4 Ways to “Cash-In” This Fall on Social Media
August 20, 2019
Fall is the perfect time of year to market anything on social media. Why? Because this season has so many wonderful niches to explore; from falling leaves and fun fairs to trick-or-treat and pumpkin spice. This is a great season for engaging customers, improving brand awareness, and increasing traffic.
Throughout this article, we’ll discuss 4 marketing tactics you can try this season to improve customer outreach and get your social media page moving.
1. Fall Food is Everything: Most people assume the best time of year to market food is winter when the holidays hit, but this isn’t true. Fall is the beginning of cool air, ripe pumpkins, rich hearty soups, and of course big Thanksgiving turkey dinners. If the internet has taught us one thing this decade it’s that America loves food. From Masterchef and Top Chef to Ugly Delicious and the multitude of YouTube foodies racking up millions of views, there’s definitely a calling for food. And fall is the time to make your love of food shine.
Now, the first thing you’re probably thinking is, “my business has zero to do with food.” That doesn’t matter. Honestly, you could run a successful law firm in Kansas City or be a hair stylist in Chicago. Your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram followers don’t just want to know how you can get them a settlement fast or only use organic products in the salon. They want to know you’re human. They want to relate to your brand. And no matter what part of the world you’re in, one thing all humans have in common is food.
Repost those hot turkey memes, whip out the pop culture Thanksgiving GIFs, or start a contest for a coffee shop gift card with the lure of pumpkin spice goodies, all in the name of increasing your fan base and customer engagement. Remember, the more customers who comment, like and share, the more likely your brand is to be featured in the top results of a search.
2. Haunted Hijinks for the Win: Besides Thanksgiving, the other major theme that fall has going for it is Halloween. People love Halloween. They love spooky movies, costumes, and of course, candy. This makes a great foundation for any new promotion, campaign, or contest. Use Halloween to get your customers talking and commenting by posting a picture of your staff in their costumes, or by offering a favorite candy to the winner of a caption contest on a Halloween photo.
You can also use Halloween to increase the popularity of a product. Finding ways to tie your product into this holiday will get it noticed and have your followers wanting to have one by October 31st. For example, if you sell jewelry, having a jack-o-lantern charm would come in handy. If you sell stickers, creating some reflective ones for young children trick or treating in the dark would be a parent’s dream. And, if you sell candy…well, you don’t have to do much this time of year, but it helps to package things with monsters, ghouls and ghosts in mind. Remember to share all these products through your social media to make the most of it.
3. Make Back to School Cool: Back to school is one of the biggest calls for spending for adults with children. From school supplies and clothing to lunch food and electronics, there’s a huge calling for products during this time of year. If you sell anything which could be useful to a student, now’s the time to share it on social media and really play it up.
Posting back to school GIFs, videos, and photos will get your followers chatting and remind them that you sell products which could be useful. Show your followers why your kids need your sneaker brand this fall, how your art supplies are top of the line, or how your sandwich bread stays fresher for longer. No matter what you sell, there’s bound to be a way to market it for the back to school rush.
4. Trade Out and Trade Up: Aside from yummy food, fun festivities, and a revival of the school year, there’s one other thing that makes fall great. It’s so different from summer. Suddenly, flip flops and shorts aren’t a good fashion choice. That bright lipstick and pale hair color is getting swapped out for darker shades and more natural tones. Even activity choices are changing. Beach days and bon fires are out, but apple picking and long hikes are in.
How do you use the season’s change to your advantage? Remind your followers that it’s a new season, and it could mean a new them. Market your product or service as a way to improve life this fall. For example, if you run a cleaning business. Tell your followers to forget spring cleaning; it’s time to sweep away that summer sand and setup for fall. If you run a landscape company, show your followers photos of some amazing Harvest and Halloween concepts they might want to try out when the summer fades for good.
Make the Season Count
Whatever you choose to do to take advantage of the changing season, make it count. This is an excellent advantage to businesses looking to get ahead. The next big rush for stuff won’t take place until winter when consumers go crazy with holiday shopping. Get your products noticed and show consumers why they’ll make fall feel even better.