Local Promotions: Getting the most out of Local Ads, Google Posts & Facebook Posts

If there is one thing this last 16 months has reinforced for essentially everyone, it’s the significance of real-life human contact. That’s just as true for businesses as it is for people. As a retailer, now is the time to encourage greater foot traffic in your physical locations. In fact, this is a critical time. Consumers are returning to their previous activities, and that includes in-store shopping and dining. Some of your long-term customers will surely return, but many, having broken the habit, may find themselves lured in by your competition. Consumers can be fickle with their loyalty.

Reach Consumers Where They Are

An effective way to ensure you earn that loyalty back is through local promotions. They are a powerful tool and vital to ensuring new and old customers alike walk through your door.

In this post, we’ll focus on three essential ways to run local online promotions using your Localistico dashboard: Local Ads, Google Posts, and Facebook Page posts.

Local Ads

Geo-targeted ads are the present and future of advertising. Ironically, as business has become global, shrewd retailers have gotten even more local. Consumers are bombarded with ads day and night, so the only way to break through the noise is by reaching them with targeted ads that speak to them where they are.

Google Ads can take two forms: Google Search Ads and Google Local Campaigns. Both can run in Google Search and Google Maps, but the latter will also be deployed on YouTube and alongside competitor profiles. You can read more about how the two types of Google Ads campaigns differ, but in one important factor they are the same: they can help drive traffic to your stores.

Through our Local Ads feature, you can run a single Google Ads sales campaign for multiple stores while ensuring consumers see the information that is most relevant to their location. Local/location-targeted advertising allows you to provide the most relevant and specific information to both existing and potential customers.

Google Posts

Speaking of Google, there’s another way you can use the world’s most popular search engine to reach consumers: Google Posts.

Posts aren’t ads; at least, not exactly. They’re more like helpful communiques with consumers that can let them know about events you’re hosting, accolades your company has received, and sales and offers you are running. As part of your Google My Business account, these posts run under your profile when someone finds you in Google Search or Maps. They’re short posts (aim for between 150-300 characters) that include an attention-grabbing picture or video and provide important, timely information to consumers, along with a call to action.

Hosting an author signing at one of your bookstores? Offering a special Mother’s Day Brunch menu? Or maybe you’re running a discounted rate on a particular French rosé before the weekend. If it’s time-sensitive and will attract customers, a Google Post is a must.

Facebook Page Posts

Like Google Posts, posting on your Facebook Page is a way of engaging with your consumers in a way that feels more authentic and targeted than a generic ad. A post on your business’s Facebook Page is a little different, though, as it will be targeted towards people who follow you – presumably, existing customers.

As with Google Posts, the best use of a post on Facebook is to alert users in a specific area of events, deals, or important news. Since the people seeing your Facebook posts have chosen to follow you, they’re the ideal target for these posts: primed to shop with you and just looking for an excuse to do it.

It’s worth noting that both Google Posts and Facebook Page posts can be scheduled, ensuring that you can maximise your potential reach.

Don’t Forget the Call To Action (CTA)

No matter what form your local promotion takes, the most important element is the call to action. A CTA should be short and sweet: “Reserve online”, “Purchase”, “Learn more”, or “Call” are great examples. You’ll also want to include a relevant link for those who want more information. Remember, whether it’s an ad or a post for Google or Facebook, keep it concise and to the point. Stick to the bullet points and encourage people to reach out for more information.

If running multiple local promotions sounds time-consuming, remember that they can all be easily coordinated through your Localistico dashboard. By inputting basic information – ad content, locations to target, keywords and terms, and the budget – our platform will help you reach thousands, if not tens of thousands, of local consumers right where they are. Would you like to talk to one of our experts! Book your demo here.