Promoting a business is not all about creating awareness. It is about creating something that people will want to engage with. It is to gain attention, create customer loyalty, and, as a result, increase your sales. Due to many opportunities, it becomes difficult to select the most suitable strategy. Below are five ideas that you can consider when preparing to launch your business promotion that will engage the audience’s imagination.
Organize a Popular Social Media Competition
Social networks are a great way to communicate with your audience and a contest is an excellent idea to stir up your audience’s interest. Step outside of the box from the basic like and share campaigns. Rather than creating a problem that seems impossible to solve, design one that will make people want to engage themselves. For instance, you may engage your followers by asking them to post the best photo that relates to your brand or Tweet a story about the use of your product. Set up great incentives for the participants that can be a free product or service and always use all the social media channels that are at one’s disposal.
Leverage Partnerships for Co-Branding Opportunities
It is always beneficial to associate with another company because it will help to expand the marketing campaign and increase brand awareness. The best way is to identify businesses that operate in the same sphere of influence as the target group but are not direct competitors. For example, a fitness center may join forces with a healthy food restaurant and come up with a promotion whereby both the fitness center membership and the restaurant meals are offered at a cheaper price. Co-branding also adds value to the promotion in a way that extends your coverage because you provide the customer with a more complete package. It may be useful to organize mutual promotions and hold joint events or develop some promotions that would be useful and interesting for both parties.
Create a Limited-Time Flash Sale
Flash sales are good for creating the feeling of the limited time offer around your products or services. These promotions are usually short term, spanning from some hours to a day, which makes the customers to be forced to purchase the products. To make the customers run towards your website, give them something special that they will not get anywhere else, such as additional discounts or some combinations available only during the flash sale. Ensure you advertise it heavily before the event through the company’s newsletter, social media pages, and the official website to create awareness.
Implement a Referral Program with a Twist
Referral schemes are one of the oldest and most effective techniques of acquiring new customers but that does not mean that there cannot be an added spin to it. Instead of the conventional strategy of ‘invite a friend and both parties get a discount,’ try using a model where the more people the customer introduces, the higher the reward they will receive. For example, if a friend refers to three friends, he could be given a gift or be given an invitation to an event. Second, you could purchase bulk gift cards and use them as a reward for reaching certain referral levels, which will not only encourage your current customers but also include a bonus for new customers.
Host a Pop-Up Event or Workshop
Pop-up events and workshops are another excellent way of interacting with your audience more personally. For instance, if your business is a beauty store, then you could launch a makeup tutorial where the guests get to practice on the store’s products. A pop-up shop in a crowded area can also help in the creation of awareness and in drawing traffic thus extending the customer base.
Conclusion
Promotional campaigns are crucial to any business as they can greatly improve your business’s brand awareness and build customer loyalty. Whether you are engaging in a social media promotion, considering partnership and cooperation with another brand, planning an unexpected sale, using a special promotion code, or holding a flash mob event, you should be as creative as possible. Remember, the goal is to engage, excite, and expand your reach in ways that resonate deeply with your target market.
