With the holidays upon us, let me share a few ideas on how you leverage sales around the holiday. Regardless if you are a retailer or service provider, implementing any of this tips will generate more exposure for your business.
1.) Small Business Saturday is this Saturday, November 30th. American Express give nationwide exposure to shopping at our local small businesses.
Go to the official website and download the logo, marketing materials and link to the $10 offer.
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/Shop-Small/
- Tweet about Small Business Saturday using hash tag #ShopSmall
- Change you Facebook Cover image to promote Small Business Saturday
- Add a TAB for special offers you may want to create for this one day & talk
about it on your Facebook
page now to build buzz.
- Host a Shop Small contest - have people submit photos or stories
- Email your list asking for their support & tell them about any special offer you
have created
- Pinterest - start pinning images of your products you're putting on sale or
especially want to feature on November 30th
- Get busy with social media promotion - up your posts, tweets and pins this
week!
2.) Show Some Humanity
The holiday season is a perfect time for marketers to exhibit the human side of a brand.
Find out what's happening in Maple Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
It's a prime time to engage consumers through social media. Small businesses can develop a campaign revolved around users sending in pictures of their family gathered around the table, descriptions of how they decorate for the holiday, or their favorite recipes.
Whatever they decide to go with, the name of the game is getting people involved in your brand during a time when they are willing to give feedback.
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3.) Re-design your Social Identities during the holiday season to be festive and fun. Think of creative ways to engage you audience during this time of year. Change your cover images for Facebook, Twitter, Google+ to a fun holiday theme and engage your followers!
4.) Spruce up your e-commerce site - if you sell products online, change your graphics to more colorful and festive images that make people want to shop on your site. Make sure your product descriptions are also fun and holiday related. If you aren't a creative writer, now is the time to hire a copy writer!
5.) Host an open house: An open house at your business is a perfect way to celebrate the season with new and old customers alike. Get out the apple cider and hot chocolate & invite people to stop by.
6.) Partner with Another Business: Let's say you love the idea of an open house but you run your business out of your home office. You would be reasonable not to want strangers traipsing through your home, but you can still reap the benefits of an open house this year by partnering with another business or organization. Host your event at their business or a local restaurant.
7.) Get a charity partner: Maybe you have a favorite charity you like to support during the holidays, let people know who you support and why. It's a great way to show who what you care about and maybe bring on some new supporters to your cause.
JoAnne Funch is owner of GIR-Graphics & Innovative Resources, providing creative marketing solutions to small business owners and non-profits who want to gain visibility off-line or on-line through strategic marketing ideas and consistent branding messages For free marketing tips visit her website www.girpromotions.com. Or, connect with JoAnne on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn
