Hyper Local Marketing – Speed Up Your Marketing By Going Hyper Local
Marketing to a niche is one thing, marketing hyper locally can be good for saving time, money and your community. It can also be more environmentally friendly and sustainable. Discover a variety of ways to market your business in the local area and read on…
We have all been marketing and networking since we were born. We have managed to collect family, friends and acquaintances. In our working life, we have collected colleagues, mentors and friends. In business, we network locally, nationally and internationally. Most people in business are taught to target a particular niche market to be successful.
However, I would like to suggest that the new frontier for business is hyper local marketing – marketing within a defined geographic range (say 10 kilometres) of your home or business.
Hyper Local Marketing
It is quite simple.
My theory in relation to hyper local marketing is based on the principal that the only newspapers making a profit and surviving over time here in Australia are those that focus on hyper local content.
Yes, your fellow local citizen has raised an issue, solved a problem or has a curious story to tell. Your local environment is about to change because someone did something. At the same time, you can still see a few classified advertisements to source a local tradesperson, retailer or service provider.
Don’t stop reading now, more great content and ideas are coming!
The ‘old’ days of marketing involved a lot of printed materials – telephone books, brochures, letterbox flyers, newspapers.
Business was mostly generated by word of mouth, referrals and repeat business from existing clients. Selected enterprises also tried cold calling, door knocking and running various events.
In the more distant past, we could have our postal mail delivered twice a day, bread and milk each morning and our regular grocery order once a week.
Now, if we live in a metropolitan area of a city in Australia, we can order stationery online before 10am and it will arrive later in the afternoon on the same day. We can choose to go to huge warehouses, factory outlets and shopping centres and find more products than we could have ever imagined 50 years ago.
We can also buy and sell all sorts of goods and services from anywhere in the world – all we need is internet access.
But as a business owner, in the big rush towards globalisation and the international marketplace, we have somehow forgotten about the value of our local community – that glorious space no more than 10 kilometres from our home or business location.
In this sacred space, you can be:
- sustainable
- environmentally friendly
- connected to your community
- save time
- save money (fuel, transport, parking)
- support local people (not just corporate organisations)
- smiling – because your life is just so much simpler (even if it costs a few dollars more, your sanity will be restored – who knows, you might even enjoy riding your bike to a meeting and the extra walking will shed a few kilos!)
Hyper Local Marketing for your Business
Let’s look at some practical ways you can market yourself or your business in a hyperlocal way and speed up your marketing and networking.
After all, if Google can provide the best search results based on your geolocation (IP Address and Location of your internet enabled device), why can’t you market your business the same way!
Here comes the good stuff, so keep reading!
1. Visit all of your local business or community networks
First of all, find the details of all of the networks who meet in your geographic radius (they may be local, national or international groups). Then visit the ones that appeal to you and then decide which ones you will continue to visit on a regular basis (select up to three networks and visit one of them at least once a month).
If you market yourself hyper locally, you are likely to find that the people you meet will be already connected to you in some way. Having this level of familiarity will enable you to form faster connections and you can then develop strategic alliances around the corner instead of across town. This is really important for people starting a business but also for those who have plateaued.
Don’t assume it has to be a business network. Getting involved in a community or sporting group is also a network in your local area.
2. Ask local groups if you can be a guest speaker
This technique can help you reach groups of people face-to-face without introducing yourself over and over again to multiple individuals at a networking event (where you can realistically only get to four to six people per event).
If the organisation promotes the event beforehand and you are the speaker, you can also reach their entire mailing list of contacts. If you provide a ‘raffle prize’ where contact details are exchanged for an opportunity to win a prize (seek the organiser’s permission first), then you will also be able to obtain the guest contact details ready for you to follow up immediately after the event.
However, you MUST follow up as soon as possible after the event.
3. Offer your voluntary expertise to a local group that has your ‘ideal client’
If you are looking for clients that have primary school aged children, then you could support a local school. If you are targeting B2B clients, you could support a local chamber of commerce. When the organisation realises your true worth to their enterprise, they will naturally ask, “And what do you do’ and you can politely describe your offering. If you have established a trusted relationship, they are likely to either utilise your services or recommend you to the people they know.
