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Is hyperlocal marketing the new trend?
A new trend has emerged within the direct mailing industry: hyperlocal marketing. According to Marketing Land, this type of advertising has opened up a number of new opportunities for advertisers and those utilizing direct mailing software. Advertisers looking to make an impact on the community level should look to this relatively new method to grow their customer base.
What is hyperlocal marketing?
Hyperlocal marketing can take many forms and has made its way into many industries, but it revolves around providing information to a well-defined area. Regarding advertising, PC Magazine says hyperlocal advertising is the targeting of users within a vicinity. Direct mail can only target households around a school for example, highlighting the very narrow targeting area.
For example, as advertisers combine physical mail with mobile applications, they are utilizing hyperlocal marketing by asking users to turn on location services on their devices. This allows users to receive special offers and alerts if they are within a targeted area, according to Marketing Land.
Furthermore, consumers seem to accept hyperlocal marketing. According to JiWire, as cited by Forbes, 57 percent of consumers are more likely to engage with location-based advertising.
The advantage of hyperlocal
Sometimes, national mailing campaigns work. However, some mailers may find campaigns to be even more successful at the local level by communicating directly with community members. For example, marketers can also sponsor local events, such as a community 5k race. Those companies can then create community-specific advertisements to better connect with recipients and drum up support for the race and use direct mailing software to deliver the mail to the specified area. The end result is a higher conversion rate leading to a higher return on investment for advertisers, according to Greg Petro of Forbes.
Hyperlocal advertising and technology
As companies increasingly experiment with technology and direct mail, future opportunities will open up. Hyperlocal advertising can be used in a variety of ways, from establishing a base radius and connecting with everyone within the defined area. Or, direct mailers can create a contextual zone based on age, gender ethnicity and the type of area it is. Direct mailing to a school area will differ from the direct mail to a popular nightlife area, for instance.
Potential areas of concern
Like anything in the business world, marketing costs money. However, according to CIO, hyperlocal marketing is not cheap. Marketers need to reach out to people within those communities. To do that, Antonella Mei-Pochtler, a senior partner at Boston Consulting Group, told the website marketers need to have native and original content to enter the local conversation.
However, that local content can be quite expensive, from research to content creation to the mailing costs to specific areas. Yet, hyperlocal marketing is gaining more traction, and as more companies choose to explore the method, they will learn how to become more cost efficient while still connecting with local consumers.
The need for direct mailing software has also never been higher, as the software can help mailers target a specific area by ensuring address are correct.
