4 Mistakes Businesses Make When Marketing Locally

1. Not using Google My Business

2. Not using relevant hashtags

3. Not listed in local directories

4. Underestimating the power of email marketing

Marketing your business to reach your ideal customer requires research, a plan and a clear implementation strategy. We all know that each company is different and unique; therefore, the approach you take to reach your customers will vary depending on your business and marketing goals.

This blog will highlight location-based marketing strategies you can implement for your business, upcoming promotion, or event. If you’ve committed any of the above mistakes, then read on and take note.

For businesses that make all or most of their sales to customers in a local geographic area, your strategy should include these points we highlight in this blog. Companies such as salons, grocery stores, dentists, massage therapists etc., your customers all come from a defined geographic radius. For example, most, if not all, of your customers come from within a geographic radius of 25 km around your business - a defined geographical range.

You can also learn from these mistakes if you don’t have a brick-and-mortar business. This is also for you if you’re promoting an event, training, workshop, or sale/promotion happening in a physical location.

Regardless of your industry, this is a marketing strategy that you should be implementing in your business.

1. Not Using Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business)

The first mistake we want to highlight is not using Google Business Profile; Google remains the most visited website on the planet as of January 2023.

For those of you with a physical establishment for your business, you should have a Google Business Profile: "A completed GMB listing can single-handedly improve a business's local SEO ranking”. There you have it! Suppose you're implementing your marketing strategy for promoting your event, workshop, sale, discount, offer, or business within a local region (meaning: this is happening in person, in real-time). In that case, you MUST publish these promotions on your Google business profile.

Here are some benefits of posting to your Google Business Profile to promote your offer directly from Google.

2. Not using relevant geotags/hashtags.

Here’s the second mistake we’ve identified, not using relevant geotags or hashtags in your published digital content.

Geotagging is a location service that can help users identify the geographic area associated with a photograph or other online content. Adding a location (geotag/hashtag) to your posts is a MUST for geographic-related content you’re posting on social media.

Adding geotags to your posts can increase engagement, SEO, and brand awareness as they make ads or content relevant in real-time. Another benefit is that it helps with local search efforts; when potential customers search for the keywords on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, your content will be displayed in the search results, thus providing your business with greater visibility and exposure.

3. Not listing in local directories.

The third most common mistake is not listing in your local directories.

There are two types of directories to highlight, one being ‘business directories’, and the other being ‘event directories’

A local business directory is a list of businesses (for a specific industry) that displays a link to your business website, generally including a brief description of the services/products you offer. Regardless of the industry you’re in, there is a directory for you, so the onus is on you to do the necessary research in finding these directories; some may be free to list in, others may have a membership fee or some cost associated-with being listed in the directory.

Event listing directories should be a key component of your event promotion strategy. Free event listing directories work wonders for your business, promotion, event etc, giving you access to thousands of individuals actively searching for what you have on offer. Regardless of the offer you have, list it!

4. Underestimating the power of email marketing

Last, but certainly not least, is making the mistake of not utilizing email marketing.

Your email subscribers have told you they are excited to hear from you. Your email list is a database of engaged potential customers. Your email subscribers are more important than your social media followers, yes! I said it!

Your social media followers are like ‘cold’ prospects; communicating with them is like shouting into a void. In comparison, your subscribers are more ‘warm’ prospects. They’ve engaged with your brand and have decided that they want to hear more from you. So engage with them, and be personable about it as well!

You can build excitement around your offer through your email marketing campaign.

Remember that consumers do not consume information similarly; some may prefer to get information on social media, while others prefer to get theirs through email.

Creating a separate email marketing campaign for your event or promotion would be best. Be sure to add this strategy to your marketing or campaign strategy.

Conclusion

These are some of the mistakes businesses make when marketing their businesses or promotions locally. These tactics can be part of a more robust marketing strategy, ' Geotargeting’.

Geotargeting is communicating specific content or offers to your audience based on their geographical location. It's effective for increasing online traffic and foot traffic to your store by as much as 80%!

Although location-based marketing and advertising isn’t new, it’s been around since before you and I were born, its popularity and effectiveness however, began to increase when the ‘internet’ was introduced in the market.

Location-based marketing has developed a lot over the years with the constant advancement of smartphones.

Take some time to think about adding this strategy to your marketing plan, and track the performance of your campaigns to determine its success. We’d love to hear your findings on implementing this tactic in your marketing strategy.

Please share it with us in the comments section or send us an email at info@sassmarketingagency.com.

Now you shouldn’t be caught committing any of these mistakes!

~SASS Marketing Team