Whether your business is seasonal or open all year, marketing is a full time, every season endeavor. Off season marketing can seem impossible, especially if you’ve never tried it before. But when done correctly, off season marketing hacks can be the thing that keeps your business going strong, every season of the year. It’s time to strap on your thinking cap and learn some useful tips and tricks when it comes to off season marketing!
1. Partner with other local businesses and cross promote each other on social media
Although it might seem counter intuitive, partnering with local businesses in your area is a smart business move. On social media, it’s all about reach, as well as your engagement numbers. If you’re going to partner with a local business, you need to be strategic about it. Do a little bit of research and look at the following things:
- How many likes do they have on their Facebook page? The more likes you have, the higher your overall reach. Pages with under 500 likes might be struggling with getting engagement, so they may not be the best fit.
- What industry are they in? This matters because partnerships have to make sense. If you’re a wine store, it would be logical that you would partner with a local restaurant or food vendor. Or if you’re a clothing store, it would make sense for you to partner with a local clothing designer and feature their clothes in your store. The point here is to create a partnership that your current audience will be able to understand, and will support.
If you find a local business that fits these criteria, reach out to them and explain what you want to do. Partnerships on social media can be very popular, but there needs to be a why. Why are you partnering with this business? Incentives are often a good way to get people’s attention, or having both local businesses donate to a local charity for every new like they get on Facebook. As long as you make your audience care, your partnership has the potential to be successful. When you’ve created your partnership, don’t forget to cross promote each other on social media! This means when you post as your business page and mention them, directly tag them on Facebook in your post. Encourage them to do the same, and to share your content that you’ve already posted about them. This is important because both of your combined audiences will see the posts and gives you the potential to double your reach. Want to stand out from the crowd? Make your post really engaging by incorporating a photo or a video. A partnership with a local business is a great example of an off season marketing hack, and your customers will never even notice!
2. Build up your email database
Pull up your website and take a look at your homepage. When you look, are you seeing any Call To Actions to get people to subscribe to your email list? If you don’t have any CTA’s for getting email addresses, you are missing out on a valuable opportunity to get in front of your audience. Yes, many people find email annoying, but if you’re creating a digital marketing strategy, email marketing is a must! Even if you’re not quite ready to send out your first email, the hardest part is building up your email database. Use your off season marketing time wisely, and find a couple of easy ways to incorporate emails. Have a store front? Add a box at the front near the register so people can give their comments and their email addresses, all at the same time. Create a few simple Call to Actions on your site, like a box to grab email addresses in the footer, or add a pop up to your site asking people to supply their email addresses. These simple ideas can give you a good sized audience and allow you to begin email marketing when you’re back in season.
3. Create targeted Facebook ads for special offers and discounts
Just because your storefront may be closed doesn’t mean your customers go into hibernation! Harness the true power of Facebook and run some targeted Facebook Ads to give your followers special offers and discounts. The off season can be a great time to run sales or discount inventory that you have too much of. Target Facebook Ads by using your target audience on Facebook, or target those that are similar to your followers that aren’t currently following your page. Although you may not get any leads or conversions out of your Facebook Ads, they are a great branding ploy for keeping your business in your customer’s mind, no matter what time of year it may be.
4. Attend trade shows and conferences
Since off season marketing really isn’t a thing, it’s time to think about education and networking. Attending trade shows and conferences in your industry give you an edge, and allow you to meet new people. Trade shows give you a unique opportunity to get in front of your customers and meet them face to face, which can do wonders for working relationships. Looking for a new vendor or producer for your product? Trade shows and conferences can be exactly what you’re looking for! There’s only so much networking that can be done on LinkedIn, so it’s important to keep putting yourself out there, in person and virtually.
Feeling nervous about getting started with off season marketing? Give us a call or fill out the form below and we’ll develop the perfect strategy for your business!
