What is Local Marketing Automation?
What is Local Marketing Automation? https://stage2.marcom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/img-the-caffeinery-blog.jpg 780 460 Jody Scheldt https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f7245f12cfeff73b358e764f3dc8f18b?s=96&d=mm&r=gDEFINITION: What is local marketing automation?
Local marketing automation is a geo-specific marketing initiative aimed at keeping the greater vision and message of a brand intact while also appealing to the unique culture of a specific region.
Local marketing automation gives businesses a way to speak to diverse local audiences all while creating a single, cohesive brand. For example, a marketing campaign that was originally created for a market in rural Ohio would not translate well to an audience based in the metropolis of NYC.
BACKGROUND:
In the 2017 December issue of American Marketing Association’s magazine, they published survey results that claim managing content is the second biggest challenge facing marketing managers today.
When it comes to global brands and franchises, figuring out how to consistently market regional branches has also been quite a challenge. It’s hard to make brand assets that have an impact on various local cultures. It’s even harder to make those assets compliant with brand management guidelines while organizing and distributing them in a user-friendly way.
BENEFITS: What are some other benefits of local marketing automation?
Local marketing automation is a very practical solution to marketing with great specificity and intent on a large scale. It has become a true necessity for most big businesses. In a study titled “The Benefits and Challenges of Marketing Automation”, 70% of marketing survey responders admit that improving the specificity of their campaigns had a major impact on their marketing automation strategy as a whole.
Brand consistency in all aspects of marketing has the potential to boost product sales long term. Developing a reliable message is known to build trust with your audience. And with all of the marketing noise out in the world today, your audiences now desire a consistent thought leader.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Social Media
Social media plays a huge role in local marketing automation. First, consumers have shown an increasing preference for receiving their region-specific solutions via a digital platform of some sort. Second – and this should come as no surprise – they also prefer to receive this info through their mobile devices.
All these factors combine to make a powerful case for the use of social media in local marketing automation efforts. Not only are audiences craving products and services they can discover through their phones, they also want to engage with content that speaks directly to them.
Creating a social media plan can be relatively easy. Primarily, get started! Do spend time planning a strategy, but don’t let finding the perfect plan hold you back from getting your message out there- it can be refined over time. As with many tactics in marketing, consistency is key. Define your posting schedule (something achievable) and stick to it. Lastly, ensure social posts reflect your brand. It can be easy to get caught up with what others are doing on social media, so take note of their strategies but make sure you stay true to your roots.
Social media efforts can even be supported by old school marketing tactics, like direct mail campaigns. Companies who use this strategy have seen boosts from targeted, local marketing initiatives. Read all about it here.
Google Analytics/SEO
It’s no secret that better brand awareness is a key component of customer conversion rates. Most retail businesses that have maintained a successful local marketing automation strategy have found audience engagement has led to better SEO. Better SEO then leads to lower CPC rates. Now when customers search for a solution like yours they’re either familiar with your brand or, at the very least, more likely to find your brand at the top of their search.
What’s even more exciting is the case that’s been made for improving your brand’s SEO in general. The more content that is shared and linked across various channels the greater visibility you’ll gain over time, automatically.
Various Chapter Assets & Additional Content
Organizing and distributing marketing content can be tricky. However, savvy marketing teams know that they can share custom brand assets via easy-to-use digital platforms.
More sophisticated than shared folders and easier to use than email, marketing and digital asset management solutions offer a suite of features designed with local marketing automation in mind. Individual branches can find and edit pre-approved templates of branded materials to use across all of their digital marketing channels.
Using marketing technology like distributed marketing management, which provides a marketing portal for locations to access through a portalresults in a uniform brand identity and a powerful base for enhancing brand equity over time – a definite win-win scenario. Even more appealing is the option to give regional offices 24/7 access to the right content whenever they need it.
Local marketing automation is a critical component of the overall marketing strategy for an organization that needs to reach a target audience in a regional market. It doesn’t need to be complicated, but it must done. Put a simple, clear plan together and get started!
