Our country is populated with large cities, small towns and everything in between. Each is full of hard-working people all striving for happiness, trying to just live the American dream. Within these towns, we have businesses of all size—a vast variety!
So many digital marketing strategies are formulated though for businesses in general. Many don’t take into account how big or small of a market they are reaching (or how big/small a town they’re in).
In reality, your digital marketing strategy should be created based on the type of business you’re running and the size of place your business is located.
Businesses in small towns get to embrace the character, culture and history surrounding them. But, they have unique challenges and opportunities as well. Which is why we recommend digital marketing strategies for businesses in small towns differ from those in larger markets.
Here’s what digital marketing should look like for businesses in a small town…
Know your competitor.
First of all, you need to know your town and understand your competitors. If you’re starting a business, but new to the area, make sure you network, know who your competitors are and understand their prices, products, target markets and more. Any online marketing you do should be specifically for your services, products and company as a stand-alone entity in the town. If you’re a franchise, or have several other locations, focus on creating campaigns specifically in that town, for that location. We can help you with target market and competitor research before you begin any online digital marketing efforts.
Communicate with and listen to your customers.
It’s so important for businesses in small towns to listen to their customers and respond to comments. Encourage online reviews and maybe even run referral incentives that will encourage people to spread the news about your company to their friends and family in the area. You’ll want to keep updated customer contact information (gathered from lead forms online and through digital ads) so you can run email campaigns or send out monthly newsletters. Don’t underestimate the power of word of mouth advertising. 83% of consumers say they trust recommendations from family, colleagues and friends about products and services, making it the highest ranked source for trustworthiness.
Be involved in the community.
Network and build a relationship with the press in the community. Small towns have a much easier time getting local press coverage than businesses in larger areas. Let the press know about you and become a part of the community. Consider joining the Chamber of Commerce and other local organizations. Participate in fundraising events and donate your products or services to show that you’re not just there to increase revenue.
So how exactly does press coverage help with digital marketing efforts though?
Each time there is an article, video, or news clip about your business, this is content that you can use online! Share this content on your blog, send out an email campaign, include it in a PPC campaign and link to it on all of your social media channels.
Creating valuable content is a crucial part to having success in digital marketing.
Keep an up-to-date blog, schedule your social media posts and write and schedule out email campaigns, PPC campaigns and more.
Run geo-targeted PPC campaigns.
If you’re running PPC campaigns, consider geo-targeted campaigns. These will have a smaller geographic footprint of the area you are trying to target. These campaigns use broader keywords so you can attract people in the area searching for more generic non-local keywords, with a high local keyword intent.
Before you run any PPC ads though, make sure to research keywords so you know what local keywords will help convert. We can help do this for you, so you have an idea of what your target marketing is searching for.
Our team uses the latest software and technology along with our experience to create and execute a PPC strategy that’s right for your small business. We are certified by SEM Rush and Google for Search Engine Marketing and Advertising.
As a small business, you are busy handling the day-to-day duties that keep the doors open and business booming. We get that!
Let us help you with SEO, digital content creation, PPC ads, email campaigns and more.
Contact us today to learn more!
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