Understanding Local Marketing

What's Local Online Marketing?

To give a quick definition, local online marketing uses local marketing tactics such as local ads to target a business's local market.

In fact, current statistics suggest that the majority of consumers are looking for products or services locally. According to a study by Search Engine Land, 50% of people go to the business or store they've looked for within a day of the initial search. In addition, 60% of people make a decision on a product or service based on the information they've found on the website of a business and on online local ads. Thus, local online marketing has become a crucial facet of your digital marketing strategy.

Local Marketing Tactics

Local Ads

The emphasis is on trying to reach long-term loyal customers in the local area of the business. In other words, your local online marketing efforts must be directed towards reaching your local market. In fact, this is the primary goal of local marketing. Therefore, in this blog post we're giving a few elements you will want to add to your own local online marketing efforts to reach out to your local market.

Grassroots Local Marketing Tactics

In the days prior to the Internet, the local marketing tactics used by most small businesses to bring their local market to their doors were pretty standard. Particularly, they would obtain information about their local market when clients would register or pay. Given this information, they would then develop a targeted mailing list.

For example, anytime a customer had a birthday, it was likely that he/she would receive a birthday email from the company. In addition, the business would use the same channels to inform its local market about special offers and sales.

Sometimes businesses would use other local marketing tactics such as local events and street teams to draw customers in.

Street teams' activities include handing out samples, in store flyers, and signing people up for the mailing list. Moreover, the business would organize local events, such as a chili feed, a sponsored foot race, or hiring a local entertainer.

Local Online Marketing Tactics

Nowadays, mobile customers look up information like location or a business's phone number on Google Maps. Sometimes they also search for reviews, addresses, driving directions, and/or other information. Thereby, the savvy business owner incorporates that information on the company's website, social media outlets and online directories. In addition, some businesses decide to start a blog to talk about their industry. Also, an article or interview by a local online magazine or blogger is another great solution to reach locals.

Local Market

Segmenting Your Local Market Niche

No particular niche is better than another. However, customer demographics should be identified and segmented in the marketing plan. This allows to make the most effective use of local internet marketing dollars.

This, subsequently, determines how a business creates its advertising and local ads, along with its marketing messages and marketing campaigns. Another important facet of local online marketing is where, and on what channels the business should advertise or post local ads. These channels may include a Google AdWords campaign, social media management (SMM), SEO and content marketing with a focus on targeting local customers.

With that said, a business owner should test the responses a particular campaign yields. This allows him not only to dial back on the media that do not have a high success rate, but also to increase funds in the campaigns/online ads that are working.

At the end, it really does not make sense for a local business which services a local area to pay for national advertising. In fact, if its customer base is specific and within a 10-mile / 10-minute radius of where the business is located, its best local online marketing strategy is to use regional channels.

Thus, all local online marketing efforts should specifically deal with mobile searches as well as the other factors explained above. A tightly focused marketing plan which is appealing to a geo targeted area (local market), income and social demographics will increase revenue to the business in the long run.

More on Digital Marketing

How can I optimize my company's web presence?

How can a well-defined internet marketing strategy help my business?

Actually, what does internet marketing truly mean?

And what about Facebook management?

Lux Inbound is a leading digital marketing agency located in Lausanne Switzerland. For the most part, we offer revolutionary online marketing products & services. In addition, through our deep understanding of sustainability, we help companies create innovative and unique brand stories.

To learn more about our approach, don't hesitate to send us a message! We love talking about our business and meeting new people.