It’s almost summer! That means it’s getting warmer and we’re headed out to play and explore. As a business, you should be thinking about how you plan to capitalize on the summer months to increase awareness of your products and services.
Questions to Ask before Marketing your Business this Summer
As with all marketing initiatives, the first step is always the same: research. Before allocating time and resources to a special promotion or event this summer, first, ask yourself these questions:
- What is my budget for marketing this summer?
- What team members and resources are available to support additional marketing initiatives this summer?
- What current resources and expertise do we have as a team that can be used to engage with our target audience?
Once you’ve answered those questions, it’s time to begin exploring / weighing your options …
- Where will my target audience work, play and explore this summer?
- What events are taking place that attract my target audience?
- Does it make the most sense for us to pool our resources into a major community event or be part of several smaller community events? (Hint: this will depend on how the event caters to your target audience and what access (booth, handouts, speaking opportunity, sampling, etc.) you will have during the event and your available budget.)
- Does our current network of customers and brand advocates and the immediate community surrounding our location(s) lend itself to an onsite event?
- What ideas and opportunities exist to be a social media sponsor for a major community event or even run our own social media time-bound promotion?
3 Ideas for How to Market Your Business this Summer (Video)
In this week’s video, I’m sharing three practical ways to increase awareness, encourage trial and engage with your target audience through community events, onsite events and social media time-bound promotions.
Community and Onsite Events
As a compliment to the video, be sure to read our post on, “How to Promote Your Local Event: 5 Tips for Success.” In it, we share five tips that can help you increase awareness for your brand whether you’re attending a community event as a vendor / sponsor or you’re hosting your own event onsite:
- Create a plan for success and outline your objectives
- Cross-promote utilizing your current toolbox
- Online Calendars / Event Listings
- Community Announcements
- Reach out to local bloggers
Local events and onsite events can be a great way to increase awareness, attract the attention of potential customers and further solidify your relationships with brand lovers within the community. Whether you’re sponsoring a 5k, hosting a workshop or orchestrating an event on a larger scale, these tips can help you achieve your event goals.
Time-bound Social Media Promotions
The third idea I share in today’s video is that of time-bound social media promotions. First, the reason I emphasize “time-bound” is simply because you need to create a sense of urgency to encourage fans to engage in your promotion. Have a limited addition product line, incentivize referrals for a week, offer free shipping when you spend over a certain amount for the month of July, giveaway a free _______ when your Facebook page reaches 500 fans, etc.
Whatever your promotion is, make sure that it’s interesting and exciting enough to get fans to participate and tell their friends. Then, ensure you have the promotion run for a specific (preferably short) amount of time to prompt fans to act now or miss out.
How We’re Increasing Awareness this Summer: #OGS14
Hopefully you’re already thinking of ways you and your team can increase brand awareness this summer. For our brand, summer means participating in the Ohio Growth Summit. We announced this exciting opportunity last week (I’m speaking!) and now we have a discount code to share with you!
If you register using the code “KATE20” you will receive 20% off of the two-day registration. This conference is already super cost-effective ($145 through 5/18) for the value it has for your business and this discount code is the icing on the cake. We hope you can join us!
How do you plan to promote your business this summer?
