By Jennifer Karpus, Tire Business staff
AKRON (June 8, 2015) — The temperature is rising. The cottonwood — at least here in the Cleveland/Akron area — is flying. The grills are firing up. That can only mean one thing: It is summer, summer, summertime (said in the style of DJ Jazzy Jeff &The Fresh Prince).
While there are plenty of activities that can kick off the season in the “off work” hours, why not utilize some of these for your business and your social media presence?
My biggest suggestion for the summer is to start doing activities in the store and promoting them on social media. For instance, have you ever had a cookout at the shop for your employees? Or even as a customer appreciation day? Promote it beforehand on social media to let your followers know about this fun event, then take photos during the gathering and post them to Facebook or Instagram or any of your more visually oriented social media sites.
An article from iMediaConnection reminds us that with the summer season also comes travel season, and that's something an independent tire dealer or automotive service shop can certainly take advantage of.
Do you have any specials going on in your business? Getting tire pressure checked, oil changes, etc. are all things motorists should be doing before a big road trip. Promote it on social media and your website. Sharing travel and maintenance tips on your social media sites also is time-appropriate during the summer months.
“Use the travel season to offer timely ads,” the iMediaConnection article reads.
“Even attention to such things as weather or traffic patterns will provide insight into which ads to serve, and when.”
Go where your customers are. Promoting on social media for events in the store creates a two-fold approach: Younger customers will see and appreciate it through social media channels and other demographics will see your promotions in the shop or by word-of-mouth and enjoy the event as well. By covering all your bases, you are allowing yourself to hit your target demographics in one swoop.
Since summer is a great time for outdoor activities, you could host a raffle to give away two tickets to a professional baseball game or to a nearby amusement park. It wouldn't take too much money out of your budget, but will show your customers you appreciate them and their patronage.
If you don't have anything like that nearby, think about sponsoring a local baseball team — perhaps in a youth league — and connect with them on social media. Share their posts or tag them in your posts. What about something as simple as hosting an ice cream social at your shop for local sports teams after their games? It's a great way to be active in the community and gives you a great forum to showcase these efforts on social media.
On the flipside, we all know that social media can consume our time more than we intended. Business to Community presented this helpful article about how you can manage your social media presence, but still have a personal life this summer.
References:
http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2015/06/04/tips-enhance-your-small-businesss-summer-marketing-strategy#axzz3cDAyrAY5
http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/38684.asp
http://www.business2community.com/social-media/how-to-manage-social-media-and-still-enjoy-summer-01240544
