The internet has dramatically changed the way people think about marketing. Where your target audience once read the Sunday supplement in the newspaper or gathered around the television for the local evening news, they may now scour Twitter for the latest news or throw on their favorite podcast to stay informed. Because where and how we reach our potential customers has changed, does this mean traditional marketing tactics are outdated and unnecessary? What does this mean for local businesses trying to reach a local audience? Should you put all of your marketing budget into digital marketing? Fortunately, the answers are simpler than you may realize. While the exact solution will depend on your business and your marketing goals, there are some universal insights that can be used across the board. To help you get started, we’re going to walk you through both traditional local marketing and digital marketing, explain how they can work together, and offer some handy tips. Local Marketing vs Digital Marketing: What’s the Difference? For many small to medium businesses, local marketing is at the heart of their marketing campaigns. Traditionally, local marketing is performed offline. This means newspaper ads, direct mail, billboards, signs, and radio or tv spots. Simply put, local marketing is a way to reach a customer base that is in the same geographical location as your store or business. Digital marketing is performed online and is often targeted at a wider audience. If, for example, your business also has an online shop that ships nationwide, digital marketing tactics, like social media posts, blogs, email marketing campaigns, and pay-per-click ads, can help you generate brand awareness and indicate to potential customers farther afield that you are open for business. And while local marketing and digital marketing have historically had slightly different intentions and goals, they are not mutually exclusive and can be highly effective when used together. How Local Marketing and Digital Marketing Work… […]

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Local marketing tactics are the best path forward if you want to grow your local small business. And while this may seem like a super simple process, there are some things to avoid so your campaign can reach its full potential, saving you time and money. Fortunately, with some knowledge, you can prevent these mistakes and reach your desired outcomes. To help you keep your local marketing tactics on track, we’ve put together this quick guide to things you should avoid in the process! What is Local Marketing? Local marketing is aimed at an audience within the same city or region as the business. These people live or work near the location of the business and will benefit most from the products or services being sold. The growth of local marketing is increasing as people search online to find and learn about companies. Analysis has shown that 97% of people learn more about a company online than anywhere else. Moreover, 46% of all Google searches are for local information, and 88% of consumers conducting local searches will call or visit the location within a day. Businesses need local marketing and local search engine optimization to leverage their available business opportunities. A good example of a business that needs local marketing is a local service provider, like a dental clinic. They might target the wrong demographic if they do not include local indicators like their city or state. If the clinic is located in Chicago, it doesn’t do much good to market generally online. They won’t be considered in local search results without indicating a local parameter. They would be wasting their marketing budget without a local marketing strategy. 6 Things to Avoid With Local Marketing It’s clear that local marketing is important, but that doesn’t mean you should just set out blindly without thinking things through and considering what will work best for you AND what will work best for… […]

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