Content marketing is the creation and publication of useful content online in an effort to attract and engage customers, ultimately driving sales. Through this approach, companies can demonstrate their expertise and establish themselves as authorities in their particular niches.
Content marketing is classified as an “inbound” or “pull” marketing strategy, which contrasts with the traditional “push” marketing where you are served advertisements without actively seeking the information. Content marketing can take various forms, including blog posts, social media posts, newsletters, videos, ebooks, whitepapers, and more.
Content Marketing—Why You Should Bother
Content marketing is an important component in your marketing “toolbox.” Alongside your other efforts, such as a good website, active social media, excellent customer service (yes, we consider that part of marketing) to name a few, content marketing provides another means for reaching your target audience. The advantages of content marketing include:
- Thought Leadership: Sharing expertise on a topic shows your audience that you are knowledgeable on your products or services.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Content marketing is an integral component of search engine optimization. Publishing articles on your website on topics relevant and helpful to your target audience will increase the likelihood that your website will show up in the search results when your potential customers are seeking services like yours.
- Increased Website Traffic: When your helpful content is shown more often in search results, the number of individuals clicking on your links and visiting your website will naturally go up.
- Lead Generation: If a person discovers your content and finds it helpful, they are much more likely to consider subscribing to your email list or even filling out your contact form. You can use your content pieces to link to relevant web pages or landing pages to help the prospect along with more information.
What Makes It Local Content Marketing?
Local content marketing means tailoring your content specifically for a local audience. Information may reference local events, notable area locations, or issues pertinent to the community. Local content marketing uses keywords relevant to the area, such as place names or neighborhoods, regional vocabulary (“pop”? “soda”? “soft drink”? “Coke”?), or other area colloquialisms. Local content marketing also involves connecting with the community or other local businesses online, such as over social media, perhaps organizing partnerships or collaborations. It is also helpful to leverage testimonials by area residents.
How to Do Local Content Marketing
Below are some steps to guide you in creating content for your local business:
Know Your Audience
If you’re a resident of the area your business serves, great! You have the advantage of intuitively understanding the local culture, which helps you to tailor your marketing messages more effectively. For businesses with multiple locations, however, even if it is just several towns over, it can be harder to get hyperlocal in your communications.
In my first marketing role, I worked for a home medical equipment company that had around 10 different locations across southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Kentucky. Being based in just one area, we naturally didn’t know the ins and outs of each town. In this scenario, you want to take advantage of “boots on the ground.” Use your sales team or front-line employees in that location to gain a greater understanding of that area. If you don’t have employees, connect with community organizations like the Chamber of Commerce to learn more. You can also conduct customer surveys, ask questions on social media, or even find local subreddits on Reddit.
Consider Common Local Searches
Take a minute to note down what people in the local area are searching for, as it relates to your business. Live in a college town? Your coffee shops are going to be used for a lot of studying, as opposed to a suburb where your coffee shop might cater to parents picking up a drink after the morning school drop off. This will help you do some keyword research.
Polish That Website
Work on your website. Before you start publishing content, make sure your website is a place users would like to visit. At a minimum, do the standard “5-page website” with a homepage, about, products/services, contact, and blog/content area. If you’re able to break your products/services down into their own individual pages instead of just all-encompassing products/services pages, even better. If you’re going to undertake content marketing, you do need a place on your website for that content to “live.”
Create the Content
Create the actual content. With those keywords you noted down, come up with ideas for articles you can write, and then, well, write the content. Try not to depend entirely on AI. If you’re feeling stuck, sure, use AI tools to help with the writer’s block, but don’t copy and paste what ChatGPT gives you. Rewrite from the AI prompt, and speak from your experience. People want to read your words. They want to read information that is local to their experience. It’s actually a better read too if it’s not 100% polished, so while you don’t want your content to be rife with grammatical errors, it’s okay to speak casually if that fits with the tone of your business. Aim for your content to be helpful and useful to your audience. Think: How can your writing solve a problem or answer a question for someone in your target audience. Write for them.
Promote the Content
Promote your content. Share your content on your social media channels. If you have an email marketing list (and you should), send out an email every time you publish a post.
Monitor Results
Make sure to monitor your results. Did you see a spike in your website traffic? Did your social media post have a lot of engagement? You can view these metrics on Google Analytics, or if you’re using a CMS (content management system) like Squarespace, you have a built-in analytics tool. Keep an eye out for what content resonates. And watch to see whether your traffic increases as you start producing content.
Conclusion
Local content marketing is a tremendously powerful marketing tactic. With consistent effort, you and your team can provide helpful, relevant content to your local audience that will increase your visibility and boost sales. If you’re interested in content marketing for your business, but don’t have the time to get it done, we can help. Schedule a call with us today.
