Attention Getting

Small Business Marketing Strategist

Category: My Marketing Advice (Page 18 of 26)

Tips for Success When You’re a Newbie in a Crowded Market

November 11, 2014 /

by Gail Oliver, Marketing Consultant

Are you just about to dive into a market that many others are already in, and doing it well? Are you offering a service that so many other, more experienced people with huge client bases are also offering?

 

So what to do when you are newbie or late entrant into your market? Give up? No. There is always room for new players, if you do one or both of these things:

  • Improve upon the weaknesses of your competitors
  • Find a niche no one else is targeting

Improve Upon Competitors’ Weaknesses

No company is perfect. Even successful companies like Apple have their weaknesses. One of the biggest complaints people have had for years is that  the iPhone has a horrible battery life. If another company were  to come along and offer everything the iPhone does, plus superior battery power, that may be enough for some customers to switch over.

Maybe you just opened a dental practice, and all the dental offices in your city close at 5:00 pm, frustrating those patients who can’t afford time off work. Simply keep your office open to 8 pm just a few days a week, to capitalize on this need.

A great way to find competitors’ weaknesses is to go to Yelp and read what their customers are saying. Whatever customers hate about their business, make sure these will be the things people will love about yours.

Find a Niche or Specialty to Target

The worse thing you can ever try to do as a business is try to be all things to all people. If you can find and specialize in a niche, you will have much better success. For example, if you have just become a realtor, finding new clients is always a challenge. You can target the newlyweds or the empty nester looking to downsize, like everyone else is, or you go after a niche your colleagues may not have considered, such as the out-of-town-buyer. Approach the Human Resources department of local companies who appear to be doing a lot of recruiting from other cities and states for new talent. This new talent will need help finding a new home, and that is where you can make sure you get first crack at the business.

Maybe you sell gadget cases for phones and devices. Everyone seems to be targeting their designs towards the female market, but why not create cases whose designs specifically target kids. Do you know how many young kids have a phone and/or iPad these days? In fact, iPad cases for kids is a top Google search because this segment of the market is growing so fast. Don’t be surprised if soon all pre-schoolers have their own phone. Jump on the new and upcoming market segments if you hope to be a leader in your field.

GB OliverNeed My Advice?  Email me at attentiongetting@gmail.com to find out how I can advise and come up with some creative marketing ideas just for you.

© 2012-2014 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

 

 

Creative Blog Ideas If You Offer Professional Services

October 30, 2014 /

creative blog post ideas professional servicesNeed some creative blog ideas if your business offers professional services?

I get asked by a lot of my clients, particularly my professional services clients such as lawyers, financial advisors and realtors, if they would benefit from a blog. If you are your brand (which, when you offer services, is typically the case) then yes, you would benefit from a blog.

My blog is case in point. I doubt many people would hire me off the Internet if I didn’t back up my experience and reputation with blog posts that show my knowledge. It can be a powerful marketing tool for your business. That is why I do not accept guest posts, because I want the voice of the blog to strictly be my own (be leery of blogs that have a lot of guest writers, it tells me that they are relying on the expertise of others instead of their own).

A blog is time-consuming and a bit commitment, and I do not have much time to write mine these days, but it can find you new customers by drawing them in on content they care about.

Ideas for Blog Posts

Your blog topics should, for the most part, be things your potential clients are searching for on Google. If you are a lawyer, for example, using Google autocomplete start typing in “What are my rights” and you will see searches such as “What are my rights as a tenant?”, “What are my rights as a mother?”, “What are my rights in a common law relationship?“, and this becomes a good place to find topics to write about.

Quora is another great place to find topics your target market is interested in. If you are a realtor, look up their real estate questions and you will see people asking, “What is the best area in San Francisco to live in and why?” or “What is the worst investment for a home renovation?”. Make the title of your blog post these questions, and you may see more traffic from Google.

