7 Ways to Share Your Brand’s Story at a Local Level
You already have a global marketing campaign. So why change it? How do you improve on an established worldwide content distribution strategy?
There’s a way!
The term ‘last mile marketing distribution’ is possibly a new one for you, but let us break it down. All global brands have a marketing HQ, from which most they control their social media campaigns — such as Facebook and Instagram.
Some marketing departments take this even further — sharing that content with their distributors around the world. As a marketing manager, you hope your local distributors will translate and optimize that content for the local market, or even share it with local dealers. These local dealers can then use it for their own social media pages.
It’s this final step which we call last mile marketing distribution — preparing content which is approved by global brands but suitable for local use. It involves fine-meshed distribution to the thousands of local dealers across the globe.
Wouldn’t it be nice if someone could take the hard graft out of this local optimization? As an international brand, you want your dealers to use approved, professionally designed marketing materials. Ideally, they would be active on social media and promote your products.
It’s why Embrosa provides a solution which distributes your content from HQ, via your distributors, to your end consumers in a controlled and measurable way. But enough about what we do! Let’s explore just a few of the ways you can share your brand’s story at a local level — and why you should…
Incorporating Diversity
The last mile of your marketing campaign is where it’s the most important to diversify. Think about the race and sexuality of the people in your marketing campaigns, or even the clothes they wear and their hairstyles. Would your product sell more if this was tailored to local markets? Does your brand currently represent diversity?
The problem is that by its very nature, focusing on diversity in your marketing campaign costs more — not just financially. It’s time-consuming as well. The marketing campaigns which are the most diverse are usually by large companies with seemingly endless resources. But it doesn’t have to be that way…
When you use last mile marketing, you allow your local distributors and dealers to become diversity ambassadors for your brand. Unless your product or service is highly specialized, your customers are a diverse bunch. Ultimately, your marketing campaign should reflect that!
Weather-Watching (and other local trends!)
You can tell the story of your brand with local trends in mind. Imagine a centralized marketing campaign for a brand of sunglasses. Without last mile marketing, their distributors and local deals in sunny California receive the same content as in the UK — where it’s probably bucketing down!
It’s the same for other local trends. How about sporting events? If was Superbowl Season in the States, the Ashes in Australia or Six Nations in Europe, your local dealers could be incorporating those events when releasing content. Election day? National holiday? Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid… The list goes on!
We live in an age of hyperlocal social marketing. People check into locations all over the world and demand immediate information, which means brand can (and should!) communicate with their target audience in a more localized and personal way just to keep up.
Featuring Known and Trusted Employees
Who is the face of your brand on the ground? Is it you — the marketing manager?
Of course not! You can improve sales, but you aren’t the person physically selling your product to local people every day. That’s left to local dealers — the known and trusted face of your brand in the field.
So why not incorporate them in your marketing campaign? That’s exactly what last mile marketing distribution is all about. You can celebrate and share the success of your troops on the ground by giving them access to content which features them.
Build a Timeline
Your brand has a story. Like all good stories, there are twists and turns over time. But do your local consumers know it?
You can use content creation to tell the story of your brand, but it’s equally important that your consumers enjoy the bits which are important to them. For example — say you’ve just won an award in a local community. You want to share it!
Last mile content distribution provides you with the tools to do so, without having to create new content for every award in every community. You could say it takes the hard work out of the process. And you can repost this local content too on your social channels. Showing the world that your brand affects people in all these local communities.
Let the Experts Have Their Say
There are a lot of different voices involved the story of a brand — each with their own authentic viewpoint. Industry leaders, subject matter experts and more have their own take on your product.
The beauty of content marketing is that expert distributors can have their say in your marketing campaign. As the marketing manager of a clothing brand for example, you probably consider yourself a bit of a fashionista — but does your content reflect the latest style in different areas around the world? Are you an expert in the hottest trends in Asia or South America?
Your distributors and dealers are — which means you already employ people who are in the know. It’s as simple as helping them share their voice! It’s all about giving your dealers enough freedom to create this local content and have them stick to your global guidelines. Guiding them by example helps. Explaining your brand guidelines regularly helps too. And by coaching them, you really empower them.
Embrace Culture
We’ve already mentioned how diversity and local trends vary — it’s not always easy to curate content which is one-size-fits-all. When it comes to different cultures across the world, creating a suitable marketing campaign isn’t easy.
Even the most established brands make simple mistakes. Don’t believe us? Then you’ve probably never heard of the blunder made by Coca-Cola. Their brand name is the most widely known word in the world. However, when the time came to conquer China they found out (the hard way) that the characters which they used meant their logo looked very similar to the words for ‘bite the wax tadpole.’
You’d have thought they learnt from that mistake, but a similar incident happened more recently as well — this time a miscommunication due to a translation faux-pas in French. The long and short of it is that in content distribution, one size doesn’t fit all. If only Coca-Cola had a last mile marketing guru to tell them that!
Get Creative
Creating killer marketing campaigns which people all over the world can engage with doesn’t have to be a labor of love — in fact, it doesn’t have to take much effort at all! You already have a PR army across the globe just waiting to be activated. Local distributors and dealers are an untapped resource!
Once you realize this, it is truly possible to create a marketing campaign which will go to the ends of the earth. Your competitors are optimizing their content for local regions and so too should you. It’s a chance to get creative with your marketing campaigns — what are you waiting for?
Now you’ve seen how important it is to adapt your content to the local market, why not get in touch and find out how Embrosa make it easier for you?
At Embrosa, we believe in the importance of diversity. We have a weak spot for local entrepreneurs who offer a unique range of products or services. Also, we love brands that have an inspiring story to tell, that offer unique products and that bring diversity and differentiation to their industry. Do you have a great story to tell and do you want your end consumer to know all about it? Go for dealer marketing by using our smart Last Mile Marketing Distribution solution!
