Branding is the prerequisite for any business to be noticed by people who may one day become their potential customers and long time supporters. After all, without visibility, there is no scope of brand growth & scaling.
Local branding refers to the assimilation of a business into the fabric of society, such that it is viewed as an indispensable part of people’s lives and their daily needs. A business that has done local branding correctly thus becomes one that people immediately recall whenever they have a thought about the product/ service that the brand’s industry is in.
Any business needs their marketing to reach local audiences. After all, they are the most important base upon which a brand would have to stand on. Eventually, it serves as a foundation for advertising to proliferate across different regions and among different target groups. Described below are a few important strategies to incorporate in your local branding strategy for your small business.
Research the local landscape
The first step to any marketing game plan is extensive research. Without this, there is no backbone to support any strategy. Understanding who the local target audience is, what the demographics of the people are, what personas they may have that influence their needs and purchasing decisions, etc. – are all important points to consider right from the start. This also comes with considering the community as a whole which comes with building familiarity with the people in it. The culmination of all these efforts leads to a solid understanding of how to target people with advertising which will turn them into eventual customers.
Find the right audience
The follow up step to studying the people in the region is finding which ones to selectively target when it comes to building brand and product awareness. Some of the many questions a business should ask themselves are: what are the problems/ pain points my customers may be facing? What can our products do to act as a solution for these problems? What online platforms do they use most frequently, that we can run ads on to target them? All of these questions once answered will help determine the unique selling points of your product and how to shape your business’ identity around being a brand that is the answer to all the people’s problems.
Localize website and social media pages
Optimizing your brand’s website and social media pages is key to driving traffic from the target region/ regions. This involves following search engine optimization practices to rank higher on search engines, employing keyword research for all written content publications, and so on. For social media pages, it is important to communicate the brand and product’s USPs to the people while featuring up to date information regarding the business’ location, methods of contact & communication, and timings/ opening hours. Additionally, as and where possible, having a chatbot software for your website can offer users an extra mode of communication with the brand for them to get any more details they need.
Claim a MyBusiness listing
Claiming a MyBusiness listing on Google gives users all the important information they need on the search engine. From the business’ location, to directions showing how to get there, it’s all easily accessible on peoples’ fingertips. Similar local business listings can also be claimed on other search engines.
Carrying out email marketing
Email marketing, one of the most traditional forms of digital marketing, continues to work wonders for company branding. Email marketing usually incurs lower costs than other forms of digital localized marketing methods while also coming with the added benefit of being able to personalize it to the kinds of receivers you are sending it to. This also allows for a more effective call to action, enabling receivers to visit your brand’s website to know more about the products and even subscribe to any of their products/ services. Furthermore, emailers also allow for subscriptions to the latest information and updates that will be continuously sent directly to people’s inboxes.
Running paid ads
Paid aids offer additional visibility by pushing them on top of related search results, thus enabling more people to know about your brand. Localized paid ads make for an excellent way to reach out to local audiences via various search engines and social media platforms.
Localized branding for your small business can seem like a daunting task, especially if done all by yourself. Reaching out to a digital marketing agency can help make the journey a lot less difficult. One such agency that your business can benefit from partnering with is Team Pumpkin, which is a digital marketing company in India that offers the right digital marketing services for your business’s localized branding.