More Creative Blog Posts Ideas

But do you really want to keep it all business? That could get a little boring for your followers so be sure to occasionally add more “lighter fare” content as well. So, for example, a baby photographer can blog about “Stylish Maternity Outfits to Wear in the Third Trimester” or a financial advisor could blog about, “Tax Horror Stories from the IRS”. 

Ideas for Timely, Trending Blog Posts

Check out the morning newswire to see if there is a news story that is trending that you can add your professional opinion to and capitalize on the trending hashtag. For example, as a lawyer, do you feel that quarantining nurses coming back from Africa is a violation of their human rights? Or as an accountant or financial advisor, what does today’s news that the Federal Reserve plans to keep its short-term interest rate near zero means for your clients? 

Ideas for Lighter Reading

Quirky blog posts always get attention. For inspiration, go over to Buzzfeed, known for their quirky content. You will find articles that people tend to gravitate towards, such as 24 Truly Appalling Real Estate Agent Photos and 12 Pick up Lines Only a Lawyer Can Use (ok, not too sure about this one, but you get the idea).Creative Blog Ideas Professional Services

Need My Help? Are you are a professional who needs help with their marketing strategy and getting more clients? Email me at attentiongetting@gmail.com to find out how I can come up with a creative marketing plan just for you.

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© 2012 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Creative Blog Ideas Professional Services

Small Business Saturday Marketing Ideas

October 22, 2014 /

Small business Saturday marketing ideas

Updated for 2022. Looking for some Small Business Saturday marketing ideas for both retail and online businesses?

In case you are not aware, Small Business Saturday (SBS) takes place every year on the Saturday after the US Thanksgiving. Therefore, Small Business Saturday 2022 will be November 26th.

The goal is to drive business to local stores, restaurants and other establishments so that they get their share of local holiday spending dollars.

Here are some ideas to ramp up your marketing efforts for Small Business Saturday:

Small Business Saturday Marketing Idea #1: Email Your Local Customers

Hopefully you have been asking your customers and online visitors for email sign ups. If you’re a retail shop, you should be doing this every day in your store, so you can take advantage of opportunities such as these.

One of the best ways for a retail shop to get emails is to ask customers to fill out a ballot for a draw. Read my post, How To Keep Customers Coming Back to Your Retail Store for more of these types of ideas.

If you’re an online store, you should be separating your local customers’ emails from your non-local customers, just for the purpose of SBS. Send just one email (use emojis in the subject line to get their attention) and make a fabulous one-day only offer (it has to be really good, like 40% off) just for them. Give them a code to quote to get the discount and encourage them to share with all of their friends and relatives in the area. Even encourage curb site pickup if possible.

Small Business Saturday Marketing Idea #2: Reach Out to Local Business Reporters

Email the editor of your local newspaper (do it this 2 weeks prior or you’ll be too late!) asking if they are planning any articles on local companies offering special offers or unique in-store attractions for Small Business Saturday. Then be sure to quickly mention a special you will be offering in hopes they will include you as part of the story.

For online stores, ask the editor if they will consider doing a separate article focusing on local businesses selling online. It can’t hurt to put the idea in their head as they will be looking for interesting story ideas on this subject.

Small Business Saturday Marketing Idea #3: Follow the Social Media Pages of Popular Local Sites

Your local market tends to follow social media pages for their local newspapers, sports teams, radio stations, event listings and so forth. So make sure that you are following these pages as well. This way you can comment on their Facebook posts, for example, and now their followers will see the name of your business.

Make sure that you change your Facebook avatar to reflect a Small Business Saturday sale offer. This will help to further get their attention. Your local newspaper might even be posting local businesses with specials and sales on their social media pages. If you can’t get in on this post, at very least you can comment on it and mention your special offers.

Small Business Saturday Marketing Idea #4: Run Localized Google Ads  

Consider running a Google ad for your online store, just for the month of November, or last two weeks of November. This will encompass not only Small Business Saturday, but also Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If you make it a “localized” ad to just your city, it will be much more affordable. Be sure to include some of the popular SBS search phrases in your keyword list for the ad.

