You’ve tried Google Ads, fiddled with Facebook Marketing, delved into Instagram’s promotional algorithms, and maybe even dabbled in TikTok’s ad platform. But what if I told you there was a digital avenue of marketing that still lies largely untapped? Love it or hate it, Nextdoor, the neighborhood-focused social networking app, presents a unique opportunity for brands seeking to target consumers on a hyper-local scale.
Why Nextdoor?
Nextdoor’s primary purpose is to foster a sense of community among neighbors. Users share local news, ask for recommendations, discuss local happenings, and sell or trade items. However, beyond these social interactions, Nextdoor offers a goldmine for marketers: a dedicated, engaged audience connected by geography and shared local experiences.
How Does Nextdoor Work for Marketers?
Nextdoor gives businesses the chance to advertise directly to local communities. Nextdoor’s hyper-local targeting can align perfectly with your marketing strategy if you’re a local business (SMB) or brand with a significant local element.
Here are key features and strategies to leverage Nextdoor for your hyper-local marketing campaign:
1. Business Pages
Like other social platforms, Nextdoor allows businesses to create their own pages. Use this space to engage with the community, post updates about your business, and respond to inquiries or feedback. Whether you already have a personal Nextdoor account or are just starting from scratch, claiming a business page on the platform is 100% free. Even better, just about any kind of business can be claimed on the platform, from big corporations to individuals who provide a singular service — like a web designer.
2. Recommendations
Users can request recommendations from their neighbors. This feature provides an organic opportunity for users to suggest your business, provided you’ve delivered a product or service worth recommending.
3. Sponsored Posts
A more traditional advertising route, sponsored posts on Nextdoor, are similar to ads on Facebook or Instagram. These posts will appear in the neighborhood’s newsfeed, allowing you to get in front of a captive local audience. Ads on Nextdoor are location-based. Meaning you pay for the length of time and area.
Advertising takes a lot of trial and error to get right. Sometimes that can get spendy. Find a number you’re willing to spend on ads. Say you pay $3 per day, about $93 per month for 10,000 impressions per month. Run your ad for a month. At a 1% click-through rate, that’s 100 people clicking on your site. Say you have a 1% conversion on your website; you can get 1 paying customer at $1500 for (example) web design. $1,407 ROI? But all this depends on your ads, website, locations, and selling experience. Etc. Maybe you won’t get any sales, and you’re out $93. Ask yourself, is that an acceptable loss? Would you have better luck cold-calling businesses in the area? What’s your time worth? What can you do to improve your CTR and conversion?
4. Local Deals
Nextdoor’s Local Deals feature lets businesses offer promotions directly to local customers. This is a great way to attract new customers, build loyalty, and keep your business top-of-mind.
5. Neighborhood Sponsorships
Some professional service providers, like real estate agents, can sponsor specific neighborhoods. This allows businesses to get in front of a highly targeted audience and positions them as local experts.
Harnessing Nextdoor’s Potential
The ability to reach audiences on a local level allows businesses to leverage more personalized, community-focused messaging. By doing so, businesses can stand out and potentially reach audiences in ways that larger, less personalized platforms can’t match.
Though relatively new to marketing, Nextdoor is a powerful platform to build brand awareness and credibility, generate leads, and ultimately increase local sales. It provides businesses the unique advantage of fostering deeper connections within their community, turning neighbors into customers, and customers into brand ambassadors.
Indeed, love it or hate it, Nextdoor is an undeniably potent tool for hyperlocal marketing. If your business operates on a local level, it would be worth it to explore the possibilities that Nextdoor offers.