Whether they realize it or not, local business owners face the same marketing challenges that large corporations do. After all, businesses of all sizes basically share the same goals and objectives—namely increased sales, improved brand awareness and credibility with their target markets. So, does that mean that they can also share the same marketing tactics to achieve these goals?
In the past, most local business owners would tell you that they could never compete with corporations due to budgetary inequalities. Today, content marketing makes it possible for small, local businesses to get the kind of results once reserved for the big guys, at a fraction of the cost.
So, content marketing is an economical marketing strategy. Is it worth the effort? Well, if you’re a local business owner who still thinks that the majority of your new business will be coming from word-of-mouth or foot traffic, consider this: according to eMarketer, 54% of Americans use the Internet instead of the phone book to find local services, and over 40% of all searches are for local businesses and services. What does this mean for you? It means that your marketing focus should be on online search, and a content marketing strategy that helps you attract and retain customers.
Content marketing offers many tools to help you reach your customers. Here are 3 tips for getting the most out of it:
1. Think SEO- Search engine optimization is key to online search. There are many techniques you can use to ensure that your business gets found by both humans and search engines, but most important are the basics:
Research your keywords. Before you start writing articles, blogs or any kind of text for your site, think about what words and phrases best describe your business. What words will your target customers use to find you? If you want to be indexed properly, use the most accurate keywords and phrases possible, and be sure to add your city and/or state. This is local search, after all, and “Downtown Chicago deep dish pizzeria” makes a lot more sense for finding local customers than “deep dish pizzeria”.
Don’t overdo it. Using your keywords and phrases too often makes your content sound unnatural. Keyword stuffing is salesy, and a turn-off to your customers, so keep the density down to about 1%. You can, however, use related terms in your text. This will actually help the search engines know better what you’re talking about.
Use links. Link building is a technique that takes time, but you can start by simply adding links to your text that take readers to related local (and non-local) sites that they might find interesting. It may seem counterintuitive to send your readers elsewhere, but it actually helps you in the long run. By linking to other credible sites you are not only encouraging them to link to you (good for improving search engine rankings), you are also making your content more valuable and interesting for your readers. They will come to see you as not just a merchant, but a resource.
2. Write useful content- It sounds obvious, but useful content is so often missing from websites. This tragedy occurs when business owners don’t give enough thought to the needs of their customers first, before they start populating their sites with text. When creating content, think about it like this: when you search for information on the Web, what are you looking for? A sales pitch? Paragraphs full of technical jargon and product features? Or are you looking for solutions and answers? So are your customers. Local business websites are no longer places to simply sell products and services. With a content marketing strategy in place, you can use your site to engage with customers by offering tips, information and advice. You can build relationships that lead to sales.
3. Use different content vehicles- Content marketing involves the use of a variety of content vehicles or products. Using as many as possible will ensure that you reach the largest possible local market. Here are a few of the most popular and effective:
Social media. Social media marketing allows you to reach a huge audience because it gives you the tools to engage with people directly. Start a business account on Twitter or Facebook, and you’ll be able to not only post news and events in real time, you’ll be able to track your results through analytics.
Blogs. This form of content is very popular with businesses, because, like social media, it allows businesses to speak directly to customers and get feedback in the form of comments. It is also a way to share information and expertise with a more conversational style, and many owners are starting their own blogs as a way to put a human face on their businesses.
Articles, white papers, press releases & eBooks. Regularly producing high-quality, authoritative documents benefits local business in two ways—it showcases expertise and, when distributed through submission services, reaches a wide audience.
Content marketing, as a marketing strategy, is a good fit for local businesses because it allows them to get a lot more exposure for their money than traditional marketing methods. It gives local business owners a way to tap into their target markets, and demonstrate to their customers what they know. This builds trust, relationships, and the kind of word-of-mouth recommendations that you just can’t get on the street.
Beth Hrusch is Senior Editor at Interact Media, a website content development service
