taken a look at the types of marketing your competition is embracing, it’s time to focus your overall strategy on reaching your local customers online. You can do this through SEO, social media, and email marketing.

SEO

As we previously covered, SEO should be an important part of your overall marketing plan. This is especially true for local businesses, because search engine optimization, particularly local SEO, can help you stand out online when prospective clients search the web for services in your area. Easy ways to increase your searchability include blog posts, video content, consistent social media posting, and a website that focuses on the key phrases your ideal customer would search online. 

Pro Tip: Pretend you’re a potential customer and wish to find a local provider. Using Google, do a search for your needs and see what comes up. If it isn’t your business at the top, see what search terms and phrases your competitor is using in order to rank above you. This will offer inspiration and is a good place to start when adding keywords and search terms to your blog posts, landing pages, etc.

Social media can be a big asset to your local business if done right. This means setting aside time each month to plan out your social content and your posting schedule. You’ll need to research what topics and questions your customers have, as well as learn what days and times they typically peruse Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Knowing what you can do to uniquely reach and help your customers will really up the amount of interaction and engagement you receive online. The goal is to be seen as an expert, not just as a provider!

According to Hubspot, email newsletters generate $38 for every $1 spent, so if you’re thinking email marketing is dead… think again! The trick to generating consistent local business through email communication goes back to our last point: help solve a problem for your subscribers. If you can provide valuable information and create a human connection, they will want to work with you.

Are you regularly checking for new online reviews and using them in your marketing? If not, you should be. After all, the vast majority of people read online testimonials and reviews before deciding to do business with a company. In fact, most consumers say online reviews carry as much weight as recommendations from people they actually know. So what does this mean for you? It means you not only need to monitor the reviews you receive (responding to both negative and positive comments), but also need to have a follow-up process that keeps past customers engaged and excited to leave you a 5-star review on Yelp, Google, or Facebook. Don’t forget to then use those stellar reviews as testimonials on your website and social media, as well as in your email newsletters.

Marketing is a sprint, not a marathon. The sooner you create a strategic plan to get in front of potential local customers online, the sooner you will start to see a return on your efforts. But don’t expect immediate results. The best marketing takes time to organically grow. That means you shouldn’t get discouraged if you aren’t seeing results right away. But beginning the process, and following through, will get you well on your way.

Ready to ramp up your local marketing efforts and get (virtually) in front of your ideal customers? Hyport Digital can guide you through the best online marketing tactics to achieve maximum results for your business.