Going local with your social media strategy can be an effective way to reach and connect with prospects who may be unaware of your business yet are located practically a stone’s throw away. Known as hyperlocal social media marketing, this strategy offers many advantages for small businesses, including higher engagement and conversion rates.
How exactly does this form of local social media marketing work? Here’s what you need to know and several strategies to help you get started.
What Is a Hyperlocal Social Media Strategy?
A hyperlocal social media strategy focuses on targeting a specific group of people in a specific geographic location. It involves tailoring your promotions and content in ways that appeal to a community’s interests, culture, and needs. This social media approach can be highly beneficial for businesses that run brick-and-mortar stores or that rely mostly on local communities for revenue.
Compared with traditional social media marketing, which tends to be fairly broad, a hyperlocal strategy focuses on specific neighborhoods or small local groups. Content in a hyperlocal strategy is more aligned with local trends and events, while content in a traditional strategy is typically more generalized.
What Are the Benefits of Being Hyperlocal on Social Media?
Hyperlocal social media marketing comes with a long list of benefits — especially if you belong to or live in the same community you’re trying to reach. In that case, your hyperlocal social media efforts are likely to pay off, given how well you know your audience.
Benefits of being hyperlocal on social media include:
- Highly targeted reach. You can tailor your social media messages around local news, events, and traditions, which can help you relate to and connect with the audience you want to reach.
- Higher local engagement. People in your community can better understand and relate to your messaging and will engage with it on a higher level.
- Savings on marketing efforts. The better you know your audience, the more effective you can be at developing strategies that align with their wants, interests, and needs. This helps you avoid spending extra marketing funds on groups you may not know or understand.
- Established local presence. Getting involved in local projects and partnering with other local businesses are ways to establish an authoritative presence in the community. Sharing these stories on social media can make your business seem more credible.
- Greater trust and reliability. Local businesses with a strong local presence are generally seen as more trustworthy and credible than national or local competitors that are less involved with the community.
Hyperlocal Strategies to Try
There are numerous ways to jump into local social media marketing — here are some strategies to get your feet wet.
Profile Optimization
Modify your account profiles as needed to get noticed by your local audience. Add the names of your city and neighborhood to your profile, as well as your business address. These seemingly small changes can make a huge difference, as they can make your business more visible in local searches.
Local Geotags & Hashtags
A geotag adds a specific location to your social media posts, including any photos and videos you share. Geotags can expose your business to users who are searching for content related to a specific area.
Hashtags can help users find specific content that interests them when they type that particular hashtag into a social media platform. A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by the hash (#) symbol. For example, hashtags that may interest New Jersey sports fans include #NewJerseyDevils and #NewYorkYankees. Local hashtags are a great way to reach more users in your local community.
Local Influencer Marketing
Local influencers already have their own large audiences and fan bases, which means partnering with these individuals can significantly amplify your reach. Local influencers could be local celebrities or well-established business professionals who are frequently featured on television commercials and billboards. Consider reaching out to influencers in your community who can help spread the word about your business by sharing your content on their own feeds.
User-Generated Content
Examples of user-generated content include online reviews about your business or blog posts that detail “stories” or experiences customers have had with your business. This type of content can often be highly personable and relatable, and it can foster a sense of community. Encourage your customers or followers to share their stories on social media, then share them with your own followers to increase engagement.
Local Imagery
In the context of social media, “local imagery” usually refers to images, photos, and videos that highlight or reflect local interests, cultures, lifestyles, and landmarks. Local imagery can often resonate with local users and make them feel more connected or emotionally attached to your brand. For example, consider posting content that features fun historical facts about your locale, or that highlights interesting landmarks.
Paid Social Ads
If your brick-and-mortar business has a Facebook profile, consider using local awareness ads to target new customers who are physically near your business. Facebook local awareness ads display relevant ads to customers who may be searching for similar products and services nearby. These paid social ads can be a win-win deal, as they bring in more foot traffic to your business while providing locals with a way to discover new products and services in the area.
Promoting or Partnering With Local Pages
Examples of local pages include the official websites for your town or city or that of your local chamber of commerce. Local pages could even be pages that outline special events such as fall trade shows, county fairs, and food festivals. Whenever possible (and when it makes sense), partner with local pages such as these that can share your business information with the community.
Implementing a Successful Social Media Marketing Strategy
Does your business need help devising a successful social media marketing strategy? At Katava Marketing, your vision is our mission!
Our full-service marketing agency can work with you to develop an effective local social media marketing strategy. SEO, website design, and email marketing are some of the many services we offer. Contact us today at 973-998-8008 to get started!
