What is Localized Content For businesses to grow in today's climate, marketers must think about their content and strategies on a global scale. The internet has opened doors to new markets around the world, and yet, without paying proper attention to these new customers' preferences and culture, marketers can miss out on significant opportunities. So, how can marketers make sure their content is prepared for when new markets open? Localized content is the key to catching new customers' attention and creating a place where they want to spend their time and make their purchases. With content built around a personalized experience, you can guide new customers through the customer lifecycle, regardless of where in the world they live. In today's post, we'll discuss what localized content is and when to use it. When we talk about entering new global markets, the first thing that might come to your mind is translating content. After all, it should be as simple as running your content through Google Translate and sending it off to customers on their journeys, right? Not so fast! Translation is a complex process. While machine translations like Google Translate can churn through low-value content with relative ease, your high-value content deserves a more personalized touch — not only the words we use, but how we use them, matter. Otherwise, we're holding a conversation without context, and customers won't be able to build a relationship with you. While the words matter, other elements of your presence in...

The Plain-English Guide to Local PPC For the last few weeks, my husband and I have been ordering more takeout than ever. As we were trying to find a restaurant to order from, we came across an online ad for one of our favorite local restaurants that just started offering delivery. We were so excited and immediately placed an order. That's why local pay-per-click (PPC) can be a great option for local businesses. Even when budgets are tight, a local PPC campaign can improve the efficiency of your local marketing as it allows you to get in front of the right audience. Below, let's review the benefits and top strategies for implementing a successful PPC campaign. Benefits of Local PPC When you own or run a local business, you know it can be hard to get in front of the right audience. When the budget is tight, it can be even harder. However, with local PPC campaigns, you can run effective online advertising without breaking the bank. Below, let's discuss the top benefits of local PPC. 1. Running relevant ads. With local PPC, your ads will only show up in front of the right audiences because you're in control of who you're targeting. Ideally, you're only targeting people who can benefit from your business. Additionally, you won't be competing with national big names, so your budget will go a lot further. With more local campaigns, you'll see less competition and more clicks and conversions. 2. Increasing brand awareness....

Local Lead Generation: The Tips, Tricks, and Tools to Do It Right Let's imagine you manage a balloon animal artist collective in Omaha, Nebraska. You notice your company's growth is plateauing. You mostly serve a strange crop of repeat customers who throw a lot of parties and really like balloon animals, but they can only do so much for you. You realize you need new business and decide a base of interested contacts would be a great place to start. In other words, you need to generate new leads, but you're not sure what you're supposed to do. Your company isn't some multinational balloon animal conglomerate — it's just a collective that features three of the top ten most celebrated balloon animal artists in the greater Omaha area. And you only book customers in Douglas County (that's where Omaha is — I just looked it up.) If you're trying to generate leads for your business, it doesn't make sense to employ the same lead generation strategies as companies that operate on a global scale. Instead, you would do something called local lead generation. Let's get a picture of what that concept is and how to do it right. Local Lead Generation Tips Local Lead Generation Software What is Lead Generation? Before understanding what local lead generation is, it might help to know what lead generation itself is. As per HubSpot's own definition, "Lead generation is the process of attracting and converting a strangers and prospects into...

6 Amazing Ways to Use Facebook Local Awareness Ads I love learning, and recently, I've been pondering taking an online course or two at a local college, just to sharpen my marketing and communications skills. When I started doing some research, like typing in local colleges and looking at courses, I took a break periodically to check social media. Surprisingly, as I was perusing Facebook, I noticed I had a brand new Reach Ad on my news feed: I knew this was a Reach Ad by the way it's designed. The copy is short, but it provides actionable language and was shown to me as a response to my recent search queries. Ultimately, the ad is incredibly effective. My high-intent while searching for education courses in my area makes me an ideal candidate to receive this sort of message. After seeing the ad, I immediately clicked the "Learn more" CTA. This is an example of Facebook's Local Awareness Ads. Here, let's explore what Local Awareness Ads are, and how you can use them to take your marketing strategy to the next level. You can use Reach Ads to let customers know about a promotion or upcoming sale, giving audiences an incentive to visit your website. Reach Ads can also build interest in a time-sensitive event, such as a happy hour or special offer, and make the content shareable. Reach Ads are also helpful for building your brand's ties to the community. An ad can...

