Want to dominate local marketing? These hacks make all the difference.
Dav Nash
9 min read
The ability to reach global audiences is an undeniable benefit of digital marketing, but it’s not the be-all and end-all of online success.
After all, global efforts typically result in a trickle of sales, if that.
Local sales remain more lucrative, but many brands don’t know how to secure them.
Local digital marketing strategies enhance the potential for local shoppers to discover businesses nearby.
In this article, we’ll consider the secrets of implementing local digital marketing strategies for greater success.
Let’s say you’re looking for a new restaurant to try out in town. Will you roam the streets looking for somewhere?
Probably not.
The chances are you’ll head online and search through your options there.
Studies suggest that the vast majority of consumers would do the same thing. Hence why local digital marketing that uses techniques like local SEO is essential to modern success.
As well as improving in-person sales, local marketing drives can ensure brand relevancy and help target local audiences.
Local digital marketing is particularly vital for brands with physical premises – if it isn’t online, a physical shop might as well not exist!
Perfecting local digital marketing makes it possible to very much put that physical business on the digital and real-world map, even if it isn’t in the heart of the city centre.
In a world where global reach is painted as power, it’s easy to overlook the benefits of targeting local customers. But you do so at your peril.
Even in an online age, countless companies can enjoy the benefits of targeting local customers, which include:
All forms of local digital marketing can boost business to some extent, but some are more effective than others.
After all, building an online presence using local keywords might increase search volume, but it won’t necessarily drive sales.
Still, well-thought, expertly executed local marketing strategies can boost business in the following ways –
Local digital marketing drives can increase a brand’s visibility.
This is probably their main benefit and is best achieved using locally-minded search engine optimisation (SEO), social media, and content marketing.
Local searches that utilise relevant keywords can also increase the chances of a company’s website appearing to the right people.
This narrows down industry competition, making it easier for a brand to thrive, and stand apart, within its niche and local area.
Securing a place within the community is still vital to local business success. Luckily, local digital marketing can help with this, too.
Case studies of collaborations with local companies and charities are just one example of this. Equally, press releases about collaborative community initiatives are sure to go down well.
Aside from boosting the prevalence of local keywords, these techniques can build community loyalty. And, that’s where real returns stand to start rolling.
Proximity doesn’t necessarily prove to consumers that a brand has what they need, but local expertise does.
Local digital marketing strategies should aim to boost business with this fact in mind.
It’s possible to exhibit local expertise across blog posts that outline the best local walks (which conveniently run right past a local company’s front door), or social media content that showcases the best local sights.
These things ensure local relevance and mean that a brand’s target audience is far less likely to just scroll past its online uploads.
Local SEO is the bread and butter of increasing a brand’s visibility across local results on everything from Google to Google Maps.
At its heart, local SEO isn’t all that different from your average SEO practice. Things like website optimisations and content creation still matter.
But, with local SEO, they take on a geographical tilt.
Top tips for improving a brand’s local SEO include –
A Google Business Profile (GBP) is a comprehensive free listing that helps brands increase their local search standing.
It’s worth noting that a GBP should never replace a brand’s website. However, don’t underestimate the ability to add information like a company’s address straight into Google.
If consumers were to type ‘Car Garage in Lincolnshire’ into their search bar, the garage with a complete GBP will always appear first.
Even better, the GBP listing can include a direct link to that company’s website.
You’re not stupid. You know that local keywords are key (excuse the pun) to local SEO.
We’ll grant you that this is basic stuff, but it’s a point worth reiterating.
Let’s say a general search term like ‘clothes store’ is the equivalent of searching for a needle in a haystack of thousands of searches.
Simply adding the word ‘Birmingham’ to that term significantly narrows a consumer’s options.
That’s got to be good for sales.
This just in – around 88% of people conduct local searches on their phones.
If those leads have to zoom in or wait for load times on an unresponsive website, no amount of local keywords will help a brand’s cause.
