Uncategorized

via ThriveHive

November is upon us! What better way to kick off a new month than with a list of great marketing ideas? Here are some ways to boost your marketing and blogging for the month of November.

10 Ways to Market Your Business in November

1. Update Your Google My Business Profile

With Google’s ever-improving search results, consumers are getting the information they need to engage with a business without even having to visit their website. This is why it’s crucial to have a complete and updated Google My Business profile. By communicating your products, services, hours, and location to Google, it can know which searches to rank you for; and by keeping your profile and active (such as by updating it, collecting reviews, and answering FAQs), Google can feel more confident in ranking you higher and for more searches. Here are some things you can do to optimize your Google My Business profile for November:

• Provide your Thanksgiving Hours
• Upload pictures of any November- or Thankgiving-themed products or services
• Create Google posts about Thanksgiving, Black Friday, or Small Business Saturday promotions
• Ask and answer questions related to visiting your store, especially if you expect more traffic on Small Business Saturday

2. Take Part in Movember/No Shave November

Movember or No Shave November is a movement for men’s health issues. Participants can sign up here and are encouraged to grow a mustache for the month of November to bring awareness and raise donations for men’s health and cancers. Some companies host Movember competitions between employees or among customers. Movember is a fun way to host contests or showcase your facial hair for men’s health on social media. Get involved in the chatter on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

2. Honor Veteran’s Day

Vereran’s Day is November 11 and comes up fast! Schools may have off and many workplaces are closed. While this could be a good time for sales, it’s also a great time for your business to make a push on social media thanking veterans for their hard work and sacrifice for our country. If you have a veteran who works for you, showcase them on your blog or website. A simple “Thank You” goes a long way and let’s customers know that you care about people, not just sales.

3. Celebrate Women’s Entrepreneurship Day

Women’s Entrepreneurship Day occurs every November 19. On this day, post some compelling stats about female entrepreneurs to your Facebook or Instagram profiles. If you are a female entrepreneur, share some milestones about your business. If you are not a female entrepreneur, highlight one in your community or network.

4. Participate in America Recycles Day

November 15 is America Recycles Day and a great day for showing that your small business cares about the environment. Does your business recycle? Include some facts on your social media or suggestions on your blog on how to recycle. If you don’t already recycle, now is a great time to start! Get a recycling bin and let customers know that you’re taking steps to help improve the environment for everyone! Participate in America Recycles social media efforts (#AmericaRecyclesDay and #RecyclingSelfie) to show off your recycling efforts and encourage others to do the same!

5. Support November Causes

Movember gets a lot of attention, but November is also host to other awareness efforts like lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and adoption awareness. Is your business affected by any of these issues or do you feel strongly about these causes? Make a difference and help raise awareness this November using social media. November is also the month of the Great American Smokeout when people pledge to quit smoking. Help support someone you know who is trying to quit!

6. Partake in Sports

November is a time when the NFL, NHL, and NBA are in full swing! Show off your team spirit by dressing up in team jerseys or decorating your business with team colors. Going to the game? Tweet about it or post pictures of employees at a game. Showing personality and friendly competition is a great way to market your business!

7. Run a Thankful Campaign

November is the month of Thanksgiving so don’t forget to give thanks. Post what you’re thankful for on social media and ask customers to participate. Make sure to thank your customers for their support!

8. Promote Holiday Buying Guides

December will come soon enough and customers are starting to shop for the holidays. Now is the time to start marketing with gift guides, either in written or video form on your blog, to help customers shop for the special people in their lives.

Free eBook: 50 Creative Holiday Marketing Ideas

9. Run a Food Drive

It’s easy to get caught up in planning for Thanksgiving but don’t forget those who aren’t as fortunate. Hosting a food drive is a great thing to do to help others enjoy the holiday who are struggling to make ends meet. Encourage customers to donate canned or non-perishable food. Offer a discount on a service to customers who bring in a bag of food. Host a contest where each can of food gives participants a chance to win. Donate the food to a local food pantry, church, or charitable organization and give back to the community.

10. Offer Thanksgiving Specials

Thanksgiving is the holiday star of November and a great chance to market your business. Offer specials at your restaurant or cooking classes for great Thanksgiving side dishes or how to use leftovers after the holiday. Gyms and heath-focused businesses can host or participate in Thanksgiving races or an after-Thanksgiving bootcamp class! Your pet grooming or boarding business can write a blog post on Thanksgiving foods that can be toxic to pets. The content opportunities for Thanksgiving are plentiful!

11.  Small Business Saturday (November 29)

Last but certainly not least, don’t forget Small Business Saturday! This is perhaps the best time of year to get your small business noticed. Register your business HERE and make a push on social media, your website, and your blog for supporting small businesses!

