Some things in digital marketing are a matter of scale, where throwing more money at the problem can resolve it. However, local businesses need to be more resourceful with their advertising dollar. There are some ways small businesses can win in digital marketing, even when competing with national brands.
Digital Marketing Strategies Only National Brands Can Execute
Target regions instead of cities
Large brands tend to have multiple locations in a given regional market. So, they employ SEO strategies that cast a wide geographical net. National brands must adapt their marketing campaigns to various demographic sets across the country. This is costly but necessary to compete with local and regional competitors.
Be polished
Bigger brands can afford the best equipment, the best talent, and the best marketers. It’s all to ensure all their marketing material is as polished as possible. While it has to satisfy more groups of people and may not come across as authentic as the materials that smaller brands create, the extra polish can build trust and show customers that you’re serious about the work you do.
Digital Marketing Strategies Available Only to Local Brands
Target cities (and smaller areas)
With digital marketing, local businesses can target the cities they’re in. They can even target individual neighborhoods within those cities. The traffic on hyperlocal terms is low but highly relevant to targeted audiences. Local brands can take advantage of highly-winnable search terms.
Be authentic
While you may not have the budget to go toe to toe with larger brands in terms of polish, you work so closely with your target audience that you understand it better than many large companies would. Your digital marketing efforts may be a video filmed on your smartphone in selfie mode and posted to social media, but if it connects with your customers, it’s already been hugely successful.