If you’re trying to convince more people to shop local here are five ways to use content marketing to help.
Using Content Marketing to Increase Your Shop Local Program
- Education. Shopping local is more than just a nice idea. There are some real salient reasons that it’s good for your community. Make sure people are aware of these reasons using stats and numbers as much as possible.
- Multi-media. Every member of your audience doesn’t prefer to consume information in the same way. Some love video. Some can’t resist a catchy infographic, while others prefer to dive into a meaty article. It’s easy to provide all of these things because you’re only doing the research once. Repurpose your pieces and share them in multiple formats for the biggest engagement.
- Storytelling. Your community businesses are full of great stories, bursting with dreams fulfilled. Share these with your audience and people are more apt to want to do business with these merchants.
- WIIFM. WIIFM stands for “What’s in it for me” and it’s what drives a lot of people. In addition to talking about why shopping local is good for your community, be specific about how it can help your target audience. If you want to grow your shop local movement, your marketing should be very granular. Speak local and talk specifically about what someone can get. This means telling them about discounts, sales, coupons, services, and more. Talk to their needs as personally as possible. Share your stories of how you’re saving money, making connections, or whatever you’ve discovered is what they are looking for.
- Guide. One of the most difficult things for local merchants is marketing. People shop the box stores because they know they can find what they need and know they’ll be open. Creating an online guide or a directory that contains everything shoppers need to know about local stores, restaurants, and services can help direct locals to these places of business.
