You’re not a big corporation, you don’t need customers 3 towns over or in the next state. What to do? Join us today as we discuss local marketing, on today’s straight shot marketing podcast

 

Hello every one, welcome to another episode of Straight Shot marketing podcast. We are taking a break from our current series. Today, we are going to respond to a question or topic posed by one of our views. They reached out to us on social media and asked us to talk more directly about Local Marketing. What are some tips and tricks that can be used on the local level by a business. So, Zachary, talk to us about Local Marketing

 

There are no gimmicks in marketing. There are new ideas and creative executions, but no gimmicks – no tricks. Local Marketing just means you are marketing inside a smaller geographic reach. If you have a national campaign, you would still be doing marketing on the local level in certain cities or towns. So larger campaigns are just multiple local campaigns plus some additional elements on top. Chic-fil-a and Cracker Barrel have broader campaigns that are managed by their corporate offices and their agency; but they also have local marketing carried on by franchises, district managers, etc. and their local agencies.

 

Everything starts with building your brand foundational – its foundational. You have to start with who you are, why someone should choose to do business with you, and who you are trying to do business with. Then you have to build the basic communication tools that you will need to communicate with the public: your logo; your digital footprint: website, social media, etc.; sales materials; etc. If you are a franchise, this is usually taken care of by the corporation. If you are a small business, you are the corporation. But the very next step, is local marketing. Then as you grow, you increase your geographic space to regional, then national, then global.

 

Let’s talk about the strategies and the processes for local marketing:

 

So local marketing, same as any other type, will depend largely upon the industry you are in and your specific location.

Now, for the purposes of today’s show, I’m going to assume you’ve followed the steps I mentioned and already have your brand foundation supporting your business. If you don’t, do that first.

 

You can go back and look at part one of our Small Business Start Up series, an episode called “Building The Foundation”, if you’d like more detail on that.

 

Then you need to identify the media and the opportunities that are available to reach your target audience within your geographic area, whatever you consider “local” If you studied your target audience, you should know where they live, work, and play… what you need to do is intersect with them in their lives with a message that will be beneficial to the company and make a connection with your audience.

• If your audience is on Instagram, develop a strategy for Instagram

• If they frequent the local golf course, develop a strategy to meet them there

• If they enjoy going to the movie theater, advertise there.

 

It really is that simple… the challenge, after you’ve done the homework, is in developing the right messaging to position yourself correctly in the marketplace and influence their buying decisions.

How do I know where my audience lives, works, and plays?

• Consumer research. Marketing firms like Reformation Productions will have numerous ways to conduct consumer research, but basically you are asking them directly… and gathering the information so you can analyze it and make those determinations. We ask questions and do exercises to reach both the left and the right side of their brains so we get a full picture of what we need to know to develop a client’s strategy moving forward. Tools include surveys, one-on-one interviews, focus groups, there are several methods available for conducting the research. They vary in effectiveness, that just how full of a picture they provide, and speed, how quick the turn around time for the data will be. This is part of Brand Development, which is part of that Foundation that I discussed earlier. If you haven’t had your brand developed and you have holes, you should go back and address that first… those results will lead you in what you should do moving forward.

 

Let’s take a break to hear from our sponsors for this episode and when we come back, more about the details of Location Marketing.

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Are there any universal methods for reaching a local audience, regardless of who they are:

• Yes and no

• There are no universal methods or tricks… it is all based on who you are and who you audience is… but with that understanding I can say a few things

 

o If you decide to use google adwords or other search engine advertising, be sure to limit it to your local area

o If you are going to advertise using social media, be sure to limit it to your local area

o You don’t need to pay for impressions that fall outside of where your local customers are going to be…and you need to know which social media platforms your consumers use.

o Depending on your business, you can use directories and websites that are location based like: yelp, angie’s list, home advisor, etc. But those will be dependent on what industry you are in but these websites have replaced the Yellow Page phone book… which was very vital in it’s day.

 

• That’s a universal method – search engine optimization – The death of the Yellow Pages is one of the reasons it also very important to include your location when optimizing your website for search engines… you need to include your location in that work, so that search engine directories can use it and help you come up in local searches organically.

 

Now this is just part of what SEO is and some will say that organic reach is also dead, but it’s not completely dead…again depending on your industry and location.

 

Another area I would say is Business Networking:

o Join your local chamber

o Join a local networking group

 

Other local centric tools – assuming your customer base is local include:

o Referral Programs

o Email Marketing

 

Then there are also local-centric strategies like:

o Direct Mail Marketing

- -With EDDM, you can be very specific within a community as to where your messaging is presented

o Mall advertising

o Local Media

- - Newspaper, TV Stations and Cable Television

• Advertising

• PR

• You can also sponsor community events and sports teams

 

Ok so, how would we sum this up? What is the Straight Shot for today’s episode?

 

First, don’t look for tricks and be wary of sales people that are promising you gimmicks. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

 

Marketing is a skill-based science that combines psychology, creative, and strategic thinking. It’s not luck, it’s not the latest fad. It’s communicating your business so that you can stay in business.

 

Next, local marketing is centered around targeting your audience within a specific geographical space based on their lives and lifestyles.

 

Make sure you include location relative aspects to your advertising and website optimization.

 

Lastly, when building your strategy for the local area: make sure you are not engaging in the geographical space that falls outside of your local area. …don’t pay for things you don’t need.

 

Well, that’s what we have for today folks. Please like and subscribe wherever you listen to our podcast and connect with us on facebook, Instagram, youtube… send us your questions and suggested topics. If you need help with anything we discuss, you can always reach out to us: info@straightshot.net or 678.825.8086 x 300

 

Until next time, Bye