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What are the benefits of local business advertising?
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In the UK SMEs count for 99.9% of the total business population - and if you’re an SME owner, that’s a lot of competition. Because there is so much digital noise when it comes to advertising, it’s vital to find ways to stand out when advertising your business. A simple yet effective way to reach your target audience is through local business advertising.
Understanding local business advertising
Local business advertising, as the name suggests, is advertising a business to a population local to a specific area. This can be done through both traditional and digital marketing channels and is particularly useful for driving foot traffic towards businesses that want customers to visit a particular location.
Key benefits of local advertising
Targeting specific demographics
Of the many advantages of local advertising, the fact that it allows you to reach specific demographics is particularly powerful. This is especially important with online marketing, where a potential customer’s geographical location can be tracked and acted upon with the click of a button. When you have a target audience, using their demographics is an easy way to reach the right people with your ads.
This is equally possible with Out of Home (OOH) advertising. Tools such as Clear Channel RADAR provide important insights into your OOH advertising audience, including their demographics, locations, points of interest, and more.
More precise and relevant messaging
By targeting a local audience, you have a chance to demonstrate to your customers just how well you know them and be rewarded with more information about them in return. Through their engagements with your advertisements, you can learn about their demographics, interests and even illuminate untapped audience segments.
With these precise ads, you will find that the number of customers loyal to your brand increases. Using a local advertising strategy through services like Clear Channel’s will help you be well-positioned to reach your audience in the places where they live and shop. This enables customers to support local businesses, something that three-quarters of Brits find very important to do.
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Higher levels of conversion
Another reason to use local advertising for your company is that it leads to higher conversion factors. When you use local advertising, you guarantee that your advertising is reaching the people who are most likely to support your business - and this means more conversions.
Local advertising also helps you weed out impressions from people who do not fit into your target demographic, leaving you with a clearer picture of your target audience, and a clearer path to conversions.
Clear Channel's Out of Home Advertising works with all kinds of businesses in all sectors and even local councils to advertise in the heart of communities. This is done using bus shelter posters, local Asda digital screens, and billboards along main arterial routes into towns and cities.
With more people passing these areas every day, your advertisements will get more impressions and lead to more conversions.
Building reputation and trust
Another great benefit of local advertising is that it allows you to build your reputation. This is especially important for small businesses that are trying to gain new customers, as word of mouth can be a great way to increase your sales. With local advertising, you can encourage people to come to your store, which opens up options for further interaction with your customer base.
If these interactions go well, customers will likely share your business with their family and friends, and your reputation will grow - provided you place an appropriate amount of importance on customer service.
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Cost-effective solutions
All business owners juggle the need to invest money in the right areas with the importance of saving money where possible. With local advertising, it’s easier to save money on your campaigns. When you start an advertising campaign with a precise scope, you reduce the risk of wasting money on low-quality impressions. Not to mention, there are many types of local advertising that are completely free. These include local citations and directory sites, Google My Business, and more.
To save money, it’s better to target a specific group of people to increase your chances of selling your products, instead of casting a wide and expensive net. This way, you can make better use of your advertising resources and focus on local customers who are ready to buy. By using Out of Home advertising, you can choose which areas of your local town or city you want to advertise in to reach the most precise audience possible. This will save you money and avoid wastage.
Increased foot traffic and sales
As previously mentioned, more and more people are prioritising spending time in their local communities and supporting their local businesses. In fact, just under half of Brits (49%) say that they spend more time in their local areas than they did before the pandemic (Clear Channel The New Commuter and Mobility Survey September 2021 *Essentials: Gym, Finance, Grocery etc). This is a great opportunity for businesses to increase sales, if they have the necessary know-how to make people walk their way.
When you advertise your business locally, your local audience will learn more about your business and will be familiar with your products and services. This familiarity and sense of community means that when they pass by your storefront, they will be more likely to come inside and make a purchase. Using local advertising for specific events for your business will also help you get more sales during your event and increase your traffic.
Creating new relationships
Possibly the most crucial of the advantages of local advertising is that it’s a great way to build new relationships with your local audience - both customers and other businesses. This can help you strengthen your business reputation and community through positive word-of-mouth marketing.
How to implement effective local advertising strategies
Effective local advertising strategies can be a game-changer for your business. To get off on the right foot, here are some steps you can follow to ensure your efforts are impactful.
Identifying the right locations
Maximise the impact of your local advertising by identifying the best locations to target. Whether this is local newspapers, billboards, community notice boards, social media platforms, or bus stop posters - some styles of advertisement will lend themselves to your business more than others. Understanding where your target audience spends their time will help you choose the channels where your campaigns are most likely to be seen.
Crafting compelling messages
Avoid the urge to keep your marketing generic - instead, try to appeal to your ideal customers with personalised and relevant information. Highlight what sets your business apart, and how it can meet the specific needs of local customers. Use language and imagery that reflects the community's values and culture (as well as your brand’s) to create a strong connection.
Measuring success and ROI
Track the performance of your local advertising campaigns to measure success and return on investment (ROI) - not only can you use these figures to congratulate yourself on a job well done, you’ll also be able to prove to stakeholders that your efforts (and budget) have been put to good use. Use tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, and customer feedback to gather data on how your ads are performing. Analysing this data will help you refine your strategies and improve future campaigns.
Living la vida local
Why is local advertising important? Local business advertising offers numerous benefits, from higher conversion rates to building trust within the community. By understanding your local market and implementing targeted strategies, you can boost your business' visibility and success in a way that provides long-lasting benefits and is cost-effective. Focus on creating relevant messages, choosing the right advertising channels, and continuously measuring your results to maximize the impact of your local advertising efforts. Working with Clear Channel or an Out of Home company allows you to enhance your advertising even further, by using their resources and expertise to create a winning strategy.
Looking for more local business advertising tips? Clear Channel can help! Contact our team today to learn more about local business advertising and to start improving your business marketing.