4. Find out details of all of the local directory websites and online publications
You may be surprised to realise that as a local business or trader, you are automatically entitled to receive a free listing on a local online directory website or online publication. You may also be able to advertise any events you are hosting or write an article for a local website, Facebook page or blog. There are also other directory websites where you can publish details of your business .
Remember to include your location name (and/or the suburbs you serve) in your online directory submissions.
In Australia, consider posting a free listing on www.yellowpages.com.au, www.whitepages.com.au, https://www.truelocal.com.au/, www.hotfrog.com.au, www.startlocal.com.au www.localblue.com.au or internationally on www.wikipedia.org and don’t forget that most councils in Australia have a free online directory listing available for local businesses (contact the Economic Development Unit).
5. Cross promote events through other local enterprises
Offer discounted or free tickets to events and seminars in your local area to other locals. Or offer a discount if they are from the local area and book online. Sharing your invites through other databases gives you more exposure, again in the local area. Consider hosting joint events so that everyone on each person’s mailing list gets invited and then share the attendee list with each organiser.
Be willing to support other local enterprises. Even though you may both be in the same area, not every client wants to go exclusively to one supplier of a product or service. By giving the consumer a choice, you can probably both win! Speak positively rather than critically.
Remember that you BOTH want to stay in business and support YOUR community. For example, if you sell coffee, why not pair up with another local coffee shop and give out two for one coffee cards for the other shop at your shop (and vice versa)?
6. Work out ways to combine local information in one place
After establishing Camberwell Network I have managed to create a listing of local events, networks, Twitter handles, Facebook pages and more. This makes it easier for locals to find local people. Follow your locals on Twitter, like their Facebook pages, connect with them on LinkedIn, join their circles on Google+ and write reviews.
If people do not meet one another face to face and they spend all of their time in front of an electronic screen (phone, tablet, laptop or computer), they are at risk of becoming socially isolated, losing commonsense and becoming disconnected from new trends and initiatives. Discussing concepts and ideas face to face is far more enterprising than on a screen. It also opens up your field of vision – you can find out details of other interesting ideas and initiatives outside your normal business range.
7. Believe in abundance, stop the protection mentality
Since time immemorial, people have been ‘pinching’ opportunities from one another. There is no point fighting this. It happens, it is human nature. In fact, I hope you pinch some great ideas from this article!
Put simply, there are three types of people. Those that want to do it themselves, those that ask for help to do it and those that ask someone to do it for them.
Realise that you are never going to have a 100% take up of your goods or services in any location. So simply aim for the ones who do want to do business with you – and focus on those in the hyperlocal area.
Don’t spend your life fighting, spend it creating. See how things work and improve. Test and learn. Done is better than Perfect. Don’t coast or reach a plateau either, keep on striving for improvement.
If you help others, others can help you. But don’t go in with the expectation that those you help must help you back. Pay it forward to multiple sources and wait for the returns to come back from various sources.
But most importantly, be grateful for everything you receive, acknowledge it with a thank you (PLEASE), and don’t be greedy!
Nearly finished, keep going!
8. Make a contribution
Everyone has something to give. Time, goods, services, money.
What do you have to offer your local community? Could you give some things away to a local welfare organisation? Remember the expression that ‘charity begins at home.’
With that in mind, don’t forget your family and friends. Yes, business is important and very often worthwhile, interesting, fun, challenging etc. But remember that they will not always understand the hours you are working.
If you decide to contribute in your community, is there a way that your family can join you when you do? I have often included my children at events and they quite enjoy being known as the children of the organiser. Many guests have spoken to them and they have developed great social skills.
I have also been involved in the scouting movement. This is another great opportunity to contribute to the development of local young people. Kids who have been through scouts are often reliable and practical and could be potential employees.
Finally
Yes, hyperlocal marketing is an obvious strategy for saving time, money and your community. If you are bold enough to implement at least one idea from this article, you are on the way. Remember, these ideas will be useless to you unless you take action (or ask someone else to do it for you!)
Everyone locally is also connected nationally and internationally…so starting from this point also gives you the opportunity to expand in the future. Alternatively, if you are already international, why not consider bringing back your success to your local community – I am sure they will benefit!
Congratulations, you have reached the end of the end of the article!
Well done!
This article was originally published at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140612043843-77832–hyperlocalmarketing-speed-up-your-marketing-by-going-hyperlocal-network-close-to-your-home-or-business/