You’re always looking at ways to win new clients, right? What if we told you to think small? It’s vital to remember your most important audience: the local market. Our marketing tips allow businesses to market goods and services to potential customers close to your company’s location. Here’s how to target your local market.
Know Your Audience
Having a good understanding of your audience is vital to any marketing campaign. You should know the age group, gender, interests, and professions. Researching which social media platforms your audience uses the most is vital.
For example, a beauty salon will have an audience of mainly women, between 20-35 years old. Based on this audience you wouldn’t use LinkedIn for your marketing campaign – you would lean more towards Facebook and Instagram.
Target the Audience
Now that you understand who and where your audience is, you need to make sure you reach them. Create your campaigns around the audience’s interests. Use the keywords they’ll be searching for. E.g. Gel Nails Bishop’s Stortford. Make advertisements that explain how your product or service meets a need or solves a problem the audience has.
Get Involved in the Community
To be a part of the community, you must get involved in it. The end goal is to gain business, so you must get out there to be seen. Your team could offer to volunteer at a local event, wear company t-shirts with your logo on, or donate a service/product as a prize for a local competition. Anything that will make them want to come back to your company.
Gather and Post Testimonials
Make sure when you do get great feedback, that you share it across your social media platforms for more people to read. So when you have positive interactions with clients, encourage them to write and share good reviews.
Use Local Media
If you’re located in a small town, do not underestimate the value of local media. Put an ad in the local paper or radio station, it’s a great way to generate more foot traffic.
Run Local SEO Campaigns
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a great way to increase your digital presence if this isn’t something you have investigated before Google AdWords is a great place to start. Once you have set up your SEO across your website or on a specific digital campaign to drive local traffic to your business – you should notice an increase in business.
Use Social Media to Engage Your Audience
Social media is a great way to connect with an audience in a professional way but with the added human touch. Using social media platforms that the local audience use to answer frequently asked customer questions will boost engagement and allow you to have conversations with your audience.
Social media is also a great place for you to include links back to your website, which will increase your click-through rate as well.
Run Contests or Promotions
Everyone loves a freebie, by running a contest or offering a promotion on your product/service is a great way to engage with your local audience. Be creative and think about what your audience will benefit from most. Offer promotions to celebrate local/seasonal events, it’s a great way to stay connected with your local community and support the town.
Cross-Promote with Other Local Businesses
Cross-promoting is an extremely effective method of marketing. It’s mutually beneficial for both companies. It not only allows you to expand your audience, but it will also help boost sales. This method is frequently used as it offers immediate exposure to a vast array of potential customers with minimal effort.
Host/Sponsor Local Event
We have already mentioned the importance of getting stuck in with your local community. There is no better way to be seen than hosting or sponsoring a local event. Make sure the event you host, or sponsor has an audience that you could potentially win business from. Although we are all for supporting your local community – you are ultimately hoping for a certain amount of gain yourself. Here at Simpsons Creative we sponsor a lot of events throughout the town and host Stansted Professionals Lunch on a regular basis. Research what local events you can get involved in.
Make Your Website Responsive
It’s something we tell all our clients, having a responsive website is crucial! Your website needs to work as well on a mobile as it does on a desktop. Mobile searches are one of the top ways local customers will find and view information about your business. If you have not yet made your website responsive across all devices – we are happy to help. Doing so will work wonders with regards to local marketing. People who are using their mobile to search for your business, are typically already in the area. Taking the time to make your website responsive could boost business overnight.
