Marketing in general is tough, but marketing in California can be particularly competitive and complex! California is home to many consumers and advertising giants, so it can be difficult for up-and-coming brands to carve out a space for themselves in the advertising arena. Let’s take a look at how you can tackle the California marketing scene through research, search engine optimization, and marketing material diversification.
Research Your Target Audience
First and foremost, be sure to research your target audience thoroughly. This is important in every state, of course, but doubly so in California, as the Golden State is a highly diverse territory with many different groups of people to market to.
By researching your target audience, you’ll know who you need to advertise to as specifically as possible. Specific, targeted ads are always more effective and emotionally resonating compared to generalized ads that don’t speak to any particular group.
You should research your target audience to determine their demographic attributes, desires, and commuting patterns. Once you know this information, you’ll know not only what kinds of ads to make but what content the ads should include to connect with those audience members.
Get Savvy with SEO
SEO or search engine optimization is also highly critical. By understanding SEO and weaving it into your online marketing materials and website, your brand will show up more frequently at the top of Google search engine results pages/SERPs.
SEO is important because:
- It allows your ads to become more visible to your target audience members
- It makes your brand more searchable, thus increasing the number of people who will reach your online storefront
- It helps you further understand your target audience members by giving you some insights into the keywords they search for
That last element is especially important for California marketing, as many people in California do tons of research online before deciding whether to make a purchase from any company.
Diversify Your Marketing Materials
You should also diversify your marketing materials as much as possible. Don’t only advertise using one type of marketing, such as online ads. Instead, you should try to advertise to California residents using three different types of marketing materials.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is king in many markets, and for good reason. It’s informative, entertaining, and feels much more authentic and authoritative compared to flat-out advertisements. Content marketing includes blog posts, guides, product reviews, and so on.
Content marketing is important when advertising the California audiences because:
- It can bolster brand authority in your niche or industry
- It provides prospective purchasers with more information about your brand, your products, and what they need
- It enables you to further master SEO and weave other types of ads, such as cross promotions, into your content effectively
You can and should make a brand blog and regularly update it with more content marketing materials every week.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing, including posting ads on Facebook and Instagram and working with influencers, is also wise. Many Californians are highly invested in the social media sphere. They may follow influencers who they connect with, or they may follow the social media pages of their favorite brands.
Therefore, you should create a profile page for your business on every major social media platform. It’s also smart to partner with some known influencers in your niche or industry, provided that they are affordable and that they match your brand identity. Good social media marketing will help you build an audience from scratch and provide an avenue for you to provide customer services to your buyers or subscribers as well.
Billboard Ads
Billboard ads are also effective means to spread the word about your brand or specific products, particularly across California. Remember, California is a car-heavy state; people frequently commute for a half hour to an hour both ways to work each and every day. Because of this, they have a lot of time to see billboard ads, especially on major freeways.
Even better, plenty of big California cities have economical billboard marketing prices. For instance, Fresno billboards are relatively affordable and cost-effective, with the average costing just $2000 for 250,000 impressions.
Billboard prices can vary heavily across the Golden State, but there’s no denying that billboard advertisements can be an excellent way to build brand awareness throughout California and beyond. Consider using this to reach blue-collar workers or others in your target audience who are less likely to view or respond to digital marketing materials, like PPC ads.
Wrap Up
Ultimately, doing a lot of research and spreading out your marketing materials into multiple formats will do wonders for reaching as many people as possible in your target audience. Keep these tips in mind as you launch your California marketing campaigns and you’ll see more conversions and better marketing results in no time.
