3 Local Advertising Platforms

Why Should You Advertise Locally?

Whether you’re a small local shop or a larger enterprise, targeting your immediate and local community can increase brand awareness, customer engagement, and sales. That’s because a local media strategy recognizes the significance of community and the subtleties of regional culture. Also, it taps into the halo effect by aligning your brand with trusted and familiar voices. Other benefits of a local strategy include:

Targeted Reach

Local media advertising allows businesses to target their desired audience precisely based on geographic location, ensuring that marketing efforts focus on potential customers in the immediate vicinity.

Community Connection

Local media advertising helps businesses connect with the local community. This connection fosters trust and loyalty among customers who appreciate supporting businesses within their neighborhoods.

Cost-Effectiveness

Local advertising can be more cost-effective than broader national campaigns. Businesses can allocate their budget more efficiently by reaching a smaller, targeted audience with higher conversion potential.

Word-of-Mouth Amplification

Local advertising – especially alongside local news channels – can stimulate word-of-mouth marketing within the community. Satisfied local customers are more likely to share their positive experiences with friends, family, and neighbors, amplifying the impact of the advertising campaign.

Measurable Results

Many local media advertising channels offer robust analytics and measurement tools like TEGNA Attribution to track the performance of their campaigns, understand customer engagement, and make data-driven decisions for continuous improvement.

The Top Local Advertising Platforms to Try

When building a local advertising campaign, you must know which platform is best for your business. One way is to use data to research your target audience and learn their media preferences when creating your persona profiles. Another step is learning the ins and outs of each platform. Here are the top local advertising platforms to explore:

TV Advertising

Local TV advertising is one of the most effective channels to help brands reach their marketing and advertising goals. Not only is local broadcast TV the leading channel for driving conversations on today’s most popular topics: local weather, TV shows, and national/international news, but it’s also the most trusted channel.

Better yet, studies show these affinities extend to the brands that advertise within these local channels. The IAB found that consumers who view advertising on their favorite news outlets are also:

• 45% more likely to visit the brand’s website or search for more information online​
• 43% are more likely to consider buying from the brand
• 41% more likely to talk about the brand with family or friends

And there’s more.  Additional benefits of local TV advertising include:

• Time Spent: Local TV advertising is advantageous due to consumers’ substantial time on this platform. When consumers have a specific need that aligns with your offerings, seeing your business on TV increases the likelihood that they will contact you before considering other options.
• Broad Reach: Local TV advertising offers a unique blend of extensive impact and local relevance, making it an indispensable channel for businesses seeking to flourish within their immediate community. In terms of targeting, Broadcast TV advertising boasts the most expansive audience reach, making it highly effective for broad awareness campaigns.
• Visual Medium: TV/OTT/digital video ads leverage visual and auditory elements adeptly, effectively conveying emotions and narratives. These elements make them a potent tool for building a brand’s identity and can aid brand recall and awareness.

Streaming

Streaming advertising, also known as Over-the-Top (OTT) and Connected TV (CTV) advertising, has witnessed a surge in popularity as consumers transition from traditional television to streaming services. The platform features video ads before, during, or after the streaming content. They are highly customizable based on demographics, interests, and viewing behavior, enhancing their relevance to viewers and effectiveness for advertisers.

Critical attributes of OTT advertising include:

• Targeted Advertising: The OTT platform enables reaching households based on demographic makeup, intent, and historical data. Therefore, advertisers can leverage user data and preferences to deliver precisely targeted ads, significantly increasing the likelihood of viewer engagement and conversion.
• Non-Skippable Ads: In many instances, OTT ads are non-skippable, ensuring that viewers watch the entire ad message without the option to skip.
• Measurable Results: OTT advertising provides comprehensive analytics and tracking capabilities, empowering advertisers to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns and make informed, data-driven optimizations.
• Cross-Device Reach: OTT advertising transcends device boundaries, reaching viewers on smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, and computers. This versatility ensures accessibility and broad coverage.

Digital

Digital advertising has gained significant popularity among consumers and advertisers for various reasons. Viewers engaging with a station’s website, such as WWLTV.com, are likelier to notice and engage with local display ads or pre-roll videos. This is supported by data indicating increased ad recall and brand affinity.

However, the benefits of incorporating digital into a multi-platform campaign extend beyond ad recall and brand affinity. Local digital strategies and channels also contribute to establishing credibility. Digital advertising advantages include:

• Campaign Complements: Consumers spend much of their time in the digital realm, often concurrently with Over-the-Top (OTT) or broadcast content. Not only does digital complement both OTT and broadcast effectively, it also offers high targetability and measurability.
• Precision Targeting: This precision enables businesses to pinpoint local demographics, behaviors, and interests precisely and with exceptional accuracy, optimizing the impact of their campaigns.
• Measurable Results: Digital advertising provides immediate access to real-time data and analytics, allowing advertisers to monitor and adjust their strategies.

