Facebook has recently reported a staggering 1.23 billion active monthly users - That’s one seventh of the entire population of Earth.

So it’s easy to see why everyone has their heads buried in their smartphones every waking hour.

“We’re having fun posting photos of us having fun”

This is the reality of living in 2015, but it’s a cloud with a silver lining…

– Why?

Because the way we live our lives, and conduct both personal and business relationships has changed. Much of our lives are lived online, and Facebook has become an extension of us.

Is this really such a bad thing? Why would so many choose to live their lives on smartphones if they didn’t want to? People worldwide love social media, and the business world has caught on.

The social media boom has meant big changes for business – They’ve adapted to life in 2015.

Business owners realise that if they put the message out there, people will read it – As long as they can find the right way to reach their target audience.

As with anything, some methods are more effective than others, and there are many variables which govern what methods will work best for your business.

So what online marketing methods will work on a local level for somewhere like Geraldton?

• Social media marketing.

Simple – make social media accounts for your business, tell people about it and try to build a local audience.

• Search engine marketing.

Search engine marketing (SEM) is about optimising your business’ website to be found by your target market through search engine optimisations (SEO). You can, of course, pay to go to the top of Google for selected search terms.

• Content marketing.

Content marketing is creating valuable and interesting content for the purpose of building trust and awareness in your business, which will in turn bring users to your website and social media channels. When done right, and through an influential outlet, content marketing can be an extremely powerful tool.

These methods have overtaken the traditional advertising and marketing routes like ads in the newspaper or on the back of dockets.

The reason? They’re more effective.

These forms of advertising are being used all over the world right now, and are fast becoming the primary strategies of some of the biggest companies out there.

As with all marketing or advertising, each of these methods comes at a cost. Facebook & Google offer limited exposure where you have a budget, and receive a set number of clicks or impressions.

Content marketing is a bit different - This is where an already credible website (usually a news / magazine site) will post and share your content to their audience for a set price. In turn your own website will gain credibility and be boosted in search engine rankings. It’s like an all-in-one package, and you can reach many more people than if you were to go solely through Google or Facebook, because you will be seen on both through the shared content.

Does content marketing work in a town like Geraldton?

Yes, certainly – In fact, a small community like ours is perfect for this. The only vital ingredient: a local platform to publish the content where it will be seen.

The fact that you are reading this article proves just how effective content marketing can be.

To find out more about online marketing & advertising in Geraldton, and how you can attract more customers - click HERE.

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