Master digital tactics with real world results
In today’s digitally oriented landscape, consumer expectations are higher than ever. Shoppers demand a seamless customer experience as they journey between online and in-store environments. Whether or not you sell online, learning how to leverage digital marketing to drive foot traffic to your brick-and-mortar locations is game changing.
Through targeted advertising, geotargeting and location-based promotions, you can draw consumers into your store, turning digital interactions into transactional visits.
Targeted advertising: maximizing connection with local shoppers
Targeted advertising hones in on demographics, interests and/or behaviors to help you reach those consumers most likely to visit your store. For example, focusing on specific age groups, geographic locations or certain shopping habits and preferences will drive higher quality foot traffic to your brick-and-mortar location. Side note: higher quality means they’re more likely to make a purchase than consumers who weren’t vetted.
Targeted advertising leverages platforms like Google Ads and/or display networks, allowing you measure and analyze to ensure you reach your most promising audience segments.
· Social Media Ads: Begin ad creation by focusing on specific behaviors or interests to capture attention and stop the scroll. Leverage geo-targeting to reach local
consumers.
· Google Ads: Utilize search ads to capture intent-driven traffic, ensuring your business appears first when local customers search for products you offer.
· Display Advertising: Use banner ads on relevant websites to increase visibility and awareness among your target audience.
o Local news sites
o Community forums
o Home improvement and décor blogs, like Houzz or Apartment Therapy
o Local lifestyle or family-focused sites that offer home and living content
Geotargeting: localized precision marketing
Geotargeting is all about directing your ads to potential customers, based on their physical location. By ensuring your ads only reach people who are nearby and more likely to visit your store, you can make every advertising dollar count. Even a few buying-focused shoppers can ensure success for this type of campaign.
Location-based targeting options like radius targeting and location-specific ads allow you focus your marketing efforts with extreme precision. Radius targeting shows ads to shoppers within a specific distance from your store, while location-specific ads can be tailored to certain neighborhoods, landmarks or competitor locations.
Pairing geotargeting with behavioral data refines your audience further. By analyzing online behaviors, such as search history and site visits, you can target ads to shoppers with an interest in furniture or home decor. For instance, if someone has recently searched for "best mattress stores" or browsed home improvement sites, combining this behavior with their location ensures your ads reach highly relevant and engaged potential customers.
Geotargeting can also be highly effective for holiday-specific shopping. During key sales holidays, like July 4th or Labor Day, targeting local shoppers can help create a sense of urgency and drive in-store visits. Adjusting your geotargeting parameters to focus on areas with high foot traffic during these seasons, like shopping districts or malls, can further enhance the impact of your campaigns and increase in-store sales.
Location-based promotions: boosting foot-traffic with location-based offers
Location-based promotions are a powerful way to attract customers who are physically close to your store. These promotions can include mobile coupons, proximity marketing and check-in offers, each designed to leverage the customer's location for maximum impact.
· Mobile coupons: Offer discounts or special deals directly to customers' smartphones when they’re near your store.
· Proximity marketing: Use technologies like Bluetooth beacons to send promotional messages to customers within a certain range.
· Check-in offers: Encourage customers to check in on social media platforms for instant rewards or discounts.
Leveraging customer proximity delivers targeted promotions that drive foot traffic and increase sales. For instance, you might send a push notification offering a 20% discount to customers within a mile of your store. Another example is using Bluetooth beacons to alert nearby shoppers of a flash sale. These creative strategies not only enhance customer engagement but also boost in-store visits and sales.
Combining strategies: maximizing impact
Combining location-based promotions with targeted advertising and geotargeting can amplify your marketing efforts. For example, you can run targeted ads promoting a special in-store discount, then use geotargeting to ensure those ads reach local customers. Once they’re nearby, send a mobile coupon or proximity alert to encourage them to visit your store. This multi-layered approach ensures your message reaches the right people at the right time, driving foot traffic and increasing sales.
Tracking & analytics: unlocking the power of data
Imagine having a complete – and reusable – roadmap of everything you do in digital advertising. That’s what tracking and analytics offer – a clear view of how your digital efforts are performing and where to dig deeper. With tools like Google Analytics, you can decode the journey of your customers, from the first click to the final purchase, and adjust your strategies for even better results.
· Google Analytics: Set up tracking to measure how visitors interact with your site and identify which marketing efforts drive the most traffic and conversions.
· Ad Platform Analytics: Utilize built-in analytics tools from platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads to assess ad performance and optimize your campaigns.
· Customer Feedback: Collect feedback from in-store customers about how they heard about your promotions to refine future strategies.
Regularly reviewing this data helps you make informed decisions, adjust your tactics, and ensure you’re getting the best return on investment (ROI) from your marketing efforts. With these insights, you can continuously refine your approach and watch your foot traffic – and sales – soar.
Who the heck is Julia Rosien?
As a digital brand marketer, I’m passionate about technology and how it can help us do what we do – better. How we interact with technology – personally and professionally – is where the magic happens and it’s where smart marketers focus their energy. Experience and insights coupled with emerging digital tools leads to best in class brand marketing for today’s connected consumer. Connect with me on LinkedIn.