Most local businesses advertise city-wide, but some marketers argue it isn’t entirely local enough.
Per Google, “near me” searches grew by 200 percent between 2016 and 2019. With consumers relying more and more on their devices to gain information, we submit the number to be considerably higher today, making a case for hyperlocal marketing.
In this blog, we cover the following topics:
• What is hyperlocal marketing
• Why you should launch a hyperlocal marketing strategy
• How to execute hyperlocal marketing strategies the right way
What Is Hyperlocal Marketing?
Hyperlocal marketing is the systematic process of targeting prospects in a highly restricted zone where a specific business sits; they can be as precise as just a few blocks or streets.
It’s part of the broader local digital marketing and intends to target people performing “near me” searches on their mobile devices. From that intent, business owners and local SEO experts build their “why” for implementing hyperlocal marketing strategies.
Why You Should Launch a Hyperlocal Marketing Strategy
Suppose you just opened a cafe in a crowded commercial area in the northern part of the city; why would you spend a substantial amount of money advertising city-wide when you could implement hyperlocal digital marketing within your neighborhood?
And why, for the love of coffee, would people from the southern outskirts of the city drive miles and miles to your cafe?
Even if you have terrific coffee, consumers seek one thing nowadays — convenience — they want a cafe they can walk to amid their busy lives. That’s the crux of hyperlocal digital marketing, pacifying the consumers’ need for convenience.
However, if you run a global business, localization marketing is for you.
Localization marketing differs from hyperlocal digital marketing. While it’s relatively new compared to other local SEO strategies, it has proven effective among software as a service (SaaS) companies and remote agencies.
Take Facebook, for example; Mark Zuckerberg first made the social media site in English. Today, it’s available in 13 languages, including Chinese, French and Portuguese.
The tech company “localized” its product by accommodating the foreign markets’ linguistic, technical and cultural demands—undergoing the process, website and app localization.
Make that process all about digital marketing, and you’ll get localization marketing; it’s where a company’s local SEO experts produce their own or commission native or localized content while running Google local ads campaigns to generate demand.
This local online marketing practice allows small, region-focused businesses and local SEO experts to scale faster than they could otherwise. Now, circling back to our focus on hyper-local online marketing, let’s explore some tips for your local marketing strategy.
How To Execute Hyperlocal Marketing Strategies the Right Way
While we believe that a one-size-fits-all approach to local digital marketing doesn’t work in most cases, you’ll find implementing these tips beneficial for your next hyperlocal marketing campaign.
#1 Google Business Profile Optimization
It’s no secret that Google is superior among search engines; it’s where people conduct countless “near me” searches. So simply claiming your listing on the site will make your business highly visible on the search engine results pages (SERPS).
You should, however, aim beyond visibility and take control of your business’s appearance on Google Maps and Search. Consider Google Business Profile optimization as part of your hyperlocal marketing strategy:
• Business name. Ensure that you use your actual business name, the one people see on your storefront.
• Local number and address. Besides securing a local number, your local number must be consistent across your listings.
• Operating hours. You don’t want your prospects to have a “right place, wrong time” moment.
• Media. Give people a virtual taste of your business with impressive photos and videos of what you can offer.
If you have franchises with multiple locations, you should create a separate business listing for each one. And while at it, ensure that you choose the right category that best matches your business.
“The correct category selection,” Google states, “helps you attract customers who are searching for businesses like yours in your area.”
#2 Customer Reviews Management
Including online reputation management (ORM) in your local marketing strategy is a great means to engage with your customers and prospects.
Managing your customers’ feedback will allow you to build and protect your online reputation. Remember, though, that managing reviews should only be a small part of one’s local online marketing strategy.
Your customer reviews management should include the following:
• Analyzing your online reputation periodically
• Replying to every feedback, whether positive or negative
• Resolving negative comments with empathy
• Collecting and highlighting positive comments
You can also work with a local marketing agency specializing in online reputation management (ORM) to help you improve your search visibility.
#3 Facebook and Google Local Ads Implementation
Target prospects with pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns like local awareness ads on Facebook or Google.
Facebook introduced the Local Awareness ads format back in 2014, sought precisely by local businesses aiming to raise brand awareness of their physical stores and drive foot traffic to them.
Google local ads’ expansive reach, on the other hand, is arguably the best way to reach more unique users in your local community—thanks to its display network.
While it can be daunting at first, both ad platforms offer an intuitive design for setting up ads with this objective. Some business owners, however, may have time and staff limitations; if this is the case for you, get outside help from a local digital marketing expert specializing in PPC.
#4 Localized Content Production
Your hyperlocal marketing campaign’s backbone is ultimately content. Investing in the production of locally relevant content helps you target and convert prospects performing local searches.
To get the most return on investment, Thrive’s Director of Content, Brandon George, also advised asking questions like:
1. Which platform is best for your target audience?
2. Where will you have the most impact with your contact?
For landing pages, blogs and testimonials, your foremost objective should be creating content your prospects demand. For instance, still taking the cafe as an example, you can write a blog titled “best coffee shop in Hawkins.”
It’s essential to perform keyword research before you produce content to find out what the local community is searching for. You can also use a keyword research tool like Ahrefs to get better insight, such as monthly search volume, traffic potential and related terms and topics.
#5 Non-Competing Local Brands Partnership
You can break into the local market quicker by partnering with a local business that will likely compliment your brand.
For a practical example, if you are just about to launch a coffee shop, source your select baked goods from another local bakery until you can fully yield your own. Another partnership you can explore is with local artists; let them create merchandise for your brand to display in your store and promote on social media.
And in your local SEO strategies, you can look for guest posting opportunities with a local business that has a good-standing website.
Narrow Your Focus and Grow Your Sales With Thrive
Now that you have a better grasp of hyperlocal marketing, its importance and how to implement it, let us introduce you to Thrive.
Thrive is a local marketing agency aimed squarely at local businesses seeking to narrow their marketing focus, minimize ad spending and grow sales.
Our digital marketing team comprises SEO experts, PPC specialists and content writers, ready to help your business scale through ads, partnerships, content and ORM. If you have any questions, you can book a free marketing consultation.
