Your pumpkin infused latte isn’t the only thing that needs a dash of special spice this fall – so does your marketing strategy. The weeks between sunny summer and the busy festive season might feel like downtime. However, with the right approach, this period is great for gaining new customers and getting them excited for holiday shopping. And with so many holidays along the way – from back-to-school, to Thanksgiving, Halloween and Oktoberfest – there’s a lot to celebrate with product tie-ins and through social media. Here’s how to leverage the fall to your marketing advantage.
Identify Your Target Audience
First, figure out who your fall customers are. With kids back in school and more activities taking place indoors, is there a change in sales pattern? Who’s visiting you most and when? Daytime moms? Baby boomers? Millennials? Professionals? It’s a great time to scan social media feeds to see who’s mentioning your store or creating content that features your products. For maximum conversion, tailor your marketing efforts to that special set of fall customers.
Celebrate Fall Holidays
Fall holidays sometimes get overshadowed by preparations for Christmas, but it’s a mistake to skip over popular and beloved events like Halloween, Thanksgiving and Oktoberfest. If you’ve never focused your marketing on one of these special days, or if you do the same thing year after year, choose one and try something new. High fashion, cosmetics and accessories brands can have tons of fun dressing up and decorating for Halloween. Every kind of business can celebrate Thanksgiving by expressing gratitude and giving back to their community with a charity initiative. With a little forethought, the right fall marketing strategy can drive sales and add value to your brand image and company mission.
Fall-Specific Content Marketing
People tend to have a little more time for online browsing during fall, so it’s the perfect time to focus on your content marketing strategy. Share ideas, insights and helpful tips with your key demographic through topical and engaging blog posts and eye-catching videos. Depending on your business, you might focus on fall fashions, fall colours, fall football or fall foods – from pumpkins, to turkey and Halloween candy. High quality content is not only shareable, it’s key to building brand loyalty and positions your business as an authority people can trust.
Fall Giveaways and Challenges
Everyone loves prizes, no matter the season. Hosting a contest or raffle builds excitement and introduces new people to your business and brand. In exchange for a contest or challenge entry, have customers provide their contact info to expand your customer contact list. Tie your contest or challenge to fall themes, like an online photo or video challenge that asks people to share their fall looks, their harvest recipes, their pumpkin carving, or Halloween makeup. Harness the Thanksgiving spirit of giving and gratitude by exchanging promo codes for food donations to a local food bank, donating prizes to a non-profit or charitable organization, or being a trick-or-treat destination for local kids.
Fall-Themed Email Campaigns
When done right, email marketing is a sure-fire way to build sales. In fact, The National Client Email Report states that businesses earn an average of $38 for every $1 they spend on email marketing. To add value to your email campaign, include an in-store offer or promo code that’s valid for a limited time. Thanksgiving is a great time to say thanks to your loyal client base by giving them a great price on products and services they love. Time your email campaign to lead up to fall’s mega-shopping days, Black Thursday and Cyber Monday. And don’t forget to reach out to new customers. A 2018 RetailMeNot survey found that 67% of consumers made unplanned purchases simply because they were offered a discount.
Fall Social Media Campaigns
Even if you don’t have specific autumn products to promote, it’s important to keep your social media channels full of entertaining seasonal content. It helps build brand awareness and attracts new followers who turn into future customers. According to a recent Sprout Social survey, for most shoppers (nearly 90%) just following a brand means they’ll consider making a purchase. One-on-one engagement is especially powerful for building brand loyalty, so make sure to repost and thank users who use their own channels to feature your brand.
The trick to a successful marketing strategy through fall is to keep it moving! By tying your content strategy, your social media marketing, your email campaigns and your promotions to fall holidays, you’re sure to maintain and build customer interest right through to those all-important holiday sales.
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