Best of the Year (part 1)

2013 is coming to a close. This week we start a two part series of looking back at the best Tuesday Tips of the year. If you missed any of these great posts, now is the time to check them out. Can you believe this year is already ending? 2014, here we come!

Restaurant Promotions That Bring Groups

Instead of offering a 25% off coupon for lunch, try a 50% Off One Lunch Entree When You Buy Another or Buy Two Lunch Entrees Get One Free. These small changes mean two people are buying entrees (and hopefully more) for lunch instead of just one person.

Read the Full Post >

Mobile Website Tips for Multi-Location Businesses

Often times, multi-location businesses have a cohesive marketing strategy for their brand while allowing each location to host their own events and even their own promotions. But, it is unlikely that each location would have its own website. A single website for all locations is much more common and generally a more efficient and effective option.

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Consider the Wording in Your Scheduled Social Messages

Even when scheduling messages in advance you can include details in your posts. For example if you are having a live music night, you can send out messages with details of the band. Instead of a generic tweet like “Live Music Night is going great.” you can offer some details such as “John from ‘Grey Cycle’ is truly rocking it tonight! Get here soon to see the rest of their set!”

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Mobile Website Management Guide

Using these templates, you can create sleek and dynamic mobile websites for any organization. We have now compiled the various posts about mobile website management to create a complete mobile website management guide.

Read the Full Post >

Gift Cards During the Holidays

Promote Gift Cards as.. Gifts

The Holiday Season is full of gift giving. It is the main reason for most of the shopping that is done. In our Cyber Monday article we discussed local businesses promoting gift cards. This promotion can carry on past Cyber Monday. Gift cards are a great alternative gift and have become more and more popular over the years. If you are not selling gift cards or promoting your gift cards, you are missing out on a potentially huge market.

The most basic aspect of selling gift cards is letting people know you offer them. Many restaurants or local stores have them, but only discuss them when a customer asks. Your store/restaurant should have signs letting people know and your website should not be shy about it. Additionally, schedule social media posts reminding people that gift cards can be purchased and that they make great gifts.

You can also run small promotions such as 5% or 10% off gift cards. This little push can help you get purchases from people who were undecided and help you sell higher priced gift cards.

After the Holidays

After the holiday season is over, people will be coming in to use those gift cards. Gift cards are best for businesses when the customer buys something of greater value than the gift card. The idea is for the gift card to get them in the door and for your staff to sell them something that costs even more.

Make sure your staff is promoting larger items. For local retail stores and service providers, make sure your larger products and services are up front and featured. Additionally, any promotions you run should focus on higher-end services and more expensive products.

Restaurants can run promotions or events centered around groups and larger parties. Examples of this are discounts on multiple meal purchases, pitchers instead of glasses and group events like trivia nights. Restaurants should be aiming to bring groups in keep them there for prolonged periods. You want them to spend more than the value of their gift card.

Black Friday + Cyber Monday Review

The past two weeks we have discusses Black Friday and Cyber Monday. With the week of Thanksgiving here and the long shopping weekend approaching, we wanted to do a quick review of key points/ideas for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If you have any ideas or want to share your experiences with this time of year, feel free to head over to the Squareberry Strategies section of our Forum.

Black Friday

• Lunch on Black Friday is a big opportunity for local restaurants. Most of the shopping is done in the morning to early afternoon and shoppers will need a place to refuel and grab a bite.
• Local small businesses can target the afternoon for promotions. The morning is dominated by large retail chains with big ticket items that are tough to compete with.
• Full Black Friday Post >

Cyber Monday

• Small businesses with online stores should focus on social media to get their local audience sharing and talking about their special offers.
• Restaurants and other local businesses can sell gift cards (a popular git choice) at a discounted rate on Cyber Monday. This is an easy promotion and a way to assure more people will be coming in your doors down the road.
• Full Cyber Monday Post >

 

Next week we will start looking at some tips for promotions and events during the busy holiday season. We will also discuss ideas on bringing in people who are from out of town.

Cyber Monday for Local Business

Read our Previous Post about Black Friday >

Cyber Monday is a more recent tradition in the holiday shopping season. Online retailers looked for ways to capitalize on the hype of post-Thanksgiving shopping. Cyber Monday takes advantage of a workforce sitting at computers following a long holiday weekend. Cyber Monday is becoming (if it has not gotten there already) just as big of a shopping day as Black Friday. Small/local businesses can also take advantage of Cyber Monday to boost sales.

Small Businesses With Online Stores

Many small businesses now offer online stores and ordering. With the creation of easy-to-use content management systems and online stores, local businesses are more capable than ever in this area.

