In this episode of Building Success Stories, Producer Seth and I discuss how to keep your marketing going during your busy season and maximize the benefits of the increased exposure it brings – to make the most of your digital marketing during your busy season and events.
Whenever your busy season is, it is essential to plan and prepare to use your digital marketing channels to get the most out of opportunities that arise. You also need to plan to keep your marketing and sales going throughout the times when you probably feel you don’t have time to!
For certain businesses, the busy season is when they must market and allocate resources. A sports team must engage with fans on digital channels the most during its active season. Many of these businesses go dormant “out of season” when they should maintain an active digital presence year-round.
If you let your marketing go dormant for a few weeks, you’ll have to play catch-up when you return to it. Unfortunately, many find it hard to return to it because they’ve gotten out of the flow and habit. You risk losing any momentum and engagement you’ve built with your audience.
Listen to this episode to learn how to:
- Prepare your existing channels for heavy traffic.
- Set up a “lead funnel” to maximize lead capture opportunities.
- Benefit from organizing, participating in, or attending a big event.
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Take action!
- Look at your calendar for the rest of 2024. Identify the busy periods when it is challenging to maintain your marketing activities, i.e., content generation and delivery, engagement on social media, etc.
- Identify at least one of these strategies that you will use to prepare and capitalize on your busy season.
- Then, email admin@placentric.com with your approach and get a quick evaluation.
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Read on for more tips and resources.
Make the Most of Increased Exposure During Your Busy Season
Get Your Existing Channels Ready For Heavy Traffic
- Decide where to focus. Which channels, segments of your audience, etc., need the most attention during this time?
- Identify actions you can automate, streamline, take care of in advance, etc.
- Create relevant content in advance and schedule to post throughout the busy season.
- Set up autoresponders and communicate the expected response times to manage users’ expectations.
- Set up notifications so you don’t miss communications and other interactions happening on your channels.
- Use chatbots and FAQ pages to provide an easy way for users to get the necessary information and lessen the burden on you and your staff to answer straightforward questions. Include direct contact options for those who need or want to call or email.
- Ensure that the type of information needed during this time is easy to find and reach. Include prominent links to “how to find us,” contact details, “what you need when you come,” etc.
- Limit the opportunities for information to go out of date. Review your website and social media profiles for any information that needs to be updated or will change. Plan how to keep this information up to date. Either schedule time to check these areas regularly and set reminders – have a checklist, if needed – or only show this information in one place, perhaps your Google Business Profile, and point the other channels to this.
Set Up A “Lead Funnel” – Maximize The Opportunity To Capture Leads
- Use an email or text marketing platform to gather contact details and send automated, targeted messages to bring the leads through the buyer journey. (Read more: Buyer’s Journey – Understand the Stages & Use Them to Win Customers Journey.)
- Create a “Lead Magnet.” Create a free offer of sufficient value to your audience to attract them to subscribe. The item can be a PDF, an image, a video that provides relevant information, an entry to a workshop, a gift of inexpensive branded merchandise, etc. It shouldn’t be a significant cost for you that would impact ROI, but it does need to provide some value to the subscriber. You may wish to offer a discount or a free add-on to a purchase, but this may be less attractive to those in the Buyer Journey’s early stages.
- Establish an automated email campaign with a series of messages delivered to subscribers at relevant points in time based on the stages of the Buyer Journey for your audience.
- Create separate funnels with messaging and lead magnets specific to the different segments of your audience and, if relevant, how they found you, i.e., at an event, came into your premises, etc. The more specific and personal the messaging, the more likely it is to engage and win over your audience, even with automated messaging.
- Provide opportunities to sign up at every possible point of contact with your audience: all website pages, point of sale, follow-up messages, tablets at events, QR codes, signage, offline advertising, etc.
- Partner with relevant businesses (others attending the events, etc.) to create combined offers or marketing opportunities. Exchange guest posts, interviews, etc., to feature on each other’s websites, mailings, etc.
Planning and preparation for continuous marketing and engagement are essential for businesses that hold or participate in events, festivals, farmers markets, trade shows, pop-ups, etc., and have the opportunity to engage an audience they may not otherwise reach.
If you are organizing, participating, or attending a big event:
- Give a heads-up to the person who manages your website hosting, which may be your digital marketing agency, to ensure that you have sufficient bandwidth to keep your website online during periods of heavy traffic. You may need to upgrade your hosting package or purchase an add-on, even if it is just temporary.
- If you are the organizer, create a hashtag for the event and ensure it is posted and used so everyone knows it. Instruct people to use it—remember, calls to action mean the difference between something happening or not happening! If you are a participant, use the organizer’s chosen hashtag and consider creating your own if your audience will use it too (not instead of the organizer’s hashtag). If you are an attendee, use the organizer’s hashtag for all your posts.
- Plan time and resources to go live on video and with image and text posts to give updates on the event before, during, and after! Ensure you have sufficient coverage to monitor communications through all channels to take advantage of calls or emails, posts, comments, or DMs on social media, etc. Take advantage of the opportunity to engage with others attending live or virtually.
- Research if prospective customers or partners will attend and plan to meet and interact with them. If you have never met, see if any of your connections can introduce you to make the interaction “warmer.”
Investing the time and allocating resources to plan and prepare for increased activity will allow you to make the most of your digital marketing during your busy season — keep your marketing momentum going, maximize opportunities to gain leads, and maximize sales.
Have a chat with me to see how I can help you increase sales and grow your business:
Click here to visit AnnDonnelly.com and book a call.