Local SEO must make room for mobile responsive design to avoid that setback.
Fluid grid layouts that ensure a website’s full breadth of information is visible on any screen are particularly non-negotiable.
That way, consumers can see firsthand, and from wherever they are, why a local company is worth their time.
Content with mass appeal is important.
Local content that locks down geographically relevant audiences is also key and could include –
Admittedly, these efforts shouldn’t overwhelm your content drive. Too much could alienate audiences further afield.
Still, sprinkling the occasional local piece into your content arsenal makes it far easier to get local customers on board. It’ll add a fair few local keywords to your page, too.
Even for brands that aren’t keen on location-specific posts, simple steps like taking brand pictures near local landmarks can be effective.
Local customers are far more likely to pause on posts like these. They may even automatically feel more loyal or trusting towards that brand as a result.
Customer reviews can be the difference between a loss or a sale at the best of times. Local customer reviews hold even more power.
Largely, this is because a huge outpouring of community love for a brand can highlight its relevance for other local buyers.
Securing the highest-rated community reviews in the area can also ensure that consumers pick a brand above its closest nearby competitors.
Local SEO basics are one thing, but they’re steps that nearly every business in town is putting into action right now.
That’s not to say those steps aren’t still important. It does, however, make it hard to truly maximise a brand’s online presence in those ways.
Luckily, essential local SEO tips aren’t your only option.
There are a host of ways to use local digital marketing strategies to maximise a brand’s online presence locally, including –
A company’s GBP might earn them a spot in Google’s local directory, but they shouldn’t remain beholden to that one representative.
The more local directories a brand can secure, the more local traffic they’ll drive to their site. Particularly if those directories are of a high quality.
Appearance in local council or niche-specific directories can especially help a brand stand apart as an authority.
Typically, securing these spots is no harder than reaching out with an established reputation and a quality website to hand.
Location pages are increasingly in popularity, and the reasons for this are self-evident.
At the very least, these pages provide the opportunity to pack more location-specific keywords into a brand’s content than ever.
If brands serve multiple locations, these pages also make it possible to hit all relevant location search terms.
However, bear in mind that overloading a website with replicated landing pages or excessive amounts of locations is unlikely to secure sales.
Successful landing pages should include unique, location-specific content. They should also be limited to a brand’s key operational areas to avoid overwhelm.
Waiting for local consumers to come to you isn’t always the best option. Sometimes, you have to do a little local outreach.
Interacting with local content is a great option for achieving this goal.
This could include commenting on a press release about a local event, or simply entering a hashtag conversation with a well-regarded local company on social media.
These techniques can open brands up to brand-new local audiences.
Public interactions could also help to win trusting local consumers around to sales if they clearly showcase a brand’s messaging upfront.
The recommendations of micro-influencers can have a significant impact on sales. They’re also often targeted towards niche local audiences.
Collaborating with these local influencers via product recommendations can boost sales.
Equally, using local influencers in advertising campaigns could attract the right kind of attention.
Every community has something that sets it apart. That thing could come from a town’s industry, a favourite local delicacy, or the people themselves.
Digital marketing strategies that tap into those community specifics stand the best chance of maximising interest.
Let’s say that a brand is functioning in a town with a strong sporting community.
Social media campaigns might tap into this sporting spirit with campaigns like fun sporty online games or challenges.
Content like this is engaging, relevant, and likely to see brands fully integrated into their area.
Along roughly the same lines, it’s worth considering the best ways to engage local audiences online.
Engagement signifies interest, as well as helping to breed loyalty and lasting local connections.
To some extent, efforts like the community initiatives we’ve mentioned will help. Other key ways brands can engage local audiences online include:
Local audiences are constantly looking for new local brands to love. This is as true now as it was in our grandparent’s day.
It’s down to us as marketers to make sure those brands can cut through competitive noise to appeal to the right local audiences. Tips like these are the secrets to making that happen.
