Nicole Leinbach Reyhle is the Founder and Publisher of Retail Minded, the Co-Founder of the Independent Retailer Conference and a regular Forbes contributor. The author of “Retail 101: The Guide to Managing and Marketing Your Retail Business” and Spokesperson for Small Business Saturday from American Express. Follow her on Twitter @RetailMinded.
Want more attention? Of course you do. After all, you’re in business to gain attention, right? To help, consider these ten tips.
1. Introduce Graphics into Your Social Media Strategy
Remember that saying that first impressions count? Well this holds true for online marketing, also. Keeping this in mind, create some custom graphics unique to your business that you can share via social media. Whether it’s your business tagline, a funny joke or a bold image that may appeal to your target audience, consider the return a small investment in fun, creative, graphics can make in your online marketing efforts.
2. Create a Facebook AD Campaign
Gaining customer attention is one thing… gaining their clicks is another. One way to help? Incorporate Facebook advertising into your marketing strategy. Brands and businesses of all sizes have found success through Facebook advertising, but more importantly customers are finding resources through Facebook advertising. Not sure where to start? No worries… there are people who can do this for you.
3. Reach Out to The Media
Gaining publicity can provide a domino effect of opportunities for your business, including the chance to gain new customers from the visibility gained. The catch? Gaining press isn’t necessarily easy. You need to offer a valid reason for the media to want to give you attention, and you definitely need to respect their time and efforts during this process, as well. A good starting point? Become familiar with the media outlets you want to gain press from, then submit a concise email with a press pitch on why you may be good for their audience to gain some attention.
4. Kick Your Sales Efforts up a Notch
When was the last time you made a cold call? Or introduced a new service to your online selling efforts – whether it was via Fiverr, Amazon or anywhere else? The point here is very simple, really. Do more to sell more. Consider what you currently do, then consider what you haven’t done in a while or even ever. Adding these additional selling efforts to your bandwidth will help bring in new opportunities to gain attention… and sales.
5. Reach out to Past Customers
In business, there’s always an ongoing effort to gain new customers. But too often, businesses fail to see value in past customers or even existing customers. Keeping this in mind, consider how you can stay in touch with consumers who have already spent money with you to ensure you stay top of mind among this audience. You can do this via a handwritten letter, a customized email marketing campaign or even hosting a VIP event unique to this audience. Don’t skimp on the details here, though. Get creative to get their attention!
6. Reward the Next Ten Customers With “Cash” Towards a Future Purchase
Okay, okay… not real cash. But the idea is to offer customers a reason to support your unique business again. As a thank you, offer them a “cash” reward of $5, $10 or whatever value you feel best to return to your business again for a future purchase. Add some fine print that identifies an expiration date and any other specific details that may apply to this incentive. Be sure you deliver it with enthusiasm, as well. This extra effort can go a long way.
7. Talk to Your Customers
Yep, that’s right. Talk to them. What does this mean exactly, you may wonder? Well… depending on your business, this may mean having conversations via email or even social media while others may have the opportunity to gain face time (the old fashioned face to face kind) between themselves and customers. By taking the time to chat with consumers, you can gain insight on what they’re thinking, why they may or may not have decided to make a purchase from you and more. Dig deep and be honest with your customers about your intent here and in return you’ll gain their undivided attention.
8. Strengthen Your SEO Strategy
SEO – aka search engine optimization – is a must for business owners of any size nowadays. Where you rank among your competition and in a Google search positions you for opportunity or missed opportunities. It really is as simple as that. Knowing this, what have you done lately to strengthen your SEO? Consider how a few tweaks to your online digital efforts can help improve your SEO ranking, while also considering how those who know more about SEO than you do may be able to help.
9. Incorporate Content Marketing Into Your Business Strategy
Why, you may wonder? Very simply, content connects consumers to your brand and business while also providing you an avenue to communicate with customers. Another perk? Content marketing has the potential to attract new customers – therefore reaching more consumers than you may have ever imagined possible, particularly when you consider content can be shared via social media and through email marketing.
10. Make Yourself an Animated Figure
You do have an alter ego, right? With or without, animated characters can attract a lot of attention to your branding, social media pages and overall marketing efforts. They stand out, surprise customers and capture attention… all goals that should be a part of any marketing effort. Combine this with a jingle, video greeting, animated music video or original song and you’re sure to be the talk of customers, potential customers, family and friends.
Finally, consider how the combined efforts of these ten tips can truly launch your brand and business to stand out among customers. Whether incorporating everything listed above or identifying a select few that are best suited for your unique business, your goal is to at least do something. Doing nothing, after all, will ensure you to attract the exact opposite of what you need… which again, is attention. So what are you waiting for? There’s no time to waste.
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