Search, social, and customer ratings and reviews are the most influential channels for driving foot traffic and sales, according to SOCi’s Local Visibility Index 2024.

• The index highlights 100 of the most visible local brands in the US, ranked by their performance across Google, Yelp, and Facebook.
• The list includes larger chains like Ace Hardware (No. 56) or Crunch Fitness (No. 99), and smaller, regional brands like Wegmans (No. 12).

Why it matters: Increased visibility can improve the bottom line.

• High-visibility brands grow their revenue at two to three times the rate of the average company, according to SOCi.
• Localized marketing can help brands unlock $54.1 billion in revenue every year.

Highly visible brands have three things in common, per SOCi: strong search optimization, effective reputation management, and a localized social media presence.

Search party: High-visibility brands appear on page one in local search results 53.2% of the time, compared with 23.6% for the average company, according to SOCi.

• This means these high-visibility brands are 2.3 times more likely to be seen by consumers searching for local businesses online.
• Two-thirds (66%) of local ad agencies used search engine marketing as part of their local marketing efforts in 2023 and nearly a quarter (24%) plan to increase their spend on the channel in 2024, according to a November 2023 survey from Borrell Associates cited by Inside Radio.

Social butterfly: Social media is playing a bigger role in local marketing as consumers turn to social platforms to begin their searches online.

• Consumers ages 18 to 24 said they were more likely to use Instagram (67%) and TikTok (62%) when looking up local businesses than Google Search (61%), per SOCi’s Consumer Behavior Index.
• High-visibility brands average 2.6 times as many Facebook followers on local store pages as the average company, posting 15.3 times every month, per SOCi.
• They’re also posting more video—21.4% of high-visibility brand posts are video, compared with 10.5% for the average brand.

Rate and review: High-visibility brands average 4.5 out of 5 stars in Google reviews, per SOCi. High-visibility brands respond to 80.5% of their Google reviews with an average response time of 2.1 days, in comparison with the average response rate of 45.1% and response time of 6.0 days.

Being responsive to customer feedback can be an easy way for brands to improve customer satisfaction, a a top priority for 40% of local brands (11-50 locations), 41% of regional brands (51-100 locations), and 44% of big brands (101+ locations) in Canada, the UK, and the US, according to a December 2023 survey from BrightLocal conducted by Sapio Research.

The big picture: Search, social, and reputation management are all essential parts of any local marketing strategy.

• US advertisers will spend $157.1 billion on local ads this year, up 4.4% YoY, per December 2023 data from Borrell Associates cited by Inside Radio.
• While the top two channels by ad spend in 2023 were broadcast and cable TV, marketers are increasing their spend on search engine marketing and social media.

Local marketers should prioritize investments in channels they know customers are looking for information on local businesses.

• 72% of US adults have used Google search to look up information about local businesses, per December data from SOCi.
• Over half (51%) have used Google Maps for the same reason, while 49% have used Facebook.

This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.