How do you win at digital marketing? Well, you get to know your competition and gain local knowledge.
From email marketing to video production, we can teach you all the tricks to be strategic with your digital marketing efforts. However, it’s often time spent getting to know the demographic you’re targeting, and what your competitors are up to that will give you an edge when you’re creating content.
In addition, with COVID-19 still creating travel woes for your sales reps, and events still very slow to return, here are our tips on how to see what your competitors are up to, and how you can gain local knowledge.
Get to Know Your Competition Through Their Digital Marketing
First, if you’ve tried working with freelancers or a digital marketing agency, you will have already learned that you see more success when your marketing partner is not only very familiar with your brand but also with other brands in your industry.
Therefore, hire a digital marketing manager that lives and breathes in your niche, your demographic, and knows your competition!
By the way, if you’re wondering whether you should bring in someone full-time, or outsource, read our last blog on digital marketing costs and if it makes sense for a small business.
Ways to become more familiar with your competitors and their digital marketing efforts:
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Sign up and actually read their emails
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Follow them on social media, whether Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram
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Read their reviews on Google and Yelp
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Talk to people that use their products and services
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See what the industry papers and journalists are writing about them
Develop Local Knowledge to Improve Your Digital Marketing Campaigns
Are you investing time in your target market to develop local knowledge? How about creating specific digital marketing campaigns that truly speak to them?
Well, with most international travel on hold due to COVID-19, do you have boots on the ground to help make this happen? If not, here are tips on how we connect with locals in 3 key areas/demographics for us to learn more about the products and services they love.
1. Southern California Dreaming
San Diego has been our home base for over 15 years. Therefore, we love partnering with clients in and around Southern California where we have some deep roots in the local culture. We spend our days surfing at Mission Beach, trail running through Balboa Park, and have put in close to 10,000 miles some years cycling along the Pacific Coast Highway.
For example, during a climbing session at Mesa Rim, we’re climbing, but we’re also looking at what’s trending amongst the local crowd. From gym bags to apparel, climbing shoes to kombucha.
We make time to visit our favorite local bike shops, and we’ve even written up our Top Summer Activities in San Diego! Are you giving someone on your team time to get to know the area they’re responsible for? Are you asking them to create content you can use in your digital marketing campaigns?
2. Finding that Desert Oasis
As the temperature starts to drop we pack up camp. Destination? The warm, southern deserts around Palm Springs, Las Vegas, and St. George, Utah. While we may be rock climbing and mountain biking, we’re visiting with potential and current clients. We’re getting to know the locals.
How do we do this? We rent mountain bikes at the local bike shops. While there, we ask for recommendations on their favorite bikes, trails, coffee shops, and watering holes. Trip Advisor and Yelp will give you reviews, but the locals will give you even better suggestions.
3. Winter Is Coming and Backcountry Adventures Are Back, Big Time
With a dusting of snow in Montana, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming, and some locations receiving up to 18″, winter is most definitely coming.
Are you prepared to reach out to those ski and snowboard destinations? If not, whether virtually or in person, start having conversations with your sales reps or your independent dealers to get to know what their winter resort town needs most this season.
In addition, with many ski resorts switching to a reservation system to select the days you want to ski, do you think they’ll be more people heading into the backcountry? We vote yes, especially since backcountry gear sales were up over 300% last season!
If you’re selling gear in locations with good backcountry access, even if it’s just outside of the resort, are you and your team familiar with the area? Are you out there, taking photos and videos to create authentic content?
How do we do this for our clients? Well, we pack up our Subaru Crosstrek and head towards the Wasatch mountain towns of Salt Lake, Ogden, and Park City. You might even find us as far north as Jackson Hole, Wyoming, or Sun Valley, Idaho.
Why? While we’re getting in some turns, we’re also spending time with our clients and with locals. And, we are capturing content at the same time.
So, after seeing so many people cross through the backcountry gates at Park City, most without avy gear, we wrote a blog on how to stay safe while traveling in avalanche terrain!
How to Best Share Your Journey and Encourage Your Team to Do the Same
In summary, winning at digital marketing will take getting to know your competitors and gaining local knowledge. So, although we sometimes live the #vanlife with morning views from our rooftop tent, we know all the good Wifi spots in places like Sequoia National Park. Like the killer WiFi at Hume Lake inside the park, where we set up shop for a week!
How’d we find out about the super-fast WiFi, and an awesome snack shop? We asked the locals.
In addition, we take some of our client’s gear on the road with us. This gives us plenty of time to photograph and get to know the gear, compare it to their competitors, and share it digitally and in-person with potential customers!
Now then, how does learning about your competitors and gaining local knowledge translate for your sales team or independent reps? Get them invested in writing, researching and capturing content! Whether they are on the road or from the comfort of their home office! Give them ideas on how to get started. Reward their efforts!
Need more help with your digital marketing strategy for the season? If so, drop us an email and let’s chat!
Meredith McConvill
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