The majority of small to medium-size businesses will have customers that are based locally or regionally. Therefore it makes sense for them to focus on marketing to local communities.
For businesses such as bars, boutiques, coffee shops, professional services and restaurants marketing locally is the most effective strategy enabling you to target potential customers living close to your place of business to make them aware of your brand and business so that they are more likely to contact or visit your physical location.
Spending some time brainstorming, creating, and implementing a local marketing strategy targeting customers living in a specific area or region can benefit any business. However it is a good idea to do some research before you start to implement any changes. So here are some tips on how to develop your marketing strategies for local communities.
Tailor Your Content to a Community’s Language
In your marketing plan, you should have identified your target audience and created a profile of a typical customer detailing their age group, habits, likes, location, needs, and wants.
A marketing strategy should be tailored to your target audience, in particular, you need to select the language. You will use to communicate and engage with customers including local phrases and words. To help you use the correct language in your marketing content you can look at websites like letslearnslang.com to create language-specific content that speaks to a particular community. Noting the main spoken language of your target audience and how they like to communicate will help you to connect with them and use the same style of language consistently throughout your marketing materials.
List Your Business on Google My Business
If you haven’t done this already, it is a must to get your business location pinned on Google Maps. So your customers can look you up and get directions to your location. A Google My Business listing will show up in search results and inform customers of opening hours and contact details, as well as linking to your website.
It is also recommend to claim business listings on other websites such as TripAdvisor to increase your reach even more. Both Google My Business and TripAdvisor allow customers to read and write reviews of businesses. Which is great for interacting with your existing customers and reaching new customers.
Optimize Your Website
Whether your website is for e-commerce or to inform customers about your business. It will need to be optimize so it’s easy for people to find on search engines.
When someone searches for something on a search engine such as Google they write words related to a specific thing or industry, these are known as keywords. Before adding content to a website you should do some keyword research to find the most common keywords your customers are using in their searches. The keywords can then be incorporated into your content so search engine bots see the keywords and list your site in search results.
To make a great impression on potential customers and provide a good level of functionality. A website must also be optimize to be fast, user-friendly, safe and set up for use on smartphones and tablets.
Set Up Separate Landing Pages for Different Locations
Sometimes company’s operating in a specific region will have a few physical business locations in an area or city. In this case, to make your marketing efforts more localized. You should design web pages for each business location so customers can visit the location most convenient to them.
Use Press Releases to Inform Customers
The purpose of a press release is to provide a reference for journalists and influencers to use as a source. When writing a story about something notable your business is doing. Press releases can be written by your team however. There are many pitfalls to steer clear of so usually company’s hire a PR agency. That can also assist with contacting the relevant journalists and influencers.
A quality press release should be tailored to your niche and target audience by using language and messaging directed to them. It should be well written and provide plenty of information without being too long and boring. Additionally, overly self-promotional language should be avoid.
Create Engaging Social Media Pages
One of the most frequently used and important marketing tools businesses use to reach their local audiences is social media. Facebook and Instagram are amongst the social media platforms with the most daily users. So it makes sense to create business accounts on them to interact with your customers by posting stories, new products, and special offers.
The content you post on social media should be relevant and engaging for your customers and guided by the customer profile in the marketing plan.
Target Paid Ads to Focus on a Specific Location
Advertising to your customers is easier than ever and mostly takes place nowadays on digital advertising platforms provided by the likes of Google, Facebook, and Instagram. The software used to create and deliver adverts to customers allows you to filter. The location depending on a person’s IP address so you can target your local audience when advertising.
Get Lots of Reviews
A key component to any marketing plan is customer engagement and feedback. So other people can hear about your good work and you can learn about what customers like and don’t like. Building up a reasonable amount of reviews online can take time, however. You can ask happy customers to use Google Reviews, Facebook, and TripAdvisor to leave positive reviews.
You also have the option to respond to customer reviews online. Which you should do with sincere responses rather than stock replies. If you want customers to feel like they are value and listen to.
Collaborate With Other Local Businesses
Working with other businesses in your local community with similar goals and values will help to increase your company’s reach. Examples of businesses working in a partnership may be organizing or co-sponsoring an event, sharing each other’s content, and cross-promotions.
It is crucial for any business that operates in a specific area and has a physical location to market. Their products and services to local people. As they will provide the most walk-in business. Developing and implementing a marketing strategy to reach. Your local communities can take time however following the tips above make it simpler and more effective.