How well does your marketing speak to your local audience? You won’t catch most Chicagoans calling their city “Chi-Town,” for instance. And further north, we tend to prefer the title “Michiganders” to “Michiganians.”
These are just two small examples of how localization makes a big difference in marketing. If you’re not speaking to your local audience — whether it’s language and keywords or geotargeting your SEO and ads — they won’t hear you.
At Zoe Marketing & Communications, we’ve been breathing the local Chicago and Detroit markets since the mid-’80s with our sister companies, Chicago Parent and Metro Parent. We currently help 300+ clients in both regions localize their messages and tactics.
Here, we shine a little light on what localization is. Plus, in nine statistics, we'll show how affects revenue, voice search, social media, Google reviews, customer retention and more. You’ll get a fuller sense of the power of localization. And you’ll get ideas on how to harness it for yourself.
What is localization in marketing?
Localizing is meeting people's preferences and cultural nuances in specific geographic areas and communities. It’s what people see (words/images) and what’s behind the scenes (i.e., keywords, geotargeting).
A few common examples of localization in marketing include:
- Customizing written and designed content to local interests, landmarks, slang and language
- Geotargeting localized digital ads to specific areas and communities
- Hosting or sponsoring local community events
- Using location-based keywords in search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM)
- Engaging with local groups and audiences on social media
Localization statistics: By the numbers
Companies are honing in on their local voice and reach, and there’s evidence that they should. Here are nine stats that support localization’s popularity and success in digital marketing.
84% of businesses say revenue growth is positively impacted when they localize their business’ marketing content
Most companies say localizing marketing — especially translation/language nuances — has a “moderately” or “highly” positive effect on their bottom line, according to a study by Unbabel.
6 in 10 people use voice search to find a local business
All in, 58% of people are talking into their devices to find locations “near me.” On top of that, 22% of all voice queries are looking for location-based content. That means optimizing your content for what people are saying is big.
72% of social media brand engagement happens on local pages
“High value” social media engagement — comments, shares, direct messages, reviews — is more likely on local pages, reports marketing platform SOCi. Business pages tend to get more “low value” likes and video views.
The takeaway isn’t to infiltrate local Facebook Groups! But rather, that people value a real voice and local connection on social. Be authentic in your posts, and think of local connections and value when it feels “organic.”
... and 6X more engagement results from running geotargeted/localized content on social media
Like most digital ads, social media lets you target your message to specific audiences. A study from Nieman Lab found this unsurprising but still crucial fact: Local content targeted to local readers gets six times more comments, shares and likes.
5.8 new local Google reviews: That’s what an average business gets per month
It doesn’t get more local than your Google Business Profile — and the reviews people leave on it. It’s among the first things that pop up when people search for you. How many stars will they see — and how many total reviews?
Roughly 6 per month is lower than the pre-pandemic rate of 13, SOCi notes. But the top 3 profiles displayed in search results have an average of 21% more reviews than profiles 4-10.
Plus, Trustpilot adds, 49% of people say positive reviews are a top-3 purchase influencer.
3 local live events: This is the minimum number most (85%) of local organizers plan to host
Whether you’re hosting or sponsoring a local event, involvement can mean higher visibility. And most event organizers are hosting at least three annually, Bizzabo reports.
Consider how your company can support community events. Or host events that help your community, from educational webinars to open houses with your experts.
8-13% customer loss can happen when you don’t translate content into people’s preferred language
Here in the U.S. English is a given, but it isn’t always everyone. Are you speaking to all of your prospects locally — or, if your reach is broader, out of the country? If you don’t, you’ll likely lose them.
This can also apply to local lingo or preferred phrasing. Care about your local clientele enough to speak their language.
... and 89% of companies plan to translate some of their content into other languages in the next year
This stat is again from the Unbabel survey of 1,600 marketers in eight countries. They’re overwhelmingly translating their web content, videos and more into other languages.
The scope is wide, but the point is that localization matters. The same is true for smaller markets.
3X results improvement: That’s what 65% of businesses reported when localizing content with AI tools
Artificial intelligence is helping with localization efforts too. From markets’ needs to “specific cultural nuances,” Business Wire reports, companies use AI to localize their content.
AI writing tools in particular are helping businesses translate and connect with prospects as they expand.
How to localize your marketing content and get results
Delivering what your audience wants matters more than ever. As these localization statistics prove, it can boost your visibility, connectedness, trustworthiness and, ultimately, revenue.
If you’re working to better connect with prospects in your current (or future) markets, talk to us. Zoe Marketing & Communications has 40+ years of experience connecting to customers in the metro Detroit and Chicago areas. We’re experts at regionalizing content.
To keep learning how to localize your content yourself, discover:
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