Anyone who has ever lived in or visited the city of Philadelphia is aware of its unique kind of magic. The city of brotherly love is home to a vibrant food scene, an active sports fanbase, and a lively entertainment scene that attracts the world’s biggest entertainers year after year.

Philadelphia, in essence, is all about its diversity and the things that unite people of different backgrounds: Wawa, the Eagles, the endless Pat’s and Geno’s feud, and endless traffic on 95. No matter how many things tie the people of Philadelphia together, this diversity creates unique challenges for digital marketers looking to reach different segments of this audience. That’s why the team at Responsival is here to break down the biggest challenges that people face when marketing Philadelphia businesses and tips for overcoming them. Check it out!

Philadelphia Marketing Tip #1: Mind Your Suburbs

Understand the Power of Commuters When Marketing Philadelphia Businesses

Anyone who lives in the city of Philadelphia or the neighboring suburbs knows how vital SEPTA is to the day to day functions of a city. The regional rails and busses make it possible for people from Bucks, Chester, and Delaware counties to commute into the city for work and play. Additionally, New Jersey and Delaware residents are granted easy access to the city.

Why does this matter for digital marketing efforts? When you’re creating ads targetted at people in Philadelphia, it’s important to understand the power of your suburbs. Rather than targeting people who exclusively live within city limits, it’s important to get your ads in the hands of people who commute into the city for work and play. Here’s a couple of tips for doing this:

• Target people ‘recently in this location.’ This option, rather than people who live in the city, reached people whose last marked location is within your targeted region like people who work or go to school in the city.
• Target and write copy for specific locations. People in the Philadelphia area have pride in where they’re from, so calling out specific areas is a great way to get attention. Try starting your ad with “Hey Delco” next time you’re trying to reach this famous Philly suburb.
• Target morning commuters with precision. People who rely on the region rails have a built-in 30-45 minutes of phone scrolling every morning. Make the most of this time with running ads in the greater Philadelphia area only on mobile devices during AM and PM commute times.

Philadelphia Marketing Tip #2: Talk the Talk

Appeal to Your Audience’s Philly Pride with Regional Lingo

Every major city has its own slang that sounds like a foreign language to outsiders. Using this regional slang appeals to audiences who take a lot of pride in their city and shows that your business has a fun and edgy side that reaches younger demographics with ease. In other words, don’t be afraid to refer to something as ‘jawn,’ grab a ‘wooder ice’ at Rita’s, or chant ‘Go Birds’ in your next marketing video.

Philadelphia brands are already doing a great job of this. Honeygrow even went as far as naming an item on the minigrow menu ‘chicken jawn’ (shown above) to celebrate the flavors of the city. If you’re looking for some inspiration, check out Aunt Mary Pat DiSabatino on Youtube.

Philadelphia Marketing Tip #3: Know your College Audience

When Marketing Philadelphia Businesses, Remember the Vast Number of College Students

Like most major cities, Philadelphia has a massive college student presence. With Temple, Penn, Drexel, St. Joseph’s University, University of Sciences, PCOM, and more all within city limits (and dozens more in the suburbs), Philadelphia is a city with one fo the largest student populations in the United States. With more than 340,000 college students wandering across the Philadelphia area, it’s vital to understand their needs when marketing Philadelphia businesses.

These students are often more ethnically diverse than the rest of the city, are limited on space and modes of transportation, and often lack a large disposable income. However, this audience is likely to capitalize on food and drink specials or take advantage of services that provide time-saving convenience. 

Make the most of the college audience when marketing Philadelphia businesses by targeting ads and social media posts directly at them! Whether you want to offer an end-of-year carpet cleaning special to college students for a half-priced appetizer with a college ID, college students are sure to respond to money-saving opportunities

Philadelphia Marketing Tip #4: Know Your Hashtags

Interact with People on Instagram When Marketing Philadelphia Businesses

Philadelphians love their city and love to show it off. If you’re looking to engage with and reach some of Philly’s biggest fans on Instagram, it’s important to know which hashtags to use. Check out some of the biggest hashtags to use when marketing Philadelphia businesses:

• #Philadelphia - 9.8m posts
• #PhiladelphiaEagles - 860k posts
• #PHL - 277k posts
• #DiscoverPHL - 201k posts
• #CenterCity - 261k posts
• #GoBirds - 328k posts
• #Sixers - 557k posts
• #WhyILovePhilly - 524k posts
• #PhillyLove - 267k posts
• #PhiladelphiaFoodie - 132k posts
• #PhillyPhilly - 225k posts
• #Philly - 13.7m posts
• #PhillyEats - 241k posts
• #PhillyFood - 307k posts
• #PhillySupportPhilly - 426k posts
• #PhillyWedding - 143k posts

Philadelphia Marketing Tip #5: Complete a Google Business Listing

The Phonebook Listing of the 21st Century: Google Business Listing

When marketing Philadelphia businesses, we cannot stress enough how important it is to have an active, complete Google Business Listing. Google is quickly evolving into a no-click search engine, or a search engine in which the results page itself provides all the information you would need, leading to fewer people ever entering a website. That’s why it’s so important to load your GBL with as much information as possible.

In addition to completing your Google Business Listing with proper hours, industry tags, and a description of your business, it’s important to update your GBL like you would a social media platform. You should consistently create posts and add photos to keep your listing active. This will help clue Google into your business being active and important, helping more people find your business over time on SERPs and maps.

Check out this great blog post on setting up a GBL for marketing Philadelphia businesses.

Philadelphia Marketing Tip #7: Local Listicles

Using Content to Your Advantage When marketing Philadelphia Businesses

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably encountered a number of blog posts on your Facebook and Twitter feeds that list a number of businesses and activities to try out in your town. These blog posts are littered with a number of small businesses, restaurants, and more and are often shared with friends and family for inspiration for upcoming outings.

If your business hasn’t been featured in one yet, don’t sweat it -- you can always create your own! No matter your industry, listicles (lists + articles) can help create buzz around your business and other businesses you have a relationship in a highly-shareable, easy-to-digest way:

• 15 Valentine’s Day Eats & Activities Under $50 in Philadelphia
• The Philadelphia Guide for Visiting Foodies
• 25 Small Businesses in Philadelphia You Should Know About
• The Leading Repairmen for Philadelphia Homeowners in 2020
• Holiday Shopping: 7 Philadelphia-Themed Gifts You’ll Love

Not only are these articles easy to write and give a little PR-boost to your business, but the other businesses mentioned are sure to appreciate the shoutout! It’s common for these articles to be shared by the other businesses and their biggest fans, providing your a free boost when looking to expand your reach within the region. Additionally, having a blog on your website helps boost SEO and will drive traffic to other pages of your sight -- a total win-win (kind of like the Eagles in the 2018 Superbowl). 

Think it’s time to start marketing your Philly business the right way? Get in touch with the team at Responsival today to get started with revamping your online presence.