For more Small Business Saturday ideas, visit these posts:

• Small Business Saturday Promotion Ideas
• How to Create a Plan for Small Business Saturday

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.

via ThriveHive

June is upon us and we’ve got a new batch of 10 ways to promote your business through creative marketing and blog ideas. Round out the spring and welcome the summer with these great ideas!

1. Flip a Coin Day

The first day of June is Flip a Coin Day. Coin flipping might not be the most traditional marketing opportunity but with a little creativity, you can turn it into one! The holiday was made to create awareness about math. If math is relevant to your business, then this day is a no-brainer. For other industries, Flip a Coin Day translates into decision making or games of chance. Try out these coin flipping marketing ideas:

• Flip a Coin discount: For each purchase, have customers flip a coin and call heads or tails. If the customer wins, they get a percentage discount based on the value of the coin. Quarter flips = 25% off, Dime flips = 10% off, and Nickel flips = 5%. discount
• Blog about decision-making: Write a blog post about decision making in your industry with titles like:
  • “7 Signs You Need to Hire a Contractor” 
  • “Is This an Emergency? When to Call the Dentist/Doctor/Lawyer” 
  • “DIY vs. Professional Marketing – What You Can DIY and What You Should Leave to the Pros

2. National Donut Day

As if you needed another reason to love Fridays or donuts, National Donut Day is held on the first Friday in June. This is a great day to shine for bakeries and donut shops. If you’re not in the industry of making round pastries, here are some other ideas:

• Order donuts for your office and post on social media. Aside from being a delicious treat, pictures of donuts and people eating them are great photo opportunities for Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Search for relevant hashtags and use them to get your photos and your business found online.
• Buy donuts from a local bakery and give them a shoutout on social media. Make sure to tag them on Facebook and Twitter to increase the organic reach of your post.
• Host an after Donut Day workout at your fitness center. Donuts are delicious but not conducive to marketing a fitness center. Host or post a Day After Donut Day workout!

3. Flag Day

Hooray for the red, white, and blue! Flag Day celebrates the commemoration of the United States flag. Hang those flags and encourage customers to do the same. Participate in local Flag Day events or show off your flag swag on social media.

Related: The Ultimate Summer Marketing Kit

4.  Father’s Day

Promote your business through Father’s Day marketing. This is a no-brainer for businesses whose customers are men, but other types of businesses can join in the fun. Try out these ideas:

• Father’s Day Gift Guide: Write a blog post with a Father’s Day gift guide with products that you offer or in your industry. Promote the blog post on Pinterest so that it links to your business site.
• Father’s Day Gift Basket or Coupon Book: Put together a Father’s Day gift basket at your business to make it easy for kids and moms to shop for dad. Think outside of the standard tie box with:
  • Fitness class package – offer a deal on 10 classes just for Dads
  • Gift card for your restaurant with a bottle from a local distillery or winery
  • Gift basket of men’s grooming supplies at your spa or salons. Moms who come in to redeem their gift certificates for Mother’s Day massages and manicures will love the one-stop shopping!
• Daddy and Me Workout: Fitness centers and gyms often have Mommy and Me yoga classes, but there’s no reason that you can’t do a Daddy and Me workout class too! Host a dad and child workout or soccer game at your fitness center or invite dads to attend their children’s classes at your martial arts studio!

5. Summer Solstice

Promote your business on the longest day of the summer with extended store hours. The extra hours of daylight mean that you can keep your business open for longer on this one day. Promote your extended hours on social media and, if you can, team up with other local businesses to stay open late. By teaming up with other local businesses, you can create more of a buzz together and encourage your community to shop at local businesses during these extended hours.

6.   LGBT Pride Month

Show your pride in June by letting the local Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender community know that you are one of them and/or that you support them. Use social media to tweet about local LGBT events and attend your local Pride parade – hang a rainbow flag, dress up your pets, and show some love for love!

Contact local LGBT community organizations to let them know that you’re a supporter and encourage community members to shop at your LGBT-friendly business. Not all businesses are welcoming, so if you are, make it known to both the LGBT community and supporters to encourage people to use or shop at your business.

7. National Safety Month

Safety first always but especially in June. Promote your business through safety during the month by encouraging people to stay safe during the summer as well as in industry-specific situations such as:

• Promote helmet safety for your bike shop or write a blog post on “Helmet Buying Tips for Kids” or “8 Things to Watch Out For When Riding Your Bike on the Open Road”
• Hand out sunscreen samples at your doctor’s office
• Blog about travel safety tips at your travel agency or bed and breakfast

8.  Insurance Awareness Day

It’s not hard to figure out who invented Insurance Awareness Day but you don’t have to be an insurance agent to use this day to promote your business.

