Most businesses look at the internet as a powerful resource for reaching as many people as possible. And while this is obviously true, the reality is that social media, SEO, and PPC advertising make internet marketing an ideal solution for targeting very specific demographics of people based on location. As soon as you narrow your focus, you’ll discover the true value of internet marketing.
No matter how large your company is, you can’t have positive results by targeting everyone. Sadly, this is what so many organizations do. They simply push out content and advertisements, hoping that the right customer will stumble upon it.
It’s time to stop spitballing and start focusing your efforts on location-based marketing that actively identifies, targets, and converts very specific demographics. Here are a few tips to get you started:
Use Geo-Targeted Mobile Ads
One of the best tools you have at your disposal is geo-targeted mobile advertising. Thanks to location-enabled technology on mobile devices, you can now reach users exactly where they are. This is how many marketing teams tap into highly relevant audiences.
Take LNP Media Group as an example. When they work with clients, they try to create meaningful location-based connections that would otherwise go unrecognized. Recently, they helped a sports complex develop a plan to reach mothers of students by sending ads to elementary schools near the end of the school day – the time when mothers are waiting in carpool lines and checking their phones.
The creative use of geo-targeted mobile ads can yield very positive returns, especially when you have a clear understanding of where your target customers spend their time.
Get Specific With Facebook Segmenting
If you want to target specific groups of people, then Facebook will quickly become your best friend. Facebook’s advertising system is by far the most robust solution on the web. You can use it to create very specific audiences and then push ads to them based on a number of key factors. However, if you’re going to use Facebook ad targeting in a cost-effective manner, you need to know what you’re doing.
One of the best features – especially if your business thrives on reaching people at particular stages – is the Life Events targeting option.
“The Life Events parameter is unique in that you can choose to target people at specific intervals of time after the change,” says Larry Kim, advertising expert. “For example, a jewelry company would obviously be interested in getting in front of people celebrating their one-year anniversary, so they could target audience members who were newlyweds one year ago. The date ranges possible are 3 months, 6 months and one year.”
Lookalike Audiences are custom audiences that Facebook builds for you based on the current Facebook followers you already have. In other words, if you feel strongly about the people you’ve already reached, Facebook can help you find more of them.
Invest in Local SEO
For any business – startups in particular – local SEO is very important. It sets the foundation for your SEO strategy and allows you to target highly relevant prospects via organic search. According to entrepreneur David Wither, here are some of the things you should be doing:
- Start by claiming your business on any online directories and websites. Make sure you get your NAP info (name, address, phone number) correct.
- Next, mold your content marketing strategy around local topics. You can no longer simply plug in a keyword with a city name after it. You’ll have to get more creative and actually develop valuable topics that feature longtail keywords.
- It may behoove you to use multiple websites connected to the same central platform. By creating unique domain names for each city you’re located in, some people believe you get some extra SEO “juice.”
