Meet the People Behind Local Business Marketing
Discover 6 different types of marketers and how they approach promoting their small businesses
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When we asked local business owners about their top goals, they told us their number one business priority was growing their customer base, and their number one marketing goal was to raise awareness of their brands.
To better understand the priorities, challenges and perceptions that drive a local business's marketing strategy, Facebook IQ surveyed more than 6,000 local page admins and business owners across eight markets in North America and Europe. The resulting six marketer mindsets were developed based on the strength of the businesses' online presence, their focus on digital activities—such as content creation and online advertising—and the number of digital marketing activities they participate in.
If you’re a small business owner yourself, these mindsets can offer focus areas for growth and a window into how you stack up among your business peers. If you’re part of a business-to-business brand for which small business owners are your customers, tapping into what drives them is may help you improve your ability to connect with them. Here are the six different types of local business marketers we found through our research.
The 6 Local Business Mindsets
The Hero Marketer
Hero Marketers usually have close connections in their communities—both online and off. Because they tend to be active on many different platforms and social media, they may attract new customers in a variety of ways. Their biggest opportunity may be increasing their marketing efficiency by further improving their local targeting strategy.
Among surveyed businesses categorized as Hero Marketers:
98%are active on Facebook
41%were active advertisers on Facebook over the previous month
58%regularly produce online content
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We’re active in the community, but obviously we attract many new customers from different places using many different marketing channels.
— Local Real Estate Agent
The Enthusiastic Marketer
Enthusiastic Marketers often have online stores in addition to physical stores, and frequently publish news and updates about their products and services. Often, Enthusiastic Marketers are the owners of younger businesses and looking to do more marketing to support growth. Their biggest opportunity may be in honing deeper marketing skills and knowledge, specifically in finding more sophisticated ways to monitor and measure advertising and content efforts.
95%are active on Facebook
35%were active advertisers on Facebook over the previous month
57%regularly produce online content
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I own a local fashion shop with an online store. I publish news and updates about my collections, and I want to do more marketing to grow my business.
— Local Clothing Shop Owner
The DIY Marketer
DIY Marketers tend to attract customers to their businesses who might not otherwise shop locally, as they offer something unique or have relatively few competitors in the area. DIY Marketers may rely on organic content distribution over paid marketing, and frequently create content to drive customers to their stores. Their biggest opportunity may be in finding ways for content to stand out and show off the unique offerings of their businesses.
Among surveyed businesses categorized as DIY Marketers:
93%are active on Facebook
7%were active advertisers on Facebook over the previous month
67%regularly produce online content
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I own my own tattoo studio, which attracts interested people from a broad area. I don’t have many competitors, so I don’t pay for marketing. When it comes to digital, I mainly focus on ensuring my customers can find the store and I do create some content.
— Local Tattoo Shop Owner
The Minimalist Marketer
Minimalist Marketers are generally focused more on running the business and delivering a quality product, and less on marketing activities. But they’re likely to maintain core business information on their Facebook Business Page, and they’re open to dipping their toes into marketing functions on the platform. Their biggest opportunity may be in optimizing their business's digital and mobile footprint.
Among surveyed businesses categorized as Minimalist Marketers:
93%are active on Facebook
5%were active advertisers on Facebook over the previous month
61%regularly produce online content
“
I own a specialty coffee shop. My focus is on the business and on the product. I'm a coffee expert, not a marketing expert, so I just do the basics on Facebook.
— Local Cafe Owner
The Traditional Marketer
Traditional Marketers are likely to have stores that are established in their local areas. They may like to focus on conventional marketing—like flyers, the local newspaper or even word of mouth—but could grow their businesses by doing more on digital platforms. Their biggest opportunity may be in strengthening their community on digital platforms by providing regular updates and promoting events on their Facebook Business Pages.
Among surveyed businesses categorized as Traditional Marketers:
85%are active on Facebook
4%were active advertisers on Facebook over the previous month
61%regularly produce online content
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I’ve owned my flower shop for years and we’re very well established in the local area. We do a little traditional marketing
— Local Florist
The Skeptical Marketer
Skeptical Marketers may see social media and digital marketing as less relevant to their businesses than more traditional local marketing tactics. They’re likely to have a high rate of returning customers who are loyal and who trust them to deliver a quality product or expertise. Their biggest opportunity may be in learning more about digital marketing and the opportunities to connect with customers online through free platforms like Facebook Pages.
Among surveyed businesses categorized as Skeptical Marketers:
24%are active on Facebook
4%were active advertisers on Facebook over the previous month
52%regularly produce online content
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I own a hardware shop, piled high with tools, DIY and household items. I’m skeptical about social media and digital marketing—I don’t think it’s relevant to my business.
— Hardware Shop Owner
What it means for marketers
Know your audience.
Understanding what makes your audience tick can shape your messaging and tone, and even inform which products or services you serve up. For business-to-business marketers looking to reach small business owners with products or services, consider the varying challenges, priorities and perceptions that these mindsets illustrate.
Find, filter and download more stats from the featured research.
With Insights to Go, you can explore the dynamics between people and business owners in the eight markets studied.
Source: “Local shopping study” by Factworks (Facebook-commissioned research study of 10,340 people (8,878 monthly Facebook users, 1,562 non-Facebook users), ages 18+, US, DE, FR, UK, IT, ES, PL and CA), Apr–May 2017.
