Many companies have been using location based marketing for quite some time now. Location based marketing consists of some social media marketing and is about drawing customers in, winning their business and influencing them to do business with you.
When you consider using location based marketing as a way of gaining exposure for your business, you need to make sure you have a well-organized plan. You will be targeting potential customers in certain geographic locations which will be determined based upon the needs of those prospects.
Now that you have a basic overview of what location based marketing is, let’s take a look and find out how you put it to use for your business.
As a business owner, you are also an advertiser. You need to determine what your campaign goals are and decide who your target audience is.
After doing so, you then need to decide which location based platform(s) to use in your campaign. You need to select a platform that will be successful in reaching your target audience. Sometimes it is best just to pick one or two platforms, because you may find it impossible to manage several location based platforms at one time.
You also need to do your research and make sure you understand exactly how your chosen platforms work. Some general resources you can use to get started with your location based marketing campaign are as follows:
* Google Places
* Foursquare
* Google+ Pages
* Social Networks
* Loopt
Those are just some resources to consider using. Having an accurate listing will ensure that your potential customers find the correct information when seeking your business information.
Other great resources include review sites. Some of the suggested sites are:
* Citysearch
* Yelp
* Yahoo Local Places
* Insider Pages
Again, you need to check for accuracy when you list your business. Having a place where customers can go and review your business is instrumental in building a reputation, and having that information readily available for prospects to view can also be influential in their decision to do business with you.
These are just the basics when it comes to location based marketing. There are other ways you can make your business location known to those in areas that are seeking business information in your locale. Make sure your website is optimized for the location you are in. The best way to do this is include your city and state in the title and meta descriptions on your page. This allows the search engines to find your pages based on location when someone is searching for businesses like yours in your area.
Last but not least, if you haven’t done it yet, you need to make your website mobile friendly. More and more people are using their mobile devices to access the internet. That will give you a competitive edge when compared to some other businesses that haven’t tuned in to the importance of mobile accessibility.
As you can see, location based marketing is important part of your marketing plan. Done correctly, this method of marketing can help your business get the exposure it needs and boost your sales.