If you’re a business owner, chances are you’ve heard the term “location-based marketing” quite a few times. But what does it really mean?
Location-based marketing is essentially a form of targeted marketing based primarily on location. Inclusive of both online and offline strategies, it focuses on attracting the people that are the nearest to you and tailoring your business in accordance with what they need.
According to statistics, location-based marketing has allowed businesses to increase the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns by about 89%. But how do you make sure this marketing strategy is effective enough to reach these numbers?
Here are 5 of the most useful location-based marketing strategies you can use to engage your community and boost your business in your locale.
Optimize your content for localized SEO
The marketing content you create and post, inclusive of blogs, product descriptions, or slogans, can help you generate better local traffic if it is optimized.
You can easily take advantage of local SEO and organic traffic by creating a listing on Google My Business, a tool that helps you connect better with customers in your area.
Optimize your content for SEO by encouraging your customers to leave reviews on your website. Use location-specific keywords in the content you create to help it rank better on search engines. Do your research and pick out the most frequently used keywords by locals to your descriptions.
This will help your website pop up when locals search for your product or service in your area.
Use social media
There are plenty of social media platforms that allow you to market your business on the basis of location. You can now add your location to posts you make on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Use this feature to inform people about your location.
If you’re running a pizza parlor based in New York city, adding your location to your Instagram account will result in your restaurant popping up every time someone searches for pizza on the site.
Similarly, adding hashtags to your posts and images is a great way to boost your content. Aside from just setting New York City as your location, add a couple of #NewYorkCity related hashtags as well. This way, anyone who comes across your post will automatically take one look at your hashtags and know where you are.
Leverage local support through flyers
Though marketing mediums have evolved over time, nothing beats a good old flyer. If you want to catch the attention of passersby in your locale, a great strategy is to put up flyers in various places around the neighborhood.
Look for places in your community that have high foot traffic, such as parks, community centers, cafes, and convenience stores, and have a set of eye-catching business flyers ready to be put up. Designing a professional poster might look challenging, but it’s a lot easier than it seems. Use an online design tool like PosterMyWall to gain access to a wide range of small business flyer templates to use and customize according to your needs.
The ideal business flyer should have your brand visibly present at the top, and should incorporate your signature brand colors in the design. Add your location and other important contact information so that people are able to tell you’re located nearby.
To make sure people remember what you have to offer, add tear-off tabs to your flyer with your contact information and business address, so people can easily call or drop by at their leisure.
Make a directory of your customers
Making a directory is an effective way to streamline your marketing plans because it allows you to narrow down on who you want to target and focus your marketing toward them.
How do you go about finding your target audience? Keep a sign-up sheet at your business, whether it’s a restaurant, a clothing store, a pharmacy, or anything in between, and ask people to fill in their information on the sheet if they would like to stay updated about future deals and offers. You can add an online sign-up sheet to your website as well. Ask people to fill in their location so you can filter out the ones you want to focus on.
Of course, people need some form of encouragement to give up their information. Offer a free product or a 15% discount for every customer who fills your form. Use the same strategy on social media and on your website to increase the amount of emails you collect.
Use geo-fencing to target a niche
Through a geo-fencing strategy, you can target a specific audience based within a specific geographical location. The first thing you do is choose a radius, and then market within that radius through mobile and SMS marketing using GPS coordinates and an app. This allows you to engage directly with anyone who is in immediate proximity to your location.
If you own a business in the central part of your neighbourhood, target people who frequent that area and fall within the radius of that location. Then send them SMS alerts of your best deals, promotions, timings, and much more.
Starbucks started using geo-fencing in several towns by sending out a notification to anyone who would pass by their cafe. This notification would immediately pick up on the person’s proximity to the coffee shop and would send out a promotional offer that would entice them to make a stop for coffee.
Final Thoughts:
When marketing your business, it is integral to first target those that are in immediate proximity to you and your location, as they are the ones who are most likely to pay you a visit and form your core customer base.
Use these location-based marketing strategies to engage those closest to you and make a name for yourself and your business.