Mobile marketing ideas to reach new local customers

Image by Joseph Mucira from Pixabay

By Jasmine Williams

Mobile marketing isn’t just something to consider for today’s businesses and marketing leaders. If you’re not actively targeting the 3,280 million unique users of mobile internet with your ads and content, then you’re missing out on a substantial section of your audience. In today’s fast-paced world, your shoppers are spending less time on desktops and more time on smartphones, tablets, and apps. More importantly, mobile users may be more engaged than their counterparts, with around 70% of mobile searches triggering an action from a lead within an hour.

While any business can benefit from taking a mobile approach to marketing, going mobile may be particularly valuable for those with local audiences. That’s because people are more likely to use their phones to find products or services they can access nearby.

So, how do you reach local customers through mobile?

Make your site mobile friendly

First, you need to ensure that the content on your website is easy to navigate from a mobile device. At this point, most site-building tools have pre-made themes you can use which are responsive on mobile devices. However, it’s worth double-checking your site’s performance. Mobile optimizing your website can triple your chances of conversion.

Think about building HTML5 into your website or using adaptive design to improve the experience for mobile browsers.

Consider how people navigate your site and how easy it is to tap buttons and read text on a smaller screen. People should be just as comfortable using your mobile site as they are on your desktop site. Remember that every piece of content you publish needs to be mobile-friendly, from your product pages to your blog videos.

Take advantage of local voice search

Near Me searches have increased in popularity in recent years. People who use their smartphones to find solutions to their problems are often further along in the buyer journey. They’re already aware that they have a problem they need to fix, now they’re looking for a conveniently located solution.

Adding longer keyword phrases into your SEO campaign that include terms like “local”, “near me”, or even the name of your town or city can help you to better target local customers.

What’s more, local searches can also strengthen your chances of appearing in the search results when your customers use a smart speaker or an assistant like Siri to search. Over half of all households have a voice-enabled assistant on their phone and in their home today. Remember this when you’re creating your SEO strategy, and try to focus on natural, conversational language.

Update your google my business listing

Google My Business is among the most effective tools for local marketing. Owned by Google, this directory makes it easy for customers to find your company on Google Maps and uncover useful information about what you do.

Optimizing your Google My Business listing ensures that your customers can learn everything they need to know about you when they’re searching online or on desktops. A well-designed GMB listing will instantly bring up your company’s number, location, and other useful information when your customers conduct a local search.

You can even improve your chances of capturing customer attention by adding reviews and testimonials to your listing. This is a fantastic source of social proof — and a great way to reassure customers who haven’t heard of you before.

Use local social media ads

Social media is one of the best ways to connect with your target audience, particularly when you’re searching for local leads. Most of the social channels available today, such as Instagram and Facebook, will allow you to target ads specifically towards customers in your area.

Targeted social media ads with relevant #hashtags and @mentions will make your company stand out to people in search of solutions like yours. You can even use your social media platform insights to get a better idea of where all your customers come from. Social media analytics can give you an insight into your target audience, what kind of content they like, where they come from, and what kind of posts are most likely to drive sales.

Experiment with geofencing

One of the easiest ways to connect with local customers via mobile is to build a dedicated app for your company. Building an app means that you have a constant connection with your target audience. You’re constantly in your customer’s pocket, which means that you can send reminders of deals, offers, and sale information to them at just the right time.

A great way to make the most of a mobile app is to use geofencing. This allows you to market specific deals to customers based on their physical area. If someone walks past your store, for instance, you can send a push notification through the app reminding them that they have loyalty points to use in-store.

Location-based marketing through a smartphone app is a wonderful way to capture your audience at just the right moment. You can even improve your customer loyalty and build deeper relationships with customers through loyalty features in your app.

Update your local marketing

A local marketing strategy is an excellent way to connect with your close customers on a deeper level. Remember, when you’re using the tips above, keep a close eye on each campaign’s outcomes. This will help you to determine which of your advertising efforts are having the biggest impact on your brand reputation and bottom line.

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Jasmine Williams covers the good and the bad of today’s business and marketing. When she’s not being all serious and busy, she’s usually hunched over a book or dancing in the kitchen, trying hard to maintain rhythm, and delivering some fine cooking (her family says so). Contact her @JazzyWilliams88.

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