For small businesses with online stores, Cyber Monday can be pretty straight forward. Special promotions and money-saving discounts can be offered to your customers. The key is getting your message out there on a day when all online retailers are looking to promote something. Utilize social media, especially Facebook, and encourage your followers to share you promotions so they spread with your local audience.

Small Businesses Without Online Stores

Things are different for local retailers (or restaurants) that do not have online stores. Cyber Monday normally involves purchasing items online that are shipped to you. However, there is no reason why you can not offer 'online promotions' that are redeemed at your actual business location.

Local businesses can offer special promotions and coupons on Cyber Monday only, meaning the coupon/promotion is only published on your website or on social media for that single day. People can print it or save it on Cyber Monday. At the end of the day, you can take the promotion down. The promotion can then be redeemed anytime after.

Gift Cards

Many local businesses do not have online stores or traditional products to sell. Gift cards are big sellers during the holidays. Restaurants, local retailers and small businesses can take gift card orders on Cyber Monday, offering discounts on their gift cards. Many people will take advantage of this promotion to buy gift cards as gifts for others.

Black Friday for Local Business

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in the USA. Generally, it marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season and features large sales, discounted items and early store hours. On Black Friday millions of people go out spending money. They shop, they buy gifts and they often dine out. Despite not having the big ticket items or large advertising budgets, local businesses can still participate in Black Friday (if they choose to be open).

Restaurants on Black Friday

Local restaurants can see a lot of business on Black Friday. Much of the shopping is done in the morning and in the early afternoon. This means, there are a large number of people who are out of the home and will be hungry for lunch (not everyone wants Thanksgiving leftovers everyday). If your restaurant is open, make sure you are letting people know on social media. You can also run a special promotion to help draw in more people.

Promoting on social media is essential. Mobile devices users who are out shopping will be checking Twitter and Facebook to see news, updates, where their friends are and what their friends have bought. Your restaurant should be part of this conversation and let people know that they can stop by your location to refuel.

Small Businesses

There probably won't be a lot of business in the mornings for small/local retail businesses. The morning crowd is dominated by large retail chains with big ticket items and huge savings. However, the afternoon could be prime for the taking. Most shoppers plan out their morning - what stores they will hit and when. But, the afternoon is often overlooked. If you have a local retail store with specialty items that holiday shoppers are interested in, try promoting special "Afternoon Savings". Your small business may not be where they line up at 5 AM, but you could be the final stop on the way home.

Not for Everyone

Black Friday may not be for every local business. Restaurants are more likely to see big crowds and some local retail shops may decide it is better to just not be open. It all depends on your market and your situation. If Black Friday is not for you, maybe Cyber Monday is...

Next week we will take a look at Cyber Monday, the digital cousin of Black Friday.

Embed a Video on Your Event Details

Why Videos?

Videos rule. They grab attention and convey information in a more engaging way to viewers. Using videos can help you promote your events and boost attendance. Earlier this year, Forbes ran an article entitled "Why Online Video Is Vital For Your 2013 Content Marketing Objectives". The article mentions 4 reasons why we are drawn to video:

• #1: The Fusiform Facial area makes us pay attention to faces
• #2: Voice conveys rich information
• #3: Emotions are contagious
• #4: Movement grabs attention

Read the full Forbes article here >

Videos for Events

The easiest way to get video content for future events is to record video during your current events. If you have a special Trivia Night, you can record a short video to show off your big crowd and people having fun. Now, you have this video to use when promoting future Trivia Nights. Add your Trivia Nights video to the event details of your schedule Trivia Nights to help promote these future events.

How to Embed a Video on an Event

• Upload your Video to a video service such as YouTube or Vimeo.
• Get the Embed Code for your video. Copy this code.
• On the Add/Edit Event page, go to the Content area.
• Click the "HTML" button on the content editor.
• Paste the embed code into the page's HTML (the top is usually the best place to feature the video).
• Click the "Update" video.
• Save the Event.

Recapping Our Understanding Series

For the past six weeks, we have been taking a closer look at various aspects of Squareberry. Our "Understanding" series has provided insightful looks into popular features and managing sections of your account.

Now, we are taking a look back. If you missed any of these articles we encourage you to take the time to read them. Understanding all aspects of your Squareberry account is important to getting the most out of the mobile & social marketing tools. The articles are listed below.

Understand Your Account Settings

Read the Full Article >

Understanding Event Views

Read the Full Article >

Understanding the Social Media Conversation Inbox

Read the Full Article >

Understanding Your Planner

Read the Full Article >

Understanding the Social Conversation Search Feature

Read the Full Article >

Understanding Listen & Count Polls

Read the Full Article >

We Love Hearing From our Users

If you have any ideas for articles or features you want to see blog posts about, let us know. You can tell us on the Forum or email us at squareberry@squareberry.com.