Make Your Localized Marketing Stand Out on Facebook
Learn how Facebook marketing can help marketers in localized marketing.
Marketers looking to attract audiences to local stores can use Facebook to execute effective marketing campaigns and respond to consumer concerns about the state of the economy. Damian Rollison, Director of MarketInsights, SOCis, identifies best practices for effective Facebook marketing.
Forty-three percent of US consumers say inflation’s impact on everyday expenses and saving is their biggest financial concern heading into 2023. The concerns around rising costs will drive many consumers to buy fewer items, seek out deals and coupons, and generally apply more scrutiny and attention to their shopping choices. Marketers working to promote brands locally will need to be attentive to this consumer mindset as they execute their marketing campaigns.
Consumers will respond to the right messaging at the right time and place. Facebook, for instance, can be a highly engaging and effective marketing channel. According to the Influencer Marketing Factory, some 82% of consumers have purchased something they discovered on social media, and Facebook remains the largest social platform covering the broadest demographic range. Consumers who log in to their Facebook accounts want to see content relevant to their needs and interests, and when they do, many will reward that content with their dollars.
Facebook Engagement For The Local Marketer
The largest untapped opportunity on Facebook is localized marketing, where multi-location brands engage with local communities through profiles for each store location. After all, despite the rise in e-commerce in recent years, the Commerce Department reports that 85% of B2C commerce still takes place offline in local markets.
A new report from SOCi uncovers some of the secrets of Facebook engagement at the local level. Aside from claiming and optimizing store pages for all locations, multi-location brands should launch content campaigns that respond to the current consumer mindset and adhere to the best practices outlined in the report. Examining the performance of approximately 23 million Facebook posts from multi-location brands, the study finds that the average post engages only 2.5% of its target audience.
However, video posts outperformed this benchmark, achieving twice the engagement — in the form of likes, comments, and shares — as posts containing photos. With Facebook reporting that 50% of the time spent on the platform today is spent watching video content, brands will want to make engaging videos a key component of their campaigns.
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Good content is the most important component of good marketing, but marketers must sometimes also pay to play. Though organic posts are important to any Facebook marketing campaign, boosted (or paid) posts should be used strategically for the messages that need to achieve the greatest reach. Posts on Facebook can be boosted for reach or engagement and can be targeted to Facebook users matching the demographic characteristics you specify. According to the SOCi report, boosted posts win 10x the engagement and 35x the reach of non-boosted posts.
Brands should also pay attention to the signs of engagement they receive from Facebook users. Responding to the users who post on your page encourages more users to do the same, growing your audience over time and adding value to each of your store pages. The SOCi report finds, for instance, that responding when users recommend your stores on Facebook leads to more recommendations over time. Consumers trust recommendations from their peers over any other source of information when evaluating a business.
Where Marketers Can Fine-Tune Their Campaigns
An effective Facebook marketing campaign will do more than merely showcase a brand’s offerings. Providing truly helpful content goes a long way when trying to engage social audiences. Given the current economic climate, posts focusing on cost savings, DIY, and doing more with less are likely to be especially popular. Video can be an incredibly effective format for this type of content.
When posting on social platforms, establish and maintain a consistent brand voice. Some brands do well with humor, while others appeal to consumers through content that conveys heartfelt sincerity. But switching from one mode to another can be jarring and appear inauthentic, so consistency is key. Where appropriate, social posts should include calls to action (CTAs) in the form of buttons with labels like
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“Shop Now” or “Learn More.”
Of course, Facebook is not the only platform consumers frequent. Depending on your target audience, you may also want to be active on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and elsewhere. But many of the same best practices apply to multiple platforms, and content produced for Facebook can often be effectively repurposed, especially on Messenger and Instagram.
If you’re just getting started with localized marketing on social media, some experimentation can help you find the right approach. Try to post at least once per week and to utilize boosted posts at least 10-20% of the time. Multi-location marketers use video in about 10% of their posts today, so if you seek to exceed that proportion, you will be in the upper tier of the competition. When establishing a brand voice on social platforms, consider what your brand is already known for and double down on that. Aim for naturalness and authenticity.
Campaigns that respond to the state of the economy should also strive to come across as authentic and not overstated. Merely emphasizing product availability and value may be enough. You can target specific products for a promotion that you can offer at exceptionally competitive prices or that compare well to higher-priced alternatives. When users post on your pages, listen and respond to their needs and concerns. Being attentive will make you stand out and help you cultivate a loyal local audience.
How are you leveraging social media to boost customer engagement? Share with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you!
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