Small Business Saturday Marketing Idea #5: If You Sell On Etsy

If you sell on a marketplace like Etsy, make sure you have entered your city in your profile (if you haven’t already) as customers can search for shops this way. You will also want to mention your city again in your shop title and  in your shop description, if only just for Small Business Saturday (you can remove it from here after that). You can also mention it in some of your listing tags, as people do search “Boston Shops”, for example.

For your regular website, you should always have your city in your title tag and on your home page, especially since so many people use “near me” searches. For example:

Designer Pet Collars, Pet Bandanas and Pet Tags | Boston MA

Even change your shop banner just for the day with a graphic that shows a photo of a landmark specific to your city and that you are i.e. “Boston Proud”.

Small Business Saturday Marketing Idea #6: Aline with Other Small Businesses

Pair up with a few other retail and online shops in your city who sell complimentary (but not competing) products and ask if they wish to form some sort of alliance. In other words, they will mention you on their website/online shop if you mention them on yours. Kind of like a blog roll of local shops to check out on Small Business Saturday.

Again, you only have to keep this on your site for the week prior to, and the days after Small Business Saturday. Even use the #s4s hash tag (shoutout for shoutout) on Instagram to help promote your fellow local businesses and vice versa.

Small Business Saturday Marketing Idea #7: Get In Store Support 

For online stores, you could take this a step further and approach popular local merchants and see if they will try carrying your products in a small section of their store for just one Saturday, entitled, “Support Local Small Business“. Tell them you will bring all of your friends, family and customers to their shop that day. It could result in press for them as well (local shop supports local business).

Small Business Saturday Marketing Idea #8: “Localize” Your Marketing Materials

small business Saturday marketing ideasOne of my best Small Business Saturday marketing ideas is to add local labels or tags to your products (such as the logo above which you can download at my Etsy shop and use license free) so that customers are influenced by the fact that your products are home-grown. For online stores, you can use these when you sell at local craft shows or local shops. American Express also has free Shop Small marketing templates you can use.

Small Business Saturday Marketing Idea #9: Use Hashtags

Send off some Tweets or Instagram posts using the #hash tags:

    • #SmallBusinessSaturday
    • #SmallBusinessSaturday2021
    • #SmallBusinessSupport
    • #SmallBizSaturday
    • #ShopSmall 
    • #ShopLocal
    • #SmallBizSat
    • #SmallBusiness
    • #SmallBusinesses
    • #SmallBusinessOwner

Again, add your city at the end to get to your local market i.e. #SmallBusinessSaturdayBoston (make sure your Twitter profile lists your city and change your Twitter Trends box to see what is trending in your city). Also, retweet the tweets of other businesses in your city and they may return the favor.

Small Business Saturday Marketing Idea #10: Business Listings

Furthermore, make sure you have set up a profile on Yelp, Google My Business and Yahoo Local well in advance of Small Business Saturday. These listings are free and they help you to show up in local search results. In the case of Yelp, add a photo/image of any special you are offering for Small Business Saturday.

Need more marketing ideas for your small business? Check out my 12-Month Marketing Strategy Plans for a variety of different types of businesses.

Small Business Consultations

Since 2012 I have advised thousands of small businesses and I can help yours too. My very affordable Phone Consultations provide experienced and professional advice, feedback and direction as well as specific tactics to market and promote your small business.

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© 2012-2021 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Small Business Saturday Marketing Ideas. 

If Your Small Business is Failing, It Isn’t Always Your Marketing

October 20, 2014 /

by Gail Oliver, Small Business Consultant

Do you know about the four Ps of marketing – Product, Price, Place, Promotion? They are in that order for a reason.

Screen shot 2014-10-20 at 1.26.22 PM

The problem most small businesses and entrepreneurs make is that they do not spend enough time on the first P – the Product. They get anxious and excited and jump right ahead to the next three. Then, when the business starts to fail, they automatically think the problem must be their price, where they are selling, and/or their marketing efforts.

