[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Top skinny IC Logo Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#cc4315″ allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”on” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” custom_css_main_element=”@media only screen and (min-width: 1350px)||.page-id-25059 .et_pb_section_0, .page-id-25059 .et_pb_section_0 .et_pb_row_0 {||padding: 0 !important;||}” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px|” global_module=”26126″][et_pb_row global_parent=”26126″ make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”off” padding_mobile=”on” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” padding_top_1=”0px” padding_right_1=”0px” padding_bottom_1=”0px” padding_left_1=”0px” column_padding_mobile=”on” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” custom_margin=”0px||0px|” custom_css_main_element=”@media only screen and (min-width: 1350px)||.page-id-25059 .et_pb_section_0, .page-id-25059 .et_pb_section_0 .et_pb_row_0 {||padding: 0 !important;||}” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image admin_label=”IC logo Image” global_parent=”26126″ src=”https://iriscontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/IC-logo-horizontal-framed-e1468862028685.jpg” alt=”Iris Content logo” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”off” sticky=”off” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_margin=”0px|0px|0px|0px” custom_css_main_element=”@media only screen and (min-width: 1350px)||.page-id-25059 .et_pb_section_0, .page-id-25059 .et_pb_section_0 .et_pb_row_0 {||padding: 0 !important;||}” url=”https://iriscontent.com” animation_style=”none” animation_duration=”1000ms” animation_intensity_slide=”50%” show_bottom_space=”on” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” background_image=”https://iriscontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/bigstock-Blue-Background-Texture-15415157.jpg” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#ffffff” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.95″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_divider color=”#ffffff” show_divider=”off” height=”200″ divider_style=”solid” divider_position=”top” hide_on_mobile=”on” disabled_on=”on|on|off” /][et_pb_text admin_label=”Blog Post Title Text” background_layout=”light” max_width=”620px” text_font=”Cantata One||||” text_font_size=”72″ text_text_color=”#ffffff” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_margin=”0px||0px|” text_line_height=”1.1em” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” text_font_size_tablet=”52″ _builder_version=”3.0.95″]
Localization and Personalization Will Bring Your Small Business Content Marketing Success
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FEBRUARY 2018
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Have you ever noticed how targeted Amazon and Google ads are built? One day I was searching for flash drives on Amazon. I didn’t buy nor put any flash drive in my cart. But a few days later, lo and behold I received an email listing several bestselling flash drives. Since I was on the fence about buying one, this email motivated me to make a purchase. Moreover, the listing was based on sellers available near my area.
That is the power of localization and personalizing content for an audience.
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Photograph by Smurphphoto via Bigstock
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How Can Localization and Personalization Make a Difference?
Simply put, localization refers to creating content based on the geographic location of your target market. Multinational companies do this by creating several versions of their websites for specific regions. For example, a U.S. company’s website for its Spanish customers will be Spanish.
Personalization, on the other hand, refers to customizing content for a segment of your target audience. For instance, you’d create a different email marketing message for a teenager residing in Manhattan and for a farmer in Kansas.
But wait a minute – Isn’t localizing and personalizing content something that large fortune 500 companies do? Well, no! In fact, because small businesses operate in a particular geographic region they have more to gain from localization efforts than large conglomerates that operate in multiple regions and have little knowledge about specific areas.
Think about it. Your small business content marketing efforts can reap multiple rewards if you create content that is targeted to customers living in a particular region. Bonus points to you if you can give them personalized content and offers. You’ll attract and retain more customers.
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So how can your small business leverage its geographic advantage? Here’s how:
Leverage Local Search
The most organic way to boost your ranking on a search engine’s results page is by making your website content optimized for a geographic region. Simple things like adding a local office address and phone number, using location-specific keywords and ensuring that your business is listed on numerous local search listings can improve localization.
Don’t forget to add your local address to all of your brand’s social media websites too.
Use your Expertise in All Content Marketing Efforts
Forbes recommends that small businesses should create content that is specific to the city or region they operate in. For example, a local landscaping firm would have more expertise in designing and caring for lawns than a large company because they know about the region’s climate. Similarly, you can build content that harnesses your knowledge of the region. Use your local expertise to craft blogs and promote your product or service on social media.
Partner with Local Influencers
Influencer marketing isn’t just for large corporations. It can also be used by small business owners. You don’t have to work with popular celebrities or national football players. Instead, you need to find and partner with a niche influencer who is famous within the town or city that your business operates in.
Partnering with a local niche influencer is a smart move because you spend much less money than hiring a nationally recognized celebrity and reach the right target audience. Niche influencers may have less followers but all of them will reside in the area you conduct business in. It’s a great localization tactic.
Localize Social Media Messages
Small business content marketing should aim to localize social media messages because they are most informed of the goings-on of the community. For instance, small businesses are aware of the religious holidays, climate, politics, local news, slang and language as well as popular sports and players of a city or town. Social media messages and advertisements can leverage this local knowledge to relate with potential customers and build a strong connection.
Create Content For Different Segments
You can go a step further than localization by personalizing content to various segments of your target audience. Everybody loves to know that a brand cares about their specific needs or aims to solve their individual problems.
The first step towards customizing content is by using whatever data you have to deliver content that’s based on a segment’s needs, preferences and interest. Use information collected from loyalty programs, an app (if your business has one), social media, email marketing messages and Google Analytics to create specific messages, offers, discounts, blogs, articles and other content that will be well received by a group of people within your target audience.
The Content Marketing Institute claims that content personalization boils down to knowing your audience – how they consume content, in what form they consume it and what content do they like to read. If you know your audience, personalization becomes easier.
Localization and personalization aren’t just fancy buzzwords. They really do help businesses grow and attract the relevant target audience. In fact, geo-targeted social media posts are six times more likely to be successful than generic, global posts. And 72.4% of consumers prefer shopping in their native language than English. The verdict is out: It’s time to go local.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ padding_mobile=”on” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” custom_padding=”50px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”30px|||” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”off” custom_padding=”17px|||” padding_mobile=”on” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_divider color=”#cc4315″ show_divider=”on” divider_style=”groove” divider_position=”top” hide_on_mobile=”on” disabled_on=”on|on|off” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Blog post main Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”FDF3E7″ allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” custom_padding_tablet=”50px|0|50px|0″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop”][et_pb_row make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”off” padding_mobile=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image src=”https://iriscontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Annie-Blogging-1.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”right” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” _builder_version=”3.0.95″ show_bottom_space=”on” /][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_team_member name=”Annie Ianko” position=”Chief Content Officer” background_layout=”light” facebook_url=”https://www.facebook.com/IrisWebContent/” twitter_url=”https://twitter.com/Iris_Content” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_css_main_element=”box-shadow: 0 0 20px rgba(0,0,0,.1);||” _builder_version=”3.0.95″]
Annie has 20 years of experience as an editor and content creator and manager. With work in television and written media, she has dedicated her past 10 years to learning the ropes of online content creation, from writing to editing, from SEO to content management.
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