via ThriveHive
September brings students, sales, and new marketing ideas. Here are 10 creative marketing ideas to promote your business this September!
September Google Marketing Ideas
Consumers use your Google listing to make decisions about your business before even visiting your website, so make sure your Google My Business profile is optimized for fall.
Publish Fall-themed Google My Business Posts
With Google My Business, you can post about news, events, promotions, and products. Do you have any fall-themed products you can highlight? Are you running a back to school special? Promote them on your Google My Business profile. These posts will appear whenever your listing appears on Google.
Add Relevant Questions to your Q&A Section
You can, and should, populate your own Q&A section on Google. This helps you to get ahead of common customer questions and increase their confidence in choosing your business. Take this time to think of any questions that may be particularly relevant for fall.
Do you have student discounts?
Does your back to school package include sauna use?
Do you have the back to school supply list for my local elementary school?
What are your hours on move-in weekend?
Update Your Fall Hours on Google My Business
If you have a seasonal business, make sure to reflect any changes in your hours on your Google listing.
Run a Back to School Promotion with Google Ads
Although Google My Business certainly affords you free advertising on Google, paid ads are still the only way to guarantee top ranking for specified searches. When set up and run properly, Google Ads can give your fall promotions a significant lift.
September Marketing Themes and Ideas
1. Back to School Marketing
Any type of business can participate in the back to school season. Run student discounts, a back-to-school promotional week, or offer back-to-school themed products. If your business services a college town, this is a great time to generate buzz on social media or by partnering with student organizations for events.
For more ideas, download our free Back to School Marketing eBook.
2. Customer Loyalty Program
As September marks the start of the school year, many consumers are receptive to starting new things—like your customer loyalty program! If you don’t already have one, take the time to create a customer loyalty program to encourage repeat business and improve customer retention. It can be as easy as creating a punch card toward a free or discounted product or service or just asking customers for their email addresses.
3. National Read a Book Day
An intellectual marketing day, National Read a Book Day is a creative way for preschools, tutors, education-oriented businesses to market themselves.
What if your business isn’t related to education? That’s OK! Use this September holiday as an excuse to read a book that’s related to your industry. If you liked it, recommend it to your followers via social media or in a blog post. Tell your readers what you learned from the book or how you implemented some of the lessons.
This is also a good way to give back to your community by reading a book to children or the elderly. Volunteering is not only a nice thing to do and will make you feel good, but it’s also a bonus marketing opportunity to increase brand awareness in your local market.
4. Labor Day
Labor Day is a national holiday in September. Offices and banks are closed and schools are off for the long weekend. Labor Day is a good opportunity to attract new customers visiting your town for the weekend or invite existing customers back after the summer. If you have a customer loyalty program, send an email newsletter out to your email list offering incentives to returning customers.
5. NFL Opening Night
Nothing says fall like football! Opening night for the NFL falls in September. Celebrate the season opener with creative marketing for your business.
Here are some ideas:
- Engage customers in-store and on social media by asking what their favorite teams are.
- Decorate your store, restaurant, or studio in team colors.
- Host a football-themed party—include pictures with hashtags on social media.
6. Grandparents Day
Grandparents Day is the first Sunday after Labor Day. Celebrate our older generations with specials and discounts for grandparents.
7. National LGBT Awareness Day
Market your business for this day by showing your support for equal rights on social media. Get involved in local events or hang a sign or flag in your shop window to let customers know that your business is LGBT-friendly.
8. First Day of Fall/Autumn Equinox
The first day of Fall is coming sooner than you think. September 23rd is the Autumn Equinox, which means that there are the same number of daylight and nighttime hours. This celestial holiday marks the official end of the Summer season.
9. Fall Inspired Decor
Put away the Summer decorations and start decorating your business for the fall. The end of September is the time to visit a local farm to pick up corn stalks and hay bales to decorate the outside of your brick and mortar location. Take pictures and show off your new decor on social media, remembering to include fall hashtags to increase engagement and reach of your posts. You may even want to upload photos of your fall-themed decorations and products to your Google My Business profile.
10. Host an Instagram Giveaway
Once you have your fall decor up and running and your loyal customers following you on social media, now’s the time to take advantage of it! Think of a new product or service that you’d like to offer and get organized. Follow these tips on how to run an Instagram contest or giveaway to get started.
