How to play BIG in your local marketing strategy
Hyper-local marketing has been around forever.
It’s the local Yellow Pages ads, dropping leaflets through doors and putting your flyer in local cafes and community centres.
With the rise in marketplace businesses like Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Urban massage and more, hyper-local marketing became a strategic power-play, to drive density in growth in particular areas that were served upfront, to be able to (cheaply) acquire and measure demand, while you build out supply.
These businesses gave hyper-local marketing a name, and a myriad of growth hacking tactics came along with it, but the methods were pretty similar as ‘before digital’ times - get known locally, drive word of mouth (now viral marketing), and grow from there.
So, how can you bring your name in a big way to your business’ local area?
Know what’s possible with paid digital, first - Google Ads and Meta can get SUPER granular with their targeting, down to postcode level. This is a huge advantage to be able to geotarget key areas (particularly in cities, where postcodes are really specific), and ensure your ad spend is really concentrated. TikTok and other channels aren’t quite so granular, so go BIG on small, then build out from there.
Then get in with the local crowd - join some local Facebook groups, see what’s being said locally, can you join in authentically? Not “Now selling local plumbing services” or whatever your business is, that’s a sure fire way to get banned. But jump in to authentically offer advice first. Next Door is also a channel to consider, but their advertising can be quite expensive.
Do you have a physical location? Can you use one, or share one with a local business? A pop up in a pub, a local restaurant offering a place to support the community during their quieter times. Get the local press down. Particularly if it’s something topical and not overtly salesy.
Door drops and flyers - cherry pick postcodes and, if you’re running Google Ads too, measure if there’s a change in clicks in your local area. Or test brand ads in those key postcodes so you’re guaranteed to show up (if your business is pretty new). This is a slow burn channel, however. People will be likely to keep flyers for a while, and may turn up and redeem your code several months’ after landing, so not one if you need a big impact, fast.
Get to know what’s happening locally, and build your first party data (ie, emails) - give them something extra for giving their emails - if you’re a restaurant, a special discount if they show you your email, or a free drink. Host local events that are invite only from your email list. Content that’s interesting and makes me want to keep subscribing!
Social - keep it fresh and interesting, the same shots of your store, or only new news isn’t going to keep your followers engaged. Speak about why you love the local area, support other businesses, speak about your expertise and what made you want to start your business. How active is your local area on social - are there many posts under your location on Instagram? Do the same people keep popping up with a reasonably big following? Invite them along to film from your business.
Consider outdoor media - buses, billboards, you don’t have to pay a fortune for outdoor media. Notice how often it’s schools and local businesses on the back of a bus as you’re stuck in traffic. These are effective local ways to get your name out there.
National brand listed in a local retailer? If you’re looking to drive footfall to a local Sainsbury’s, then while measurement isn’t as clean as if you’re a DTC brand or local service business, but it’s still possible. It’s the sum of the parts - strategic infrastructure advertising opportunities that lead to the local store, online ads with a call to action and location details for local stockists, some creativity leads a long way!
We hope you enjoyed those tips for your local business. If you’d like to speak to us about how your business can play big locally, launch in a new area, or drive specific learnings out of a key location, give us a shout.