But more than likely the reason the business is failing is because they didn’t make sure that the product/service they were offering was:

  • Better than the competition
  • Different than the competition
  • Answered a need in the marketplace that competitors were not

Particularly if you are a late entrant into an over crowded market, your business has to have at least one of the above to have any kind of success.

Real Business Case Study

I had a client a few years back wanting to open a cupcake business. The problem was, the cupcake business was already thriving and full of competitors doing a great job. But she was determined and jumped ahead and started designing the website, logo, marketing materials, etc. I had to reign her back in and have her focus on the cupcakes before committing to anything else. If she was going to compete in this already crowded market, the only way she was going to have success was to offer cupcakes that were better, different and/or answered a need in the market that no other business was addressing.

Research the Competition

Your first step in developing a successful business is to research your competition in terms of what they offer. I researched her competition, noting:

  • The look of her competitors’ cupcakes – were they regular size, oversized, mini, mile high icing, round, square, in shapes, decorated, etc.
  • The taste of her competitors’ cupcakes – were they moist, decadent, rich, not too sweet, something I couldn’t make at home, etc.
  • The special types of cupcakes her competitors offered – peanut-free, gluten-free, flavors tailored to men (beer cupcakes), specialty cupcakes for sports teams, companies, weddings, etc.

If her cupcakes didn’t taste better than anyone else’s, look better than anyone else’s, and/or address niches the other companies were not, there was not much point going forward.

How to Make Sure You are Better Than the Competition

My key advice to every business is always this: match your competitors feature for feature, and then go beyond that.

Make a list of every feature your competitors offer, and then compare to make sure you are matching them feature for feature. Now, how do you go beyond? Find out what they don’t have that customers want or features where they are weak and customers have complained about.

One easy way to do this is to read reviews of your competitors – a great place to get this information. You can also reviews of similar products on Amazon, again, focusing on the negative reviews to see where a product and/or service is lacking and you can take advantage.

Making sure that your product and/or service offering is better than the competition and/or offers something different from the competition and/or covers sought-after niches in the marketplace, is the first and most important step in ensuring the success of your business. Do not proceed with any of the other Ps, until you have that perfected.

Need a Product Consultation?

If you don’t think your products are up to the competition, I can help with
my Product Consultation.

© 2012-2014 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

3 Online Retailers with Amazing Blogs

September 22, 2014 /

by Gail Oliver, Small Business Marketing Consultant

Everyone keeps telling you how you need a blog as a secondary alternative to drive traffic to your online store. It can be very effective as you target your prospective market with articles they care about, and it inadvertently brings them over to your online store. But a blog is a lot of work, so don’t venture into it lightly. Some big retailers do it really well, with ideas that may inspire you.

3 Online Retailers with Amazing Blogs

1. West Elm

West Elm Blog

Home retailer West Elm has a blog called Front + Main. They cover categories their customers care about such as Food + Entertaining, Before and After Room Makeovers, Bedrooms, Living Rooms, Bathrooms, Kitchen + Dining, Handcrafted, Inspiration and DIY. But also intermixed throughout this highly visual blog are links to recent posts on some of the top home decor blogs, so they curate content as well. They will also answer design dilemmas sent in by customers, giving a personal touch to their business. All content is very attractive for social media-sharing purposes and they actively encourage the use of their #mywestelm hash tag. Front + Main looks like a glossy online magazine that successfully promotes West Elm’s products but not in a in-your-face-kind of way.

2. Free People

Free People Blog

Boho clothing retailer, Free People, has a blog but is not strictly about fashion. They have also given it its own name – The BLDG 25 – and it covers all the topics its 18 to 35 year-old female demographic likes, such as music, beauty, food, decor, DIY, and inspiration. Every Monday they offer their motivational quote (which always do so well on social media), and the blog tends to focus on the bohemian approach to life – yoga moves, granola recipes, vegan smoothies, monthly horoscopes. They only have posts about their clothing every 5 or 6 post, so again, it is a subtle way to sell to readers.

