Five Steps to Attract More Attention and Customers Right Now

October 2018 Main Street Matters

Written by Jon Schallert, Professional Keynote Speaker / Destination Expert / Business Consulant / Coach, Schallert Group, Inc.

Editor’s note: This month’s spotlight on attracting attention and customers is provided by Jon Schallert, who works with communities and businesses on becoming consumer destinations. Jon, who speaks to thousands annually on his 14-step “Destination Business” process, is the opening keynote speaker at the 2018 Texas Downtown Conference co-sponsored by the Texas Downtown Association and the Texas Main Street Program. The annual conference is November 6-9 in Corpus Christi. In the spotlight that follows, Jon shares some “Silver Bullet Marketing” tools —easy-to-implement marketing tactics that can yield big results for very little dollars and can be used by businesses or downtown organizations. The Schallert Group, Inc. is located in Longmont, Co.

This fall is going to get busy quickly, but many downtown organizations and independent businesses are not taking advantage of some very simple tools that will drive more locals and visitors into your area for no cost or a low cost.

Here are five steps that every marketing team should be doing right now:

1. Blog once a week and keep it short

Blogging often causes business owners and downtown directors to roll their eyes and walk away, but blogging today helps with search engine optimization (SEO), and it attracts free media attention. I’m sure all of you know that the media can give your community or small business lots of free publicity when they write about you, feature you on television, or talk about you on the radio.

All blog posts should have a photo, with 100 to a maximum of 400 words. That’s it. The ideal blog post should not be about selling people; it should be about helpful information that everyone in your area can use. Your blog should be an information resource. Think of it like a written tour guide, not an advertisement.

2. Use Facebook Live, 1-3 times a week

A Facebook Live video, 60 seconds to two minutes long, is easy to create, but powerful enough that every downtown and downtown business should do them, one to three times a week. Remember that a Facebook Live video gets priority over other Facebook posts, so this should be at the top of your social media to-do list.

3. Schedule multiple events and post on Facebook

On your small business or downtown Facebook page, there’s a place to create and schedule Events. Most people think this means that they have to have a band or some type of big promotion going on to use this feature on Facebook. Not true! You can create multiple events in the same week, from featuring an expert lecture, a one-time tour, or even something so simple as a two-for-one ice cream cone discount. The reason you want a large number of Events listed on your Facebook page is that anyone who clicks on “Interested” or “Going” to any Event can be tracked and marketed to in the future for up to 180 days. This is often an untapped customer attraction tool. Your social media person should know how to do this, and if they don’t, well, you now know they should.

4. Get this book: Chase’s Calendar of Events

There’s a book called Chase’s Calendar of Events that every small business owner and downtown marketing person should own. It lists day by day, every famous person’s birthday and every event worth celebrating, no matter how obscure. Once you have the book, go through it and pick out celebrations that can add some fun to your downtown guests’ visits and these events will also bring you a wave of free publicity.

For example, did you know that this summer, in the month of July alone, I had businesses celebrating these obscure events:

• On Wednesday, July 11 it was Make Your Own Sundae Day

• On Sunday, July 15 it was National Ice Cream Day! Great fun for restaurants.

• Thursday, July 26 was Mick Jagger’s 75th Birthday: We had a business playing Rolling Stones music all day and anyone wearing Rolling Stones apparel got a discount on clothing.

• Friday, July 27, was Walk on Stilts Day

Buy the book and you’ll find over 4,600 birthdays and 2,250 celebrations and anniversaries listed.

5. Use Twitter to share your message with the media

I hope your small business and your downtown marketing people use Twitter. Remember that Twitter today is where breaking news happens. Reporters and journalists use Twitter to find ideas to put in their newspapers and magazines, on their television newscasts and in their radio shows. Make sure you follow those media people who write about businesses and active downtowns and when you post on Twitter, include their Twitter handle (their address), in your posts. Start feeding it to the media through Twitter.