If you’re a business owner in New York City, it’s important to have a solid digital marketing game plan. After all, New York is a big city with lots of competition.
When we talk about digital marketing campaigns at a local level, their main pillars are going to be SEO, paid search, paid social, and content.
Today, I want to share with you what I do when I onboard a local business, what digital marketing strategies I would actually consider, and how I successfully convert reverse engineering from conversions.
Customer Mindset is Decisive for Local Marketing
What I really preach to my clients is mindset is decisive. You take the mindset around what is important to the customer. Therefore, we should understand what’s going to be the circumstances that will have them act or operate in a specific way. Certain circumstances will have people behave differently.
For example, if I’m looking for an emergency dentist, I want something now. This will be an instance where factors such as distance and time are extremely important. However, if I’m looking for a book, I can go to a local bookstore. But, time is not that important here, and I just can get off Amazon.
Ask yourself: As a local business owner or doing marketing for a local business, who is your customer and why or when will they use you?
Will distance play a big role in someone’s decision?
Is urgency a big play or factor here?
Understanding this mindset is key to then knowing the types of marketing to consider or will actually work.
Marketing Things to Consider in NYC
One of the biggest things to look at is going to be what’s to consider in each city specifically. When we look at New York City, it can be easy to navigate due to the trains and bikes. Yet, people don’t have cars. So, if your business is located far from a train or a bus stop, it’s going to be a big hindrance.
Plus, not everyone lives in Manhattan. People will live though in Long Island, Brooklyn, and other boroughs.
At that point, if you have a unique service that people would come to the city for, you can overcome the challenge distance creates. However, there is a tremendous density of businesses and the advantage of a unique service doesn’t work for all businesses.
This could mean that location is much more important depending on your business type. In New York City, understanding the density of competitors and your location are important things to consider.
Local SEO
When it comes to the local businesses, I would always look at Google My Business.
When you use “NYC” modifiers in your search queries such as “NYC emergency dentist near me”, or “chiropractor NYC”; Google will track where you are based on your coordinates or what you are searching for. Then you’ll see who’s ranking in the map pack.
Looking at that map pack will give you an idea of how difficult it would be to penetrate.
If you don’t have a GMB, you need to get one. Google Maps play an important role in New York City searches for local businesses as people use them to find directions. So, if you show up on the first page of Google Maps, it will really help your business grow.
Google Your Service with “NYC” Modifiers
When I have a new client that’s coming on, I do like to look at the services they have as a start. When I determine the service or the service areas that are going to be considered, I start my research on the terms and search queries in that specific niche.
At that point, it is about understanding the search volume and the difficulty. It is a competitive and complex industry. So, I like to use several tools such as AHRefs, SEMRush, or Google Keyword Planner to get an idea of keywords.
Using random keywords is not the best idea for an SEO campaign. You need to formulate based on the density and number of competitors in the area. You may find interesting opportunities or you may decide to do Google Ads campaign.
Paid Search AKA Google Ads
Paid Social (Facebook, Instagram & TikTok)
Paid social is another big one that I consider for New York businesses. Paid social allows you to get in front of people on the platforms they’re already spending time on.
Facebook and Instagram have fallen off in terms of their effectiveness, especially ever since the iOS update. But TikTok has also proven to be an extremely interesting new platform. A lot of people are learning how to use it now. It’s really onboarding the next generation of younger users. Depending on your market, the type of your content, and the service you provide TikTok can be an interesting way to increase brand awareness and reach new audiences.