The Ultimate Guide to Local Marketing When I moved to Chicago two years ago, I knew very little about the city and my new neighborhood. As I got comfortable and established myself as a new Wrigleyville resident, I made a very important friend in Google. Google helped me find the businesses, vendors, and specialists I needed in a new city — from a hair salon and gym to an appliance repairman and locksmith. But Google couldn’t have helped me discover these folks without those businesses investing in local marketing. Did you know that 97% of people learn more about a local company online than any other medium? In fact, 88% of mobile online searches for local businesses result in either a call or business visit within one day. If your business caters to a local audience, has several service areas, and/or has a brick and mortar location, local marketing is a must-need strategy. In this guide, we break down local marketing and a slew of helpful strategies to help you get started. What is local marketing? Local marketing is a marketing strategy that targets consumers and customers within a certain radius of the physical location(s) of a business. Local marketing is also known as neighborhood marketing or local store marketing. If you have at least one brick-and-mortar business location (this applies to both local businesses and chains), local marketing is a marketing strategy you should consider adding to your arsenal. Local marketing can work for any...

A Marketer's Crash Course to Hyperlocal Marketing A couple of weeks ago, I was planning a trip to New York. I'd never been, so I was excited to start planning and figure out my itinerary. Once my hotel room was booked, I started looking for things to do during my time. I wanted to stay close to my hotel so I could find my way back after a long day of exploring. This goal of mine meant that most of my Google searches would have "near greenwich village, NY" in the queries. When I was planning out places to get food, for example, my query was "vegan restaurant near greenwich village". The results Google picked for me based on this search weren't by guessing or magic — most likely, the restaurants used hyperlocal marketing efforts to optimize their businesses for "near me" searches. Hyperlocal marketing targets audiences who have similar researching methods to mine — those who use "near me" in search queries in hopes of picking out a business to try out in person based on the business's location. For my New York trip, I didn't want to spend a lot of time commuting, so finding places near my hotel was essential. I knew I was going to see a Broadway play during my trip, and I found similar results for "shopping near broadway". If your business is struggling locally, or you're looking for a way to boost foot traffic, you may benefit from hyperlocal...

How to Promote Your Local Business Last year, I decided that I wanted to invest in personal training. As a lifelong sedentary person, I realized that I didn't know how to start, so I went to the almighty Google machine. I typed in "personal trainers Orange County," looked at the top results, and examined the reviews. Before scheduling any consultations, I narrowed down the options based on their fitness philosophy (seen on their website) and the most highly rated. When searching for a local business, this approach and process isn't unique. In fact, 90% of consumers used the internet to find a local business in the last year. That's why, as marketers, our businesses have to show up when people are searching for local companies online. Below, let's review the top strategies to promote your business locally. 1. Advertise with local audience targeting. Online advertising is one of the main ways to show up in local searches. In fact, you should use both social media and search engine advertising to promote your business locally. With local advertising, you'll have to set up location targeting and write copy that uses specific language targeted to your local audience. And with marketing tools like HubSpot, you can use local audience targeting directly in your software. With local audience targeting, you can choose a specific location to show your ad. This means using zip codes or geographic regions. However, local audience targeting isn't just about selecting a certain location. It's also about...

How to Market Your Local Business' Grand Opening During the last month or so, my husband and I have driven by this grand opening sign on our way to his parent's house about a dozen times. After a couple of weeks, we decided to look up what it was for. We found out a new restaurant was opening, and we were pretty excited to have a new place to try (sometimes it gets boring going to the same places!). Since we were looking forward to it, we told our families, and decided to give it a try for one of our weekly dinners. This is exactly the result you're looking for when you're marketing your grand opening. For local businesses, it can be hard to get customers through the door. As a marketer, the first step is to let them know you're there. Ultimately, your grand opening marketing should help your business build relationships and create buzz with your audience. Below, let's review where to and when you should market your grand opening. Where to Market Your Grand Opening Developing your marketing strategy for your grand opening can be daunting as a new business and marketing team. After you've set your budget and planned the event, you need to discuss where you're going to market it. Below, let's review some of the top areas to market your grand opening. 1. City Bulletins or Forums. Most cities have bulletins or forums where community events are advertised. For example, consider...