Location-Based Marketing Strategies for Your Business

If you own a business and you market it online, then chances are you have heard about location-based marketing. As an entrepreneur, you have to make sure that you will target the right audience. Your business most likely has thousands of competitors all over the city or country, which is why you should focus on attracting the ones that are near you first.

What Is Location-Based Marketing?

Location-based marketing means targeting your audience based on their location. This does not only involve online marketing strategies as you can use offline marketing tactics, too.

Location-based marketing delves into analyzing your potential customers’ buying behavior, as well as their needs, wants, and what will drive them to be interested in your business. Again, it focuses on attracting people that are near you and are looking for what your business offers.

Reasons Businesses Should Use Location-Based Marketing

Location-based marketing can greatly help your business, especially with getting your return on investment or ROI. It works well for both small and large businesses. This survey reported that back in 2018, businesses that used location-based data were able to increase the effectiveness of their advertising and marketing campaigns by 89%.

So, why should you use location-based marketing for your business, you ask? Below, we discuss a few of the most important reasons.

Segmentation Is a Lot Easier

Segmentation means grouping your customers based on their personalities, interests, activities, location, and attributes. Since your targeted customers are all based in one area or location, segmentation becomes easier.

It Helps Generate More Business

Targeting a specific location is more effective than targeting, say, a whole state or country. It gives you the chance to focus on attracting a smaller group of people rather than a bigger one that doesn’t care for your business.

Make sure to target people within your specific zip code. If you own a business with a physical location, then this tip can help you generate more business, as people would not bother going to a place that’s further away, and instead, they would likely go and visit your place.

Better ROI

We are guessing you have heard about the saying that one should work smarter and not harder. If you want to get your return on investment back, then it would pay for you to rethink your marketing strategies.

Consider analyzing your nearby audience. Collect their details and work on giving them what they need and want so they would be inclined to turn to your business. The more leads, the higher your chances of getting that ROI back.

Effective Location-Based Marketing Strategies

Now that we have discussed why you should consider location-based marketing and what it is, it is time to see how you can apply it to your business.

Use PPC Geo-Targeting

If you are not making good use of your Pay-Per-Click advertising, then now is the time to do so. PPC campaigns can help you filter what the audience has access to. This way, you can target a specific group of people based on their location.

PPC campaigns are usually paid per click, and often target people that are way too far from where your business is located. It is, quite simply, a waste of resources.

Local SEO Optimization

Google My Business is a tool that helps you connect with customers in your area. This allows you to take advantage of local SEO, which refers to organic traffic.

Some ways to improve your local SEO is by encouraging your customers to give you reviews, create location-specific content on your website, and optimize your listing on Google My Business. Small businesses can greatly benefit from using local SEO, as it can help their chances of attracting new customers

Make it a point to include location-specific keywords into most of your content to help it rank on search engines. This way, your website can be found by audiences searching for similar products and services that you offer within the area. Make sure to go for keywords that you know your audience would search for so you’d have a higher chance of attracting more people to your webpage.

Creating good content is also a great way to boost your search engine rankings. This may also help attract links and website traffic from blogs, newspaper websites, and sometimes, even on social media sites such as Twitter.

Pay Attention to the Community

If you want to get the word out there, then you should reach out to your local community. This way, you would not have to spend as much money, though you surely would have to dedicate time engaging with your local community.

Word of mouth is a great marketing strategy, especially since it’s basically free and gets the word out there. It is much more effective in smaller communities as people tend to talk about their experiences with businesses.

You can try participating in contests, community festivals, and seasonal events. You can even consider sponsoring local events such as school performances or sports teams. Additionally, you can also volunteer for local charity causes.

This way, you will get to meet lots of people and establish some type of rapport and trust with the local community.

Maximize the Use of Social Media

Instead of trying to attract and engage with customers that are a thousand miles away from you, try to focus on your local community instead. As mentioned earlier, it would be best to target areas that are near your business.

One way to maximize the use of social media for location-based advertising is by adding your specific location to the hashtags. You can also add the location tag to both Instagram and Facebook, so people that are searching for your location can find it.

Additionally, you have to make sure that what you are posting on your social media accounts will be of interest to your audience.

Engage in a Loyalty Program

Customers are often enticed by the feeling that they are valued, which is why you should consider setting up a loyalty program for your customers that are faithful to you and your company. Since you are dealing with people that are within your immediate area, creating a loyalty program would most likely benefit both your business and your customers.

For example, you could try handing out “loyalty cards” if you owned a clothing business. Whenever someone buys from you, for example, 5 different times, they could get a 20% discount on their 6th purchase.

It’s all up to you how to design your program- just to make sure that the rules are not too complicated and that your customers are encouraged to take advantage of this loyalty program.

Be Open About Your Business’ Story

Your customers will feel a lot closer to you if you share your business’s story with them. It doesn’t have to be extremely specific – just a gist of where you came from and how the business started is enough to keep them interested.

This helps make your brand name more memorable. People will connect your story to your brand name. Some might even relate or connect to it, which will give them a sense of trust towards your brand.

You can try telling your story through blog posts, articles, online videos, your “About Us” page, or even through TV ads. Don’t forget to mention how your business is connected to the area so the local community will feel a deeper connection to your brand.

Ask for Reviews and Testimonials

As we have mentioned earlier, reviews and testimonials can give your customers a huge sense of trust. You can ask for reviews and testimonials, but do not force people into giving you one. You shouldn’t also pay in exchange for reviews as this can easily backfire.

You can, instead, offer to give them a freebie or discount in exchange for a review. People love getting freebies and discounts, and this will encourage them to write a positive and thoughtful review of your business.

Make sure to monitor the reviews and testimonials on your site and social media pages. If you see any negative reviews or responses, then try reaching out to those customers and see how you can help. Make it public so other customers in your area can see that you are willing to help them in case they have also had a bad experience with your business.

Advertise In Newspapers

This might seem like an old school way of advertising or marketing, but in this case, it can be a big help. Your neighborhood or local community is most likely reading the newspaper almost every day – or at least someone in their household is.

You can try buying advertisement spaces or sending press releases to the editors. However, a more creative approach to this is by sending the newspaper staff a pitch. You can offer to be a source about your area of expertise – which is your line of business. You are simply asking the paper to interview you, and getting interviewed by journalists and having your name and brand on the local paper can instantly make your local neighborhood trust your brand more.

Make sure to follow the trends in your area and see how you can help.

Conclusion

Using location-based marketing strategies can greatly help your business become bigger within your local community. Not only is it easier to focus on a smaller area, but it also creates a community for both business owners and consumers.