• Lawyers and accountants can blog about the benefits of insurance for individuals and business owners.
• Doctors and dentists can use this day to encourage patients to check out their insurance coverage to make sure they have adequate coverage or provide tips for connecting with insurance companies about procedures.
• Massage therapists, chiropractors, and fitness centers should encourage clients to check their insurance benefits—many insurance companies offer coverage for massage and chiropractic treatments or subscriber discounts for joining a fitness center or gym.
• Travel agents, bed and breakfasts, and hotels can use this day to blog about the benefits of travel insurance.

9. End of School

School’s out for summer! Promote your business for an influx of children, college students, and families.

• Host an End of School Year sale to clear out old merchandise
• Write a blog featuring things to do in your town during the summer—make sure to include your business in the list
• If your town is quiet in the summer, get involved with a summer school or camp to host events for students and campers

10. Graduation

Celebrate the end of the school year with specials geared toward new grads with things like:

• Discounts for graduates with your moving company to encourage new customers to use your company
• Special discounts for graduates who post a picture of themselves at your restaurant wearing their cap and gown
• Sponsor or attend the local high school or college graduation

via ThriveHive

It’s the start of a new month and we’ve got some fresh marketing ideas for you to promote your business. There’s more to February than just hearts and candy! Here’s a list of 10 marketing and blog ideas for February.

1. Valentine’s Day Promotions

There are countless Valentine’s Day promotions that you can do this month:

• Fitness centers: Host a special Valentine’s Day class for couples or a post-Valentine’s Day workout to burn off calories from candy and chocolate!
• Massage Therapists and Spas: Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to run a special offer on massage services. Couples massages, a day at the spa, and a chocolate facial can all be used for Valentine’s Day promotions.
• Restaurants: Valentine’s Day is on a Saturday this month and is the perfect time for a couples cooking class! Come up with a special menu of aphrodisiacs foods to ignite some romance in your budding chefs!
• Flower shops: This is your time to shine! Think outside of the bouquet and offer customers something other than overpriced, out of season roses.
• Gift and retail stores: Come up with a Valentine’s Day gift guide – it’s the perfect time to promote some new merchandise. Post gift guides on your blog or in an email blast to give customers ideas for what to buy their sweetheart.

2. Valentine’s Day Graphics

February 14 is Valentine’s Day – show your social media and email marketing some love with Valentine’s Day themed graphics. Hearts, candy, and love are good things to use to catch attention from customers! Use holiday graphics to spruce up your Facebook marketing and Twitter profiles but they’re even more useful when combined with Valentine’s Day promotions.

3. Heart Disease Awareness Month

It makes sense that the month of Valentine’s Day is also Heart Disease Awareness Month. If your business is focused on health and wellness, this is a great marketing opportunity for you. Fitness centers and gyms can partner with a local health center for heart disease awareness or screenings.

Host special classes focusing on cardiovascular activity or write informative blog posts about heart health and risk factors. Use this time to market your business by educating your customers to help them lead healthy lives. Any business can sponsor a Valentine’s Day race – there are usually fun runs or 5Ks going on around the holiday and sponsoring one will get your business name out in the community.

4. Black History Month

February is Black History Month and the perfect opportunity to highlight prominent leaders in your industry. Black lawyers, politicians, scientists, artists, educators, and athletes have shaped American society. Take some time to reflect on those who have shaped your business industry.

5. Children’s Dental Health Month

Children’s Dental Health may sound like a boring topic but it can be a great month for marketing your small business. Dentists can certainly have a field day with this one, but other businesses can use this opportunity to teach parents and students about the importance of dental health. Daycares, fitness centers, and churches can host special classes with families about the importance of going to the dentist. Perhaps one of the parents is a dentist and would like to come to answer questions for kids.

This not only helps your business interact with the community, but it helps local dentists market themselves all while educating parents and children about dentistry. This is a word of mouthreferral marketing technique that will give you something to smile about!

6. Ice Cream for Breakfast Day

In the middle of Children’s Dental Health Month is Ice Cream for Breakfast day! Everyone loves ice cream! Use this quirky holiday to market your business. Held on the first Saturday of February, this Ice Cream for Breakfast Day can be a fun marketing promotion for your bakery, ice cream shop, or restaurant! Although it is supposed to be on a Saturday, you can do this any day of the week. Invite customers to come in to eat ice cream for breakfast – it’s a fun way to interact with families and do something new to promote your business.

7. Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are held in February. This is a great opportunity for engaging with your customers on social media. You’ve seen the video of a police officer singing Taylor Swift – get your employees together for your favorite Grammy nominated song and share it on social media!

8. Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is one of the most watched programs on television. Use your geographic location, recipes, or business colors to engage customers for the Super Bowl.

9. President’s Day

President’s Day is famous for sales so use it to your advantage. Most schools are off for President’s Day which makes it a great day to hold a family-friendly activity at your fitness center.

10. Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras marks the beginning of Lent but down in New Orleans it’s party time! Host a Fat Tuesday party or sale at your business. Get customers in on the fun by giving a discount to anyone who comes in wearing a mask or beads!