Local area marketing (LAM) is the process of identifying and implementing marketing initiatives within a local community. This includes engaging with people, groups and businesses – as well as online marketing efforts – to reach a specific audience in a specific location.
In our most recent poll, an overwhelming 98% of respondents said local area marketing efforts do not boost their business.
These results beg the question: why are businesses not seeing the results they’d like from their local area marketing efforts?
To address this, we’ve put together our top tips for kick-starting a successful local area marketing strategy.
Tips for building a local area marketing strategy that gets results.
- Look for opportunities to engage with your local community – For example, you might donate to local organisations such as the community soccer club as part of your company’s social responsibility initiatives. In return for this sponsorship, you can request that the team’s merchandise displays your business name or logo to help boost visibility of your brand.
- Localise your online marketing strategy – Whether you’re a plumber or a furniture store owner, chances are you’ve got a specific audience in your local area. Consider ways to tap into these audiences online through targeted content that’s optimised for your local audience with specific keywords. Read more about local SEO here.
- Run a local competition – Hosting a competition is a great way to get your name out in the local community. You can spread the word about it online as well. For example, you could ask people to submit their best photos of your neighbourhood via a competition page on Facebook.
- Claim your Google My Business listing – Make sure to claim your Google My Business page to help increase the chances that your business name pops up when someone Googles terms relating to your business and local area. To do this, head to the Google My Business page and add your address, contact number, business category, opening hours, and photos.
- Get links back to your site from other local websites – Google and other search engines rank websites based on prominence, which refers to how well known you are. To help boost your online visibility, aim to develop relationships with other businesses in your area who are willing to link back to your website from theirs (just remember to return the favour!).
Need help with your local area marketing efforts? With SEO, you can leave local keyword research, content strategy, backlink building and more to the experts while you focus on your business.