3. BHDLN

bhdln blog

For wedding retailer BHDLN, a blog almost seems a given. But how to complete with the hundreds of wedding blogs already out there? Well they offer the best of both worlds. Like West Elm, throughout their original content are posts from some of the top wedding blogs. They do promote their products, as Free People does in every 5th or so post, with the other content being articles such as wedding day make-up tips, wedding shoe guide, hot trends, as well as studio visits and interviews with some of their designers. Like the others they give their blog its own name, calling it B-Inspired, and sometimes, instead of posts, they actually post a graphic representing one of their Pinterest boards, and selecting it takes you directly to it. A great way to get more followers.

Your Marketing Take Away

  • Post content your target market cares about
  • Give your blog a name so it has its own identity
  • Encourage using a company hashtag when sharing the post on social media
  • Link right to Pinterest boards as content
  • Curate content from other top blogs
  • Only promote your products every 5th or so post
  • Use it to connect to potential customers by answering their questions

GB OliverNeed a Creative Marketing Strategy for Your Online Business? 

Check out my Marketing Services page to find a service that is right for your business, or ask for something specific at attentiongetting@gmail.com.

© 2012-2014 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. 

 

Has Your Business Jumped on the Annual “Pumpkin Spice” Trend?

September 18, 2014 /

by Gail Oliver, Small Business Marketing Consultant

As I told you in my September Marketing Insider Report, when Starbucks came out with their Pumpkin Spice Latte for the first time in September 2003, little did they know that it would set off a seasonal flavor marketing trend. As you can see from the article featured in the photo below on People.com, the release of pumpkin spice products, for a limited time each fall, is a hot trend other companies are starting to cash in on.

Screen shot 2014-09-17 at 11.38.27 AM

All Types of Pumpkin Spice Products

From vodka to hummus to chewing gum to yogurt, it seems like every food company, drink company and fast food restaurant has some sort of pumpkin spice product.

This hot trend doesn’t just have to be for food products. Candles, home fragrance sprays, makeup products, lip balms, body washes, hand lotions, even dog biscuits all have pumpkin spice offerings. Last week, just as a joke, someone even circulated a photo of a Durex pumpkin spice condom on social media (it doesn’t really exist but it shows you how hot a topic it is).

Do These Pumpkin Spice Products Sell?

You are probably wondering the business logic behind this trend, in that do these products sell well? The lattes do. Starbucks has sold over 200 million pumpkin spice lattes in 11 years and even moved the release date up to August 26th this year. As for the other products shown here, it doesn’t really matter. More than likely, these products were conceived to get into seasonal editorial, such as the article above.

These products will also get circulated on social media because it is a timely topic everyone is talking about with #PumpkinSpiceLatte and #PumpkinEverything trending on Twitter and Instagram. So in other words, at very least, it results in publicity.

Are you planning to try any of these products or offer some of your own, even if just for a limited time? I know if EOS came up with a pumpkin spice lip balm, I probably would buy a few.

What seasonal flavor trend do you think will be dominating products next month? My bet is on candy cane.

ATTENTION GETTING ON ETSY

© 2014 Gail Oliver. All right reserved.

Case Study – How One Successful Small Business Only Needs to Have a Storefront Two Months a Year

September 15, 2014 /

 

In the city where I live, every year, for just seven weekends from early October to mid November, a local couple hosts a major shopping event called The Third World Bazaar.

They reside on a few acres of farm land where they turn one of their large barns into a holiday retail space. The owners spend 5 months of the year travelling the globe buying products for the sale from artisans in countries such as Mexico, Indonesia, Thailand, Cuba and Vietnam. Everything from jewelry to furniture to textiles to home accessories to toys to Christmas ornaments to other unique finds. In the 10 years it has been operating, the bazaar has become incredibly popular and proves you don’t need to have a storefront year round, if fact, it might work better if you don’t.

