Tag: audience

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Manage Social Media with a Calendar

social media calendar

As a business owner, staying on top of social media can sometimes feel overwhelming. In this blog post, we will guide you through the process of effectively managing your social media presence with the help of a social media calendar.

Benefits of a social media calendar

  1. Strategic Planning: A social media calendar serves as a strategic and detailed plan for your upcoming posts. It ensures that you have a clear overview of what content will be shared, including important information such as the social channel and optimal posting times.
  2. Time-Saving and Consistency: By organizing your social media content in advance, a calendar saves you time and effort. It allows you to schedule posts in advance, ensuring a consistent presence across your social channels.

Conducting a social media audit

Before diving into planning your future posts, it’s essential to conduct a social media audit to gain valuable insights into your past content. Here are key aspects to focus on during your audit:

  1. Assess Metrics: Analyze the metrics of each social media account to define success criteria. Pay attention to engagement levels, reach, and conversion rates. This analysis will help you understand what’s been working and what needs improvement.
  2. Evaluate High and Low Performers: Identify your highest and lowest performing posts and campaigns. By understanding what resonates with your audience and what doesn’t, you can refine your content strategy moving forward.
  3. Define Your Target Audience: Review your existing followers and target audience. Understand their demographics, interests, and preferences. This information will guide your content creation and help you tailor your messages to appeal to your audience.
  4. Identify Areas for Improvement: Based on the audit findings, identify areas where you can improve your social media presence. This could include refining your content strategy, exploring new platforms, or engaging with your audience more effectively.

In our next blog post, we will dive deeper into the different types of content you can consider for your social media strategy. Stay tuned for valuable insights and ideas to enhance your social media presence.

If you found this blog post helpful in managing your retail business, we invite you to subscribe to Creative Retailer for more valuable information and guidance. Already a subscriber? Join our Facebook group, where industry specialists like yourself share insights and engage in meaningful dialogue. Additionally, if you prefer a specific topic or want to explore our previous articles, you can always purchase single issues of Creative Retailer to access the content that interests you most.

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Online Marketing Tips (Just in Time for the Holidays)

Online Marketing

With the Holidays in full swing, it’s important to cater to your customer more than ever. Check out these online marketing tips to increase your online sales.

Marketing Ads

When creating ads online make sure to know what buzz or keywords your audience searches for. Then tailor your messaging around those words. This audience-specific messaging is more likely to cross their path.

If you’re trying to get your products featured on a Google search, head over Google Merchant Center’s Promotions feature for help with that. If potential customers are searching for a product you sell online, you can get it in front of them (bonus tip; offering a discount or free shipping helps also).

Other ideas

Other ideas include putting a pop-up ad on your website with a discount option when the customer signs up for your newsletter.

Another way to help is through creating gift guides. This way you can promote the products you love, while helping with gift ideas for mom, dad, or a distant cousin.

Speaking of gift guides, there’s nothing easier than a gift card option. Be sure to make them available both in-store and online.

Lastly, don’t forget to offer curbside pickup. That’s one COVID trend that’s definitely not going away.

Speaking of online marketing, we want to let you know The Buzz is still available for just $12.95. You’ll receive 15 30-minute informative videos on the latest products, techniques, and information to launch you into 2022 (as well as how to display those products in your store). Plus, you’ll also receive an awesome swag “bag” box while supplies last.

If you’re looking for more information to guide you in owning a retail business, subscribe to American Quilt Retailer today. Already a subscriber? No worries—join our Facebook group for insights and dialogue from industry specialists like you. And don’t forget, you can always purchase single issues if you prefer that instead.

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Partner with an Influencer

Influencer

Partnering with an influencer is a great idea if you’re looking to expand your audience. Read on to find out what a partnership could look like.

Where to Begin

When you hear the word influencer, social media is likely the first thing that comes to mind. And you wouldn’t be wrong! The term influencer stems from marketers who utilize people with a strong social media influence. (Did you know there are now companies that act as agents on behalf of these influencers? Crazy times we live in!)

Just how influential these influencers are doesn’t really matter (and hasn’t really been defined). This is good news. This means you can reach out to anybody in your area with a large following to get your brand to a larger audience. Plus, the same works for them as well!

Influencer Campaigns

Before you reach out to an influencer, make sure you have a campaign in mind. This means your campaign will be different based on who you’re reaching out to. Also be open to their ideas and/or changes.

Starting with a charity event is a great place to start (or any other event without profit involved). This way you get a good idea of how you work together without getting into the weeds. If things go well, you can consider more frequent and larger campaigns.

If you’re looking for more information to guide you in owning a retail business, subscribe to American Quilt Retailer today. Already a subscriber? No worries—join our Facebook group for insights and dialogue from industry specialists like you. And don’t forget, you can always purchase single issues if you prefer that instead.

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Podcast Basics: What You Need To Know

podcast

Everybody has a podcast these days. Should your business be one of them? Find out everything you need to know before you jump in.

Podcast Basics

As business owners we already have one thing many people who start podcasts don’t: a following. Before you decide to push a podcast to your audience, make sure you can provide enough information. Without the content, you don’t have a podcast.

The next thing to think about is your podcast format. Will you be the host? Will you cohost? What about special guests? Once you figure out your style you can determine how long you want the episodes to be (any where from 4 minutes to 2 hours) and how frequently you release episodes. This could be every week, every month, or seasonally to fill in your slow months.

Equipment

There’s a lot of information available as to what recording software is the best. The good news is starting a podcast is cheap; it shouldn’t set you back more than $100.

Another thing to consider is editing software. Again, you’ve got a couple of options so if you have any editing experience think about what’s important to you (ease of use? amazing features?). Do your research and tailor your decision based off that.

After you get the equipment, practice before you go live. (Talking in a microphone is more difficult than you’d think!) Plus you’ll get a better idea of how to script your episodes.

Once you start the opportunities are limitless! Eventually you can get advertisers and bigger-name guests.

If you’re looking for more information to guide you in owning a retail business, subscribe to American Quilt Retailer today. Already a subscriber? No worries—join our Facebook group for insights and dialogue from industry specialists like you. And don’t forget, you can always purchase single issues if you prefer that instead.