Understanding Online Marketing

Being a local business means you can capitalize on what your specific region has to offer. Since your website and social media content are critical for online marketing your local business, it is important to find ways to make your content appeal to people in your area.

Be Logical About Your Content

If you have a business, such as HVAC or plumbing, the content you produce should be logical when considering your locality. For example, if you are located in an area that does not typically experience harsh winters, your audience is unlikely to care about frozen pipes or the most robust heating system. Furthermore, since people in your area are unlikely to search for these concerns, you may inadvertently attract traffic well away from your service area. In this example, it might be more appropriate to focus on air conditioning services or heating systems that are more economical that work well in environments where they are used sparingly. A similar twist on your content could be used if you sell clothing items, you would likely focus more on t-shirts and jeans, rather than a puffy winter coat.

Focus On Area Highlights

This strategy can work well for areas that are known for sports teams or other local events that are popular. Many restaurants and hotels capitalize on being located near colleges, because this demographic and their parents are often a major source for business. Make sure you are closely following college and professional sports in addition to festivals or conferences that may happen near your business. You can use this as a focal point for not only content, but posts on social media, keywords, and hastags. If you own a hotel, especially one with a dining area, you might offer special game day food items that are not on your usual menu. Additionally, you might have a special promotion for hotel guests if they are attending graduation ceremonies. When you have big events in your area, the options can become endless when promoting your business.

Revamp Your Strategy Seasonally

Reworking your content marketing on a seasonal basis is a good way to think of fresh ideas to promote your business. Regardless of the type of business you own, you can usually think of ways the products or services might change with the seasons. For example, makeup, beauty, and clothing frequently changes with the seasons because new colorways become popular and clothing trends change. If your business revolves around services, such as automotive and related industries, it is likely the concerns of your customers will be different when it's warm and humid versus cold and dry.

Seasonal changes frequently work well or against certain markets. Tourist cities frequently perform better between Memorial Day and Labor Day, but take a significant hit during the cooler months. This does not mean your marketing tactics should be abandoned for half the year, you may simply need to integrate more cool-weather items to sell or offer comfort food on the menu. You would need to appeal to local residents more and not just tourists.

Marketing your local business is more than just using the right keywords. By making your website and social media content applicable to your area, you will improve your local marketing tactics.