Hyperlocal marketing sounds like a modern buzzword, but it's not a new concept.
One excellent historic example is the effectiveness of vendors calling out from the center of town to sell their goods. A more modern example includes word of mouth marketing, which remains an underrated but powerful tool for small businesses.
Hyperlocal marketing is much like word of mouth advertising—it allows businesses to reach customers in a targeted, well-defined geographic area. We rounded up five tips to help you incorporate hyperlocal marketing into your small business plan to engage with and attract more customers.
1. Create a Website
Back in the day, people searched the Whitepages to find local businesses. Today, they look up information on their computers and mobile devices. Google My Business and Bing Places are hot commodities among consumers searching for local businesses. Optimize your website for keywords and mobile use. Additionally, include the company’s location, name and phone number so customers can find your small business.
2. Include Local Directories
This may be one of the most important tactics to mastering hyperlocal marketing
because it reaches the people specifically looking for your kind of business in your area. Make sure your business data is consistent, correct and complete across all local directories. This allows search engines to verify that your business is legitimate, which maximizes the success of any SEO campaigns.
3. Prioritize Reviews
The importance of having reviews goes beyond the power of word of mouth marketing. Linking to Yelp, Google and other social media profiles that include reviews also helps drive local search rankings. Although asking for reviews from your customers can be nerve wracking, it’s relatively simple if you follow a few steps:
Link to your profile on all of your outgoing correspondence, emails and business cards
Customize your receipts to include information about reviews
Hold a contest in which reviewers gain entry for each review they provide
4. Create Locally-Focused Content
Engage with your customers by offering regularly produced locally-inspired content on your website, blog or social media platform. For example, if you’re a restaurant owner, you could blog about the local produce you highlight or craft beers on tap for the month. Auto repair shops could offer an infographic mapping all local potholes. Salon owners could share photos of some of their customers’ most trend-driven styles.
5. Don’t Overlook the Power of a Mobile Presence
More of your customers are using their mobile devices to research services and products than ever before. Harness the power of DS&P to build your mobile presence, which in turn raises your SEO rankings and helps target local customers.
Are you currently using any hyperlocal marketing tactics to grow your business, maybe without even realizing that’s what they were? Do you need help with your hyperlocal marketing strategies? Contact us today!
SOURCE: 5 Hyperlocal Marketing Tips for Your Small Business by Caryn Anderson. posted in Groupon.com. Published 2/20/17. Accessed on 7/12/2017.
