Do you have a brick-and-mortar store but want to offer your customers a digital experience when they visit your site? Or do you operate a physical store but want to attract customers who live in a certain area but are based in another? Or maybe you’re just getting started but already have an established base of customers who live in a particular region, yet you want to focus on attracting even more interest from that audience?

If so, it’s time to start thinking about implementing geographic target marketing into your digital strategy, and we’re going to walk you step-by-step through how to do it. Before you begin, it’s important to note that implementing this into your marketing strategy doesn’t mean that you have to narrow your focus to one location, market, or even platform. Instead, you’re taking a more holistic approach by considering all of these aspects within your larger goal of expanding your customer base and driving sales.

Before we begin, it’s important to note that although the steps in this guide will help you with setting up geographic targeting for your online marketing campaign, it’s not necessary that you do so using those platforms. You can use virtually any service or tool to accomplish the same goals; it just depends on what will make you more effective in the long run.

Step one: Define your target audience

The first step in any campaign, strategy, or initiative is to clearly define your audience. When we think about marketing and social media, we often immediately think about reaching younger audiences on Facebook or Instagram. While you should definitely be thinking about engaging with your audience on the platforms you choose, you shouldn’t limit yourself to just one platform.

For instance, if you’re a business owner with a physical store and want to attract customers who are based in other regions, you may decide that Facebook is the best place to do so. You can create a Page specifically for this audience, begin building your audience there, and then decide later whether or not to expand to other platforms.

This is called using multi-platform marketing, and it’s a smart move. Your customers will appreciate having access to information about your business, products, and services regardless of whether they visit your website, like your Facebook page, or follow you on Instagram.

Step two: Identify the best platforms for reaching your audience

The second step in any marketing campaign is to identify the best platforms for reaching your audience. The first thing to consider is your target audience. Now, we’ve established that you’re specifically aiming at a certain group of people, it’s time to figure out which platforms they use to engage with others.

While it would be great to have your entire audience on your list of platforms, this isn’t necessarily the case. You want to find the platforms that your specific audience uses, and then use those platforms to reach the rest of your audience. Once you’ve got a good foundation in place with the first two steps, it’s time to move on to the next.

Step three: Choose which platforms to prioritize

The third step in setting up geographic target marketing is to choose which platforms to prioritize. This is particularly important if you’re new to this or even if you’ve been doing some research but haven’t yet put a plan into action. It’s important to know what tools you have at your disposal, and how much you need to spend in order to make a difference.

If you’ve already got a solid foundation in place with steps one and two, it’s time to move on to the next step and begin implementing. Don’t worry too much about which platform is best to start with. Instead, you want to begin by testing the waters on the platforms you’ve chosen. When you click on the “Get Started” button below, you’ll be taken to a landing page where you can choose which platforms you’d like to try first. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll receive an email from HubSpot with instructions on how to set up your first campaign.

If you’ve never used online marketing or social media to promote your business, this might be a good place to start. If you’ve decided to focus on a certain region, you may want to begin by reaching the population there. Alternatively, if you’ve already got a strong base of customers from one region, it may be a smart move to begin expanding your reach to other areas.

Step four: Identify the best metrics to track

The fourth step in any marketing campaign is to identify the best metrics to track. If you’ve done steps one through three correctly, you’ll already have a good idea of what platforms to use and how to use them.

As you begin to implement your plan, it’s important to have metrics you can track. This way, you can regularly assess your progress and determine whether or not you’re making the right move. Are you getting the results you’re hoping for? Is your ROI (return on investment) high or low? Are you reaching the right people?

There are many different metrics you can track, so get creative and come up with some metrics that will help you determine the success (or lack thereof) of your campaign. Once you’ve got a few metrics you think are reasonable, it’s time to move on to the next step.

Step five: Create content to attract your audience

The fifth step in any marketing campaign is to create content to attract your audience. As we’ve established, you’ve chosen a specific platform to use for your campaign; whether it’s a website, YouTube channel, or Instagram account, make sure you’ve got content on all of these platforms.

Creating content is a lot easier said than done. At the end of the day, you want to come up with something that will attract your audience and keep them coming back for more. If you’re stuck for ideas, there are plenty of blogs and websites that can help you come up with content ideas. Or, if you’re looking for something more hands-on, try finding a local library and seeing what books are available on the topic. From there, you can build a good foundation and begin to create your content.

The key to a successful marketing campaign is a well-thought-out plan that is actionable. With that in mind, we’re now going to walk you through the steps to set up geographic target marketing. Keep in mind that this is just a guide, not a rulebook. It’s always important to consider the tools and resources you have available to you and how much they will cost you before deciding on a course of action. Just because one platform may be better suited for your audience, it doesn’t mean that you have to use it exclusively. Experiment with various platforms to see which ones work best for you and your business.