We know that consumers are local. Data continues to point to the fact that they search, shop, and purchase locally.
This makes it imperative for national brands to localize their content—not only to reach their target audience in a meaningful way, but to continue to nurture those relationships.
In fact, according to Forrester Research, “Companies that succeed will treat customers as their only source of competitive advantage…and every interaction must resonate with the targeted individual…or will risk being tuned out as media clutter.”
Localized content is also what customers want. A recent AgilOne survey found that 79% of consumers now expect some sort of personalization from brands, and 66% of them welcome emails that re-target them based on their actions.
79% of consumers now expect some sort of personalization from brands
So how do you develop content that not only has a sustainable shelf-life, but is relevant to your target audience(s)? The answer is multi-layered, and involves a healthy dose of analyzing data and planning. Here are the three key steps to developing a strong localized content strategy.
1. Get to Know Your Audience
The first—and most basic—step is to analyze your audience based on the industry you serve, and the shopping and purchase behaviors of consumers in your industry.
For example, if you’re a national insurance brand, your content needs to be tailored by state (due to the differing compliance regulations and insurance needs of consumers in different regions).
If you’re a national footwear brand, understanding that your audience on the rainy coast of Oregon has different needs than your audience in the deserts of Arizona can make all the difference in attracting and nurturing consumers.
2. Develop a Localized Content Strategy and Distribution Plan
Next, meet with internal stakeholders—marketing managers, account managers, etc.—who have insights into both industry and internal data centered around your target consumers.
From there, you’ll need to develop a localized content strategy and distribution plan for different channels.
A best practice is to map out the content in a quarterly editorial calendar and outline quarterly themes and topics. Make sure that your content is a healthy mix of pieces that are informal (blog posts and social media content), educational (case studies and eBooks), and heartier (articles, guides, and whitepapers).
3. Craft Content to Maximize Conversions
Now that you have a better grasp of your audience, their pain points, and a localized content strategy in place, it’s time to put your work into action.
The right data can mean different things for different national brands, so it’s important to craft content that will not only catch your audience’s attention, but also convert that attention into action—whether that be a purchase, store visit, or a click over to your website.
Below is an example of a localized email. While customizing or personalizing emails is effective, localization is the actual sweet spot for increasing conversions, engagement, ROI, and click-through rates.
As you can see in this example, this localized email incorporates highly-catered content that’s centered on a specific customer’s experience at a gym. Not only does it account for the cold weather, but it incorporates a local event: the City of Trees Marathon.
Now, that you have all of the tools and best practices in place, you’ll need to consider how to deploy hundreds or thousands (depending on your customer base) of localized pieces of content.
The thought alone can be overwhelming; not to mention that it’s nearly impossible to scale this type of effort and keep up with market changes and data adjustments.
This is where local marketing automation software becomes integral to your strategy. In fact, it makes the whole process seamless and simple. Most importantly, it allows for you to reach the right consumer, at the right time, in the right place, with the right message.
If considering a local marketing automation platform is new to you, download this informative worksheet to get started.