It’s time to bridge the gap between your physical and digital retail presence. After all, you know that both are essential to your business.
Physical stores are a great way to connect with your local community and provide a personalized experience for your customers. Digital marketing allows you to connect with an audience that stretches far beyond your location by reaching potential customers in the surrounding area.
In fact, 72% of consumers who did a local search visited a store within five miles. And according to Google, local searches are growing 50% faster than mobile searches overall.
So, how do you use digital marketing to support your brick-and-mortar store?
1. Invest in Local SEO
Local SEO is a digital marketing strategy that helps your business show up in local search results. When people in your area search for products or services that you offer, you want your website to be one of the first things they see.
Investing in local SEO can help you improve your search engine rankings and get more traffic to your website, which can help drive more foot traffic to your store.
Some of the things you can do to improve your local SEO include:
• Claiming your Google My Business listing
• Making sure your name, address and phone number (NAP) are consistent across the web
• Creating location-specific content
• Getting more online reviews
• Earning backlinks from other local websites
2. Use Google My Business to Its Full Potential
Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool that allows you to manage how your business appears in Google search results.
When you create a GMB listing, you can include basic information about your business, such as your address, phone number, hours of operation, and website URL.
You can also include photos, videos, and customer reviews to help potential customers get a better sense of what your business is all about.
Your GMB listing can also be used to promote special offers and events at your business. This can be a great way to drive traffic to your physical store and increase sales.
Finally, GMB allows you to track how many people are seeing and interacting with your listing. This can help you measure the success of your local SEO efforts and make improvements as needed.
3. Create a Local Landing Page
Local landing pages can be a highly effective way to drive foot traffic to your physical store.
A local landing page is a dedicated web page that provides information about your store, such as your address, phone number, hours of operation, and more.
You can also use your local landing page to highlight any special promotions or events that are taking place at your store.
Make sure that your local landing page is optimized for local search by including relevant keywords and phrases, and be sure to include a map of your location.
You can also use a local landing page to build trust with potential customers by including customer reviews and testimonials.
In addition to your local landing page, you should also make sure that your business is listed in online directories, such as Google My Business, Yelp, and others.
4. Use Social Media to Engage Locals
Social media is a great way to connect with your customers and prospects, and it can be especially effective for local businesses.
Use your social media channels to engage with people in your area. Share local news and events, and ask for their opinions and feedback. You can also use social media to run contests, share special offers and promote your in-store events.
The key is to be active and engaged on your social media channels. If you’re not, people will be less likely to see your content and engage with your brand.
5. Create Local Content
Local content is a great way to improve your store’s visibility in local search results and attract local leads.
You can create a variety of different types of local content, including blog posts, videos, infographics, quizzes, and more.
When creating local content for your store, it’s important to think about what your target audience in your area is interested in.
For example, if you own an escape room, you could create a blog post about the best kid-friendly activities in your area or a video about how to solve common puzzles.
You could also create content that is specific to your store, such as a video tour of your store or a blog post about your top-selling products.
When creating local content, be sure to include keywords that are relevant to your store and your area.
6. Offer Local Promotions
Another way to use digital marketing to support your local stores is by offering local promotions.
You can create special promotions and offers that are only available in-store and then promote them through digital marketing.
For example, you could create a Facebook post that promotes a special sale at a specific location. Or you could create a local PPC ad that promotes an in-store offer.
This is a great way to drive foot traffic to your physical locations and increase sales.
7. Use Mobile Marketing
Mobile marketing is a great way to reach local customers and drive them to your physical store. There are many different ways you can use mobile marketing to promote your business, including:
• Mobile ads
• SMS marketing
• Push notifications
• Mobile apps
With mobile marketing, you can reach people who are on the go and looking for businesses like yours. This is a great way to drive foot traffic and increase sales at your physical store.
8. Use Retargeting
Retargeting is a type of online advertising that allows you to target your ads to people who have visited your website or app.
This is a great way to reach people who are already interested in your products and get them to come into your store.
You can even use retargeting to create ads that are specific to the products or categories that people have looked at on your website.
This can help you to increase the chances of getting people to come into your store and make a purchase.
9. Use Geofencing
Geofencing is a digital advertising tool that allows you to set up a virtual perimeter around your store. When someone enters this perimeter, they will be served an ad for your store on their mobile device.
Geofencing is a great way to drive foot traffic to your store and increase brand awareness in your local area. It’s also a great way to target people who are already in the market for your products and services.
For example, if you own a clothing store, you could set up a geofence around your store and target people who are shopping at other clothing stores in your area. This way, you can reach people who are already interested in buying clothing and get them to come to your store instead.
10. Use QR Codes
QR codes are a great way to bridge the gap between your digital marketing efforts and your physical store.
You can use QR codes to encourage people to visit your store by offering them a discount or a free gift when they scan the code.
You can also use QR codes to provide people with more information about your products. For example, you could place a QR code on a product label that links to a video demonstration of the product.
QR codes are an easy way to make your products and your store more interactive and engaging for your customers.
11. Use Digital Coupons
Digital coupons are a great way to drive online traffic to your website and foot traffic to your store.
You can use digital coupons in your email marketing campaigns, on your website, and even on social media.
You can also use digital coupons to offer special deals to customers who have signed up for your email list.
This is a great way to reward your most loyal customers and encourage others to sign up for your list.
And, it’s a great way to drive traffic to your store.
12. Use Social Proof
Social proof is a powerful tool that can be used to build trust and credibility with potential customers. Social proof is evidence that other people have had a positive experience with your business. This can include things like customer reviews, testimonials, case studies and more.
Social proof is especially important for businesses that have a physical location. Potential customers want to know that your business is reputable and that they can trust you. Using social proof in your digital marketing efforts is a great way to build trust and credibility with potential customers.
There are many different ways that you can use social proof in your digital marketing efforts. For example, you can use customer reviews in your social media posts or in your email marketing campaigns. You can also use testimonials on your website or in your paid advertising campaigns.
No matter how you choose to use social proof in your digital marketing efforts, it’s important to make sure that you are using it consistently. The more social proof you can provide, the more trust and credibility you will build with potential customers.
13. Use Your Data
Finally, it’s important to use your data to make more informed decisions about your digital marketing strategy. You can use your data to track how many people are visiting your website, how many are converting into leads, and how many are converting into sales.
You can then use this data to make changes to your website, your digital marketing strategy, or your physical store to improve your results. For example, if you find that a lot of people are visiting your website but not converting into leads, you might want to make your calls-to-action more prominent.
If you find that a lot of people are visiting your website but not converting into sales, you might want to offer a discount to encourage them to make a purchase.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to use digital marketing to support your physical store, you can start implementing some of the tips we talked about. You’ll be able to attract more local customers and increase foot traffic into your store, which can help your business grow in the long run. Additionally, if you’re looking to boost your affiliate marketing efforts, consider exploring the best Shopify affiliate app to maximize your reach and effectiveness.
