For small businesses like yours, local marketing is an essential strategy to establish a presence in their respective industries. However, with the advent of new technologies, the marketing landscape is undergoing significant transformations. Therefore, it is crucial for small businesses aiming to thrive and take a leading position in their local markets to anticipate and stay ahead of these upcoming changes.
This article offers a comprehensive guide that contains the most effective strategies and best practices tailored to the specific challenges and opportunities faced by small businesses like yours. It focuses on the latest trends, technologies, and consumer behaviors that are influencing local marketing in 2023. The article aims to provide advice on how you can utilize this information to achieve success in your local market.
What is local marketing
Local marketing involves the utilization of marketing tactics both offline and online by a company with the aim of reaching out to individuals in the local target audience and introducing its brand, products, and services to them. Additionally, it entails actively interacting with new and prospective customers within a designated area, with the ultimate goal of converting them into loyal patrons.
In this guide, we will explain why local marketing should be one of the strategies that your business can use, considering that it is primarily adopted by businesses that possess physical storefronts or cater to small businesses or individuals. With numerous marketing techniques available, it is essential to consider the significance of local marketing.
How does local marketing work
In order to comprehend the functioning of local marketing, let’s examine significant statistics pertaining to consumer buying patterns.
- 93.2% of consumers typically travel 20 minutes or less to make their everyday purchases according to a survey by Access Development
- Almost one-third of online consumers in the U.S. use the internet to search for local businesses on a daily basis, and an additional 16% do so multiple times per week, based on a Statista report
- 83% of Americans say a word-of-mouth recommendation from a friend or family member makes them more likely to purchase that product or service, according to the Chatter Matters 2018 Word of Mouth Report
Customers clearly show a strong preference for purchasing items from nearby stores because of their proximity, convenience, and support for local businesses.
To effectively generate positive word-of-mouth marketing and referrals, it is important to recognize and heed the opinions of your nearest customers as information spreads rapidly in small neighborhoods and local communities.
Local marketing satisfies the fundamental desire of humans to establish connections with each other. It fulfills our need to belong and be part of something bigger, particularly in our immediate environments, such as our residential or professional settings.
Local marketing strategies
1. Optimize your Google business profile
Google Business is a necessary tool for small businesses like yours seeking success. It is a resource extensively utilized by business owners to handle their online profiles. Being a free tool provided by Google, it enables small businesses to effectively manage their online presence and appear on search engines such as Google Search and Google Maps.
By having a Google Business profile, your business has the capability to establish and uphold a comprehensive business profile consisting of vital details, including your name, address, phone number, business hours, website, and a description of your products or services.
Using Google Business has another advantage in that it enables you to engage with your customers through responding to reviews, making updates, and sharing important announcements. Such interactions help build trust and engagement with your customer base. This platform is highly effective in improving visibility and attracting local customers to your small business.
2. Engage in community activities
Participating in local events, fairs, or charity events is a wonderful way to enhance your local marketing efforts and establish a strong presence in your community.
You have the option to collaborate with other small businesses for joint marketing initiatives. Organizing workshops or seminars can not only help you establish your presence and dominance as a small business but also attract potential customers towards you!
When embarking on your local marketing journey, aim to demonstrate your dedication to your community by providing support to local causes or charities. This act can enhance your reputation and lead to the conversion of potential customers into loyal ones in the long run.
3. Craft localized content
To effectively engage with potential customers, it is important to develop content that is suited to your local audience. A good starting point for making your localized content effective is by crafting location-specific blog posts or articles that discuss subjects, news, or events relevant to your local community.
To enhance your search engine rankings for local searches, incorporate regional keywords into your website. Display testimonials and anecdotes from local customers to demonstrate the reliability of your brand.
4. Implement loyalty programs
Loyalty programs offer a valuable method to expand your customer base and enhance your marketing strategies. These programs differ across businesses, but commonly include a points system or incentives for customers who make repeat purchases. By implementing loyalty programs, you can retain existing customers and even entice new potential customers to engage with your business.
When loyalty programs are implemented correctly, they have the potential to enhance customer engagements and foster loyalty among your customer base. In certain cases, these programs can influence customers who require additional persuasion in selecting your products or services.
5. List in local directories
One way to strengthen your local marketing strategy is by including your business information in local directories. Local directories are essentially online platforms or services that gather and exhibit business listings, usually organized by location and industry.
By ensuring that you include your business in these local directories, you ensure that potential customers can effortlessly locate you while attempting to search for products or services in your specific field. This uncomplicated yet highly efficient method enhances your online visibility and entices customers. To maintain accuracy and reliability for potential customers, it is important to regularly update your directory listings.
6. Optimize your online presence
Even if you have a physical store, it is still necessary to optimize your online presence. By optimizing your website and social media, you can ensure that your brand or product is visible when potential customers search for it online. The following are key steps to optimize your online presence.
- Make sure your website is mobile-friendly: Use tools like Google’s Mobile Friendly Test and Page Speed Insights to find out how you score and get detailed recommendations to improve your search rankings. Another key step to take is to localize your site so your target audience can find you. For example, use “plumbing services in Newark” instead of just “plumbing services” across your website pages. People usually search by location, especially when looking for in-person services.
- Update your social media pages: Your social media pages should have all the necessary information a consumer might be looking for, as well as give search engines the necessary signals to confirm your credibility. Along with your business name, add your location with an embedded map, your hours of service, contact information, services, and a link to your ecommerce site.
- Leverage local SEO: To take things up a notch, why not incorporate more location-specific content in your posts? Share local events and happenings, use location hashtags, and reference the location when publishing any relevant content.
- Get listed on online directories: Adding your business to online business directories increases the chances of more people finding you when searching for something within the specific area. Create business listings and profiles on Google My Business, Yelp, and YellowPages.
- Take out paid ads: While paid ads are not always the best long-term strategy, they can give your business a strong starting boost. It’s best to use paid ads only after you’ve optimized your website, social media pages, and any specific landing pages.
7. Leverage the power of content marketing
Make sure to seize every opportunity to gather email addresses from your local audience. Some companies go as far as providing discounts or free gifts in return for a customer’s email.
Email marketing is a productive method to regularly distribute relevant content and promotions to your captured audience. You should contemplate sending helpful tips on optimizing product usage, updates on local events and occurrences, profiles of loyal customers, or even business updates.
Once you start with email marketing, keep your messaging regular and consistent, similar to the content you have on your website and social media pages. With an ever-growing database and consistent email calendar, you can keep your brand top of mind.
