4 Fast Ways to Grow Your Brand via Social Media this Holiday Season

We are constantly getting asked about quick ways to grow your viewership on social media sites like Facebook. While there is no golden nugget for fan building (you must build a relationship and create trust among your fans) there are several ways we recommend boosting fan viewership in the short term to help gain more attention for your page.

1)  Make your website social. Be sure that you’ve included social connect buttons on your site (like us on Facebook, follow us on Pinterest and Twitter along with the Instagram link button)

Don’t forget to place the links on the top header bar so they are constantly visible when people are reviewing multiple pages of your website at the same time. (Or try the new “pop-out” feature from the sides of your website that follows your viewers down the page as they scroll.)

2)   Ask for the like. Ask your fans, friends and family to share your social media pages with their circles. Make it easy to do so by highlighting the link to join and telling newcomers what they can expect to see going on via your social media pages (and how much fun it is to engage with your brand via social media)

3)   Cross-promote other local businesses. Use the hyperlink and #hashtag to highlight other local businesses and share to share information with their fans as well.  Developing these connections can help you get the word (and your music) in front of the right people. Social media is a very reciprocal medium so when you promote someone else’s music they’ll promote yours, too.

4)  Use Facebook Advertising. It works!  Facebook ad campaigns are relatively inexpensive and can grow your band’s fan base in a very targeted way quickly and efficiently. You can use promoted posts which reach more of your fans and their friends or you can create targeted ads by specific audience type and set a daily budget for advertising. Both work effectively and should be part of your holiday marketing strategy

Keep in mind: Not even these quick solutions will work if you don’t create a social media strategy that is engaging and that showcases your brand personality on a consistent basis. Successfully engaging customers with your brand includes daily engagement to create a message that sells your brand to your fans and engages them to walk thru the front door to make a purchase.  Need help with your holiday social media or marketing strategy? Contact CBCG today. lynn@cbc-group.net

Are your customers going to pay attention to your store this Holiday season?

For retailers around the world- it's holiday crunch time. By now, you’ve purchased the right products, you’ve meticulously merchandised them on the store floor, you have invested in staff training and ensured that the in-store experience will be a memorable one – but there's just one problem,  there are no customers paying attention.

It's time to wake up and kick your marketing into high gear!  Starting today, with the right marketing planning, preparation and execution, you can get customers to engage and shop at your store this holiday season. Today we highlight some quick (but critical) things to consider in your Holiday Marketing Planning:

1.       What is your marketing message? – As you organize, prepare and integrate the content and timing for all marketing materials (e.g. email, blogs, newspapers and postcards) to be sent between Thanksgiving and Christmas,, make sure you know what your key messages are and why they are important to your customers during this time of year.

       In order to deliver the messages effectively, plan on sending a minimum of one email per week during this busy time as a way to stay 'top of mind' with your customers. Notify them of your in-store events, the specific holiday products you are carrying, any extended store hours and highlight (with pictures/videos) the wonderful holiday displays you have set up.

2.       How will you use Social Media to engage your customers this holiday season?  In addition to your traditional marketing efforts, you must plan daily social media posts (e.g. Facebook, Twitter and Blogs) in concert with your store marketing activities. Social media will build engagement, provoke brand evangelists, and instill customer loyalty if utilized well.

3.       What type of In-store Events will draw customers to your store?  - The best time of year to engage your customers is during the holiday season. Work with your staff now to determine what type of in-store events you plan to host in November and December.  These in-store events should generate shopper excitement and lead to increased brand awareness and sales; plan to have one per week between Thanksgiving and Christmas. (Don’t forget to coordinate dates with Reps well in advance to secure primary dates go to your store!)  Some idea include - Vendor Trunk Shows, VIP customer events, specialty category events—cooking classes, collectors events (specific holiday collectibles) 

A well thought out marketing calendar will help to insure you meet your sales goals and that you highlight the merchandise you have brought in exclusively for the holiday season. Don’t leave these details to the last minute- or you may lose out on sales!  Need more help with marketing ideas? Contact CBCG today. lynn@cbc-group.net.