Screen shot 2014-09-15 at 12.16.03 PM

Why Does This Business Work?
  • The owners capitalize on the key holiday buying time of the year, October and November.
  • Buyers know that the bazaar is only open during these seven weekends (Friday to Sunday), so they make the effort to get there, and they BUY, because they know that they are not coming back again for another year.
  • As they own the property and the barn, there is no rent being paid on a retail space.
  • The bazaar barely has to advertise because of strong word of mouth and customer loyalty. People know when it is coming because it is always the same time every year.
  • They have food trucks on the site, and also sell pumpkins and apple cider, making this an all-day fall event.

As I’ve said before, when something is only being offered for a limited time, it forces people to act. If buyers know a store will be there tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, there is no urgency.

Ways to Have a Storefront for a Limited Time

Depending on what you sell, there are certain times of the year when it may benefit your online store to have a physical store presence. If you sell swimwear, maybe that is May/June. If you sell skis, that would be December. If you selling wedding goods, January is usually prime time. Or maybe you also want to take advantage of the holiday buying season. So what options do you have?

  • Approach a popular local store about the idea of them hosting a pop-up store of your products for just a few Saturdays during your prime selling season.
  • Consider taking out a shopping kiosk in a mall. Malls are hurting right now, so they may be open to the possibility of just a two month rental.
  • See if there is any retail space in your area that has been sitting empty for a long time. Approach the leasing agent about renting the space for just a one month period.
  • Ask your local church or community center if they would be willing to let you use their facilities in exchange for a donation.
  • A lot of hotels and resorts will host local vendors on their premises at certain times of the year.
  • Some business parks will also allow vendors to set up temporary one-day events on their premises, if it is something that will benefit their employees.
  • If you can’t afford some of these options, form an alliance with other local, but non competitive vendors, about going in together.

The goal is to maximize your key selling season with both a physical and online presence that will help carry you throughout the year.

Also to Read:

© 2014 Gail Oliver. All right reserved.

Customer Success Story – Why It Pays to Get My Insider Tips!

September 12, 2014 /

Want to hear a customer success story?

One of the opportunities that was going to be in my September Marketing Insider Report was to submit your business for consideration for Martha Stewart’s American Made Award, but the deadline was too close and my report wasn’t ready yet. 

So instead, I emailed this opportunity to my customers and I am happy to announce one of my customers, Half Pint Ink Studio, has been chosen as finalist!

Screen shot 2014-09-11 at 3.56.07 PM

Customer Success Story

How Being a Martha Stewart’s American Made Nominee is Good For Business 

In November, a total of 9 winners will be chosen, one in each category, with the chance to win $10,000 cash, as well as be featured in Martha Stewart Living magazine, on her website, on her radio show and in her marketplace on eBay.

But even to be a finalist is a stamp of approval from a respected publication and something that can be used on marketing materials and packaging to gain even more credibility with customers, used to get wholesale deals, and used it to get publicity with local media. So it is an opportunity that can be leveraged for so many other aspects of your business.

Good luck, Katie!

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About Me

A 20+ year marketing professional, small business consultant, ebook author & blogger, my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust!

I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012. It really does help to talk to someone who is objective to get a new, but professional, perspective. I have also written publicity pitches for clients that resulted in them being featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride,– just to name a few.

© 2014 Gail Oliver. All right reserved. Customer Success Story. 

Shop Local Marketing Ideas for Your Small Business

September 11, 2014 /

In need of some Shop Local Marketing Ideas for Your Small Business?

With Small Business Saturday just around the corner, there has been a growing momentum over the last few years to encourage consumers to shop and buy locally produced goods.

shop local marketing ideas

As a small business, are you taking advantage of the local movement?