Geofencing

While technically a digital tactic, geofencing is too good not to call out. It is a location-based technology that uses virtual boundaries, defined by GPS or RFID technology, to trigger specific actions when a device enters or exits a designated area, also known as a conversion zone.

The tactic has emerged as a widely adopted and successful method for converting local search traffic into physical visits to a storefront or specific location. As per a Mobile Marketer report, geofencing campaigns consistently outperform industry click-through rates, boasting an impressive 1% average compared to the industry standard of 0.4%.

Cross-Platform

To grow business, brands must implement a cross-channel marketing strategy to reach their target audience. That’s because your customers aren’t on one channel and one channel only.

A cross-platform approach harnesses the strengths of various channels, including linear TV, streaming media, and digital elements, to effectively reach a broad audience. Cross-channel marketing reaches customers where they are, increases brand visibility, and guides customers through the journey, ultimately driving growth and conversions.

Additional Local Advertising Digital Platforms to Try

Exploring diverse avenues in local advertising is critical to optimizing your outreach and connecting with the community effectively. Discover new opportunities and channels to enhance your local advertising strategy and make a lasting impact on your target audience.

Google: Google My Business is essential to enhance your online visibility. Create a detailed business profile and provide critical information to local users searching for products or services. Also, consider Google Paid Search to reach potential customers through targeted paid search ads, ensuring your business appears prominently in relevant search results.

• You can also diversify your search engine presence by advertising on Bing, capturing the attention of users who prefer this search engine over others.

Social Media Advertising: Consider tapping into the extensive user base of Facebook to run targeted local ads, engaging with a diverse audience through the platform’s robust advertising tools. You can leverage Instagram’s visually-driven content to promote your products or services. Reach a younger demographic using TikTok and Snapchat ads, creating engaging and interactive content to promote your brand within the platform’s dynamic environment.

Business Listings and Classifieds: Increase your online presence by listing your business on Yahoo Local and The Yellow Pages online directory, ensuring visibility across their networks and reaching a broad audience. Also, consider utilizing online classified ads to promote your products or services locally, reaching users looking for specific offerings in their area with ClassifiedAds.com and Hoobly.

Apple Maps: Improve your local discoverability by optimizing your business presence on Apple Maps, allowing iOS users to find and connect with your establishment easily.

Community Platforms: Connect with local service seekers through Angi, which facilitates reviews and recommendations for home services, enhancing your credibility in the local market. You can also target specific neighborhoods and communities through Nextdoor, a platform for local connections, recommendations, and business promotions.

Spotify Advertising: Enhance your audio advertising strategy by reaching local audiences through targeted ads on Spotify, leveraging the platform’s extensive user base.

Taking the Next Step with a Local Advertising Platform

As you navigate the diverse landscape of local advertising platforms, selecting the right media partner for a local media advertising campaign is crucial for the success of your marketing efforts. Here are steps to guide you in the selection process:

• Research Local Media Outlets: Consider their reach, audience demographics, and reputation within the community. Choose outlets that produce content aligned with your brand values and resonate with your target audience.
• Review Audience Size, Reach, and Engagement: Examine audience size, reach, and engagement metrics such as viewership. Ensure they have a substantial local audience that aligns with your campaign objectives.
• Consider Multichannel Approach: Opt for multichannel media partners, combining various platforms like TV, OTT, and Digital. A diversified strategy increases the likelihood of reaching different segments of your target audience.
• Review Past Campaigns and Case Studies: Assess their track record and success stories to gauge their ability to deliver results.
• Evaluate Reporting and Analytics: A transparent and data-driven approach allows you to measure the effectiveness of your campaign.

By following these steps, you can systematically evaluate and select a media partner that aligns with your local media advertising goals and maximizes the impact of your campaign within the community.

How TEGNA’s Capabilities Can Support Your Local Advertising Journey

With 64 local news stations in 51 markets nationwide, we at TEGNA know the power of local advertising media better than anyone. Our team of marketing experts has driven results for thousands of businesses across the country, and we don’t plan on stopping any time soon.

We might be biased, but we’re advocates for choosing the right partner for your local advertising campaign, and this guide will dive into everything you need to know about running a cross-platform campaign in your local community.

Let’s get in touch to get your regional media strategy up and running.

Want to learn more about the benefits of a local media strategy? Check out:

• 10 Tips For Advertising Locally
• 5 Local Digital Advertising Strategies for Businesses
• National vs. Local TV Advertising: Which is Right For You?

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the top benefits of using a local advertising platform?

Local advertising platforms offer targeted reach, increased visibility within your community, and the ability to connect with potential customers more likely to engage with your business.

Do all local advertising platforms cost money?

While many platforms offer free listings or essential features, investing in paid options is often recommended to leverage the benefits and reach a wider audience fully.

How do you advertise locally?

Advertise locally by understanding your target audience, creating compelling content, and choosing the right local advertising platforms that align with your business goals.