25 Aug Fall Promotions for Your Small Business

Things really kick back into action during autumn. With family vacations behind us and schools getting families back into predictable patterns, it is a great time to attract new business! The change in weather, the color of the leaves and the return of everything pumpkin spice, it seems like everyone is eager to put on some flannel and celebrate the change toward the cooler season. Here are some inexpensive, grassroots marketing ideas to give you a bump in business during the fall season.

Autumn

You don’t have to look far to see promotions exploiting the fall/autumn season. The cool weather and school activities get families doing lots of things together! This post lists several great ideas that you can use to promote your business around this theme. Here are a few:

Hold a Photo Contest 

If you have a strong following on Instagram or Facebook, host a photo contest around a fall theme. Name the topic that suits your business and get people sharing their snaps! If your business is known for being decorative, you can keep the objective loose like “photos that show the best fall colors.” Or if you are a food-related business, you can ask people to show off their visit to an orchard, a farmers market or a festival.

The prize can be a gift from your business or just bragging rights. Make it fun and remember those who submit get some time to be the stars. They will drive traffic to your pages when they share their recognition to their own social outlets.

Sponsor a Team

You know those cute little ballplayers head out on the field? Their jerseys could be sporting your company logo and phone number. The cost usually isn’t high, compared to other forms of advertising. You can also be a visible supportive presence at the games to meet both teams’ families and hand out coupons or samples. If you run a restaurant, maybe the team can get into the habit of hitting your establishment after every game.

Get a Booth

There are many fall festivals that bring people from miles around. The cost of a booth is not very high and can give you a fun opportunity to talk to future customers or demonstrate your product. 

Back-to-School

It seems like every business can figure a way to offer a school-related promotion. Here is a nice collection of school-related advertising ideas.

School Supplies

You can contact the local schools and offer to take one item off of the list they are about to give to parents. If you brand rulers or pencils, your business name will be in front of the kids all year and beyond!

Offer a Field Trip Opportunity

If your business is appropriate to demonstrate to students, offer behind-the-scenes tours to the students. They will ask to return with your parents. Remember, if you have a lot of high school student employees, this experience may inspire good students to apply when they get older.

Halloween

Those who love Halloween events usually go all out! This article lists fun ideas you can use to get potential customers thinking about your business. For example:

Hold a Contest

Pumpkin carving and costume contests are just two of the many ways you can have people fire up their creativity to compete. As mentioned above, whