Local marketing is a great way for small and locally-owned businesses to connect with leads and existing customers in their target market. As noted by Ben Gran in an article that appeared on Kabbage (@KabbageInc), “local marketing creates opportunities for small businesses to compete with big brands on a more level playing field.”
Gran further notes that many leads and customers are looking for information about local businesses, and thus, are more receptive to seeing advertising that is tailored to their immediate location. Listed below are some of the top trends that will shape local marketing this 2015:
Consumers are Rapidly Adopting Mobile & Tablet
As reputable local marketing news sites like ICU Marketpace have noted, consumers are adopting smartphones and tablets at an unprecedented rate. According to the latest data from comScore (@comScore), 190.3 million people in the United States owned smartphones during the three months ending in June 2015 (representing 76.7% mobile market penetration). Meanwhile, according to eMarketer (@eMarketer), 156 million Americans will own tablets this year.
In light of these trends, small and locally-owned businesses need to adapt their local marketing tools and strategies to meet the needs of both smartphone and tablet users. It’s also important to note that consumers are becoming more comfortable with making payments using their smartphones and tablets. These payments are coursed through a wide array of apps and tools.
Search Engines and Digital Consumers Favor Mobile-Friendly Websites
As noted by Priya Florence Shah in an article that appeared on Business 2 Community (@B2Community), websites are vital to establishing a dynamic online presence and inform potential customers that you own a legitimate business.
Business websites need to be optimized with high-quality content, as well as proper keyword and link-building strategies. With more and more digital consumers browsing online content on their smartphones and tablets, both the search engines and digital consumers now favor mobile-friendly websites.
Mobile-friendly websites follow the principles of responsive design. Such websites adjust and display seamlessly across an array of devices (desktop computers, smartphones, and tablets). Ensuring that your website is mobile-friendly will ensure that your web pages get displayed on mobile search results. Mobile-friendly websites will also continue to receive mobile-based traffic from local searchers.
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