Local customers love to support local business. Everyone has a sense of patriotism and it extends down to the city level. I don’t know how many times I have recommended this to clients. Start gaining a following and customer base locally, then leverage that success to go national, and then once you have national success, go for worldwide sales.

Your local media also loves to support local businesses. For example, one of my Atlanta-based customers took my advice and pitched a story to their local newspaper, The Atlanta Journal Constitution and got press coverage in their “Made in Atlanta” section of the newspaper, dedicated specifically to supporting local businesses.

Don’t discount your local market. They will be loyal and repeat customers and they will be more likely to recommend you to friends and family. Many popular, name brand companies started with local success, such as Starbucks, and then turned that local success into national and then international success.

3 Shop Local Marketing Ideas You Can Try
  1. Approach your local media, be it your newspaper, TV station, magazines, even radio, and see if they have a regular small business feature. They are probably even starting to think about editorial for Small Business Saturday, so your timing might work out well.
  2. Approach popular local merchants and see if they will try carrying your products in a small section of their store for just one Saturday, entitled, “Support Local Small Business“. Tell them you will bring all of your friends, family and customers to their shop that day. It could result in press for them as well (local shop supports local business).
  3. Add local labels or tags to your products (such as the logo above which you can download at my Etsy shop and use license free) so that when you sell at local craft shows or local shops, customers are influenced by the fact that your products are home-grown.
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About Me

I’m Gail Oliver and since 2012 I have advised thousands of small businesses and I can help yours too! Be sure to see my services and products below:

 

 

 

© 2014 Gail Oliver. All right reserved. Shop Local Marketing Ideas. 

Maximize Your Social Media Strategy for Fall

September 8, 2014 /

social media strategy for fallSo what’s your social media strategy for fall?

Besides fall-related content, it can be something as simple as updating your social media banners (and online store banners) to reflect the current fall season.

It can be a valuable sales tool for your small business.

Your cover images/banners are like ads for you. You can use them to announce a seasonal sale, a new fall offering, as well as to make your shop look current and still active, particularly to first time visitors.

If you sell clothing for example, do you want customers to come to your Facebook page and see that your cover image is still showing your summer fashion offerings? It might make them think you are no longer in business, or only specialize in summer clothing.

See how these top brands below have maximized their social media cover images for fall.

Update Your Social Media Banner Images for Fall

I like how Banana Republic has used their Facebook cover image to show various clothing pieces from their new fall collection.

fall instagram

Update Your Social Media Banner Images for a Seasonal Event

September is big for back to school, and for some stores, that is a top selling time. Below, The Children’s Place, used their Facebook cover image to promote buying back to school clothes to their followers.

social media strategy for fall

Update Your Social Media Banner Images to Announce a Fall Sale

Crate and Barrel only holds their upholstery sale once a year in the fall, so they use their Facebook cover image to promote it.

social media strategy for fall

Update Your Social Media Banner Images to Show New Fall Offerings

I love how the nail polish company Zoya, used their Facebook image to show their autumn inspired line of polishes.

Update your social media for new products

Update Your Social Media Profile Descriptions

Don’t ignore your social media profile descriptions either. A lot of companies will update their Twitter and Instagram profiles, for example, to include #hash tags of seasonal trending terms, such as #NYFW2022 (New York Fashion Week), #NFL or #Halloween. Again, you can also use your profile descriptions to announce a fall sale i.e. Fall #Sale On Until 9/31/22 or fall event, i.e. See Our New Fall Look Book. 

It is so important that your business always looks current on social media. It can be easy to neglect, but since more and more sales are being driven through social media, it is a mistake to not update it for every season.

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About Me

A 20+ year marketing professional, small business consultant, ebook author & blogger, my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust!

I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012. It really does help to talk to someone who is objective to get a new, but professional, perspective. I have also written publicity pitches for clients that resulted in them being featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride,– just to name a few.

© 2014 Gail Oliver. All right reserved. Social Media Strategy for Fall. 

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