Research shows there are an estimated 4.80 billion social media users worldwide. Social media advertising and marketing can be a great way for large businesses to focus on the big picture and attract new consumers from a global perspective. But for local businesses, it is necessary to focus on the smaller picture.
Local businesses still operate on the basis of customer loyalty and customer retention. They focus on brand awareness within a centralized scale.
A local business needs to attract potential customers from a much more targeted geographical area.
That's where hyperlocal social media marketing comes into play. This marketing tool can help you hone your local business's marketing efforts more effectively. You can tailor your marketing strategy to reach local customers in your specific area.
Interested in learning more about hyperlocal social media marketing? Then keep reading to discover marketing strategies and tips you can use to promote your local business below.
Utilize Geo-Targeted Advertising
An important aspect of hyperlocal social media marketing is sharing your location. After all, customers can't come to your local business if they don't know where you are.
You can utilize geo-tagging and location check-ins on your social media posts. 84% of marketers use location-based advertising because of its effectiveness.
With social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, you can easily tag posts with a set location identifier through the check-in feature. This allows local customers to see where you are located.
This helps you reach consumers in a given area, especially those on mobile social media apps. It also helps build brand awareness on social media. You're planting the seeds to get customers interested in your business.
Incorporate Location-Based Hashtags
Hashtags are another great way to boost your hyperlocal social media marketing campaigns. Location-based hashtags add another level of targeting to your marketing.
For example, if your business is a Vegan or Vegetarian restaurant in Phoenix Arizona, you'll want to include relevant hashtags like:
- #VeganRestaurantPhoenixAZ
- #VegetarianOptionsPhoenix
- #VeganFoodPhoenix
- #VegetarianFoodPhoenix
That way, when people search these hashtags on social media, your restaurant will pop up in searches. Just be sure to keep the hashtags to a minimum. Using more than 5 location-based hashtags will look junky and unprofessional.
Look Into Influencer Marketing
The Influencer Marketing industry grew to an impressive worth of $16.4 billion in 2022. With influencer marketing, brands, and influencers work together.
It's a symbiotic partnership to organically promote a brand. Influencer marketing taps into social media users with an established and like-minded following.
Influencer marketing can also work wonders for hyperlocal social media marketing as well. Collaborate with local influencers who have a strong following in your target area. Have them promote your business for you.
Using local influencers can increase brand awareness. It also builds and maintains trust with your customer base.
Encourage User-Generated Content
Social media marketing can be difficult if you don't know what to post. That's why you may need to try encouraging user-generated content from the customers themselves.
If you're a restaurant or bakery, you could invite local followers on your social media to come in and post a video about their favorite item on your menu. It's like a combination of influencer and hyperlocal social media marketing.
You'll be getting free brand promotion and reviews straight from your customers. You're also helping build brand awareness. It's a great way to encourage community interaction with your social media followers.
Get Involved in Your Local Community
One of the best ways to boost hyperlocal social media marketing is to get involved with your community. Potential customers will want to engage with a business that has a strong community presence.
This means finding ways to amp up community interaction. Your business could set up a booth at a local event like a charity walk or a street fair to enhance brand awareness. You could also sponsor a local youth sports team.
Getting your brand out there shows customers that you are an invested part of the community, not just another faceless business.
Create Partnerships With Other Local Businesses
You can take community interaction one step further by collaborating with other local businesses too. Find compatible non-competitive local businesses to team up with.
Strategic cross-promotion allows businesses to expand their customer reach. It can benefit both parties involved.
For instance, a coffee shop and a community book store could partner up to have an open mic night for poetry reading. The bookstore could host the event and the coffee shop could provide beverages and snacks to attendees.
Hyperlocal social media marketing builds community with other local businesses. It lets both businesses thrive from a shared customer base.
Leverage Local Offers and Promotions
Leveraging local offers and promotions as part of your hyperlocal social media marketing strategy is a smart move. Promotions and offers are a terrific way to get your business noticed. They are also ideal for encouraging foot traffic.
Customers may have been considering coming to your business but have yet to do so. Offering a local offer or promotion can encourage action. From new customer discounts to special sale days and promotions, customers love a good deal.
Over time, offering local promotions can build customer loyalty. Using a program like a customer loyalty discount card can also improve customer retention. It encourages customers to return for repeat business.
Engage in Local Social Media Conversations
Customers prefer interacting with a business that also makes an effort to connect with them. That's why you need to actively respond to comments and messages on social media from local customers. Doing so will effectively bolster customer loyalty and customer retention rates.
Engaging in local community discussions also helps you get a better idea of your ideal customer profiles. You can see what they're looking for specifically in a product or service. If you don't offer this, you'll know what to add to your repertoire in the near future.
Elevate Your Hyperlocal Social Media Marketing Strategy With Cogo & Co. Today
Having a hyperlocal social media marketing strategy for local businesses is important. An effective local social media marketing strategy lets you target the customers and areas you want most. But if you're not sure where to start, let Cogo & Co. help you create an effective local marketing strategy unique to your business.
Cogo & Co. is a full-service marketing agency with a focus on growth execution. We can assist you with optimizing your marketing strategies and growing your business. Take advantage of our innovative and unlimited monthly marketing subscription service.
Contact us to schedule your free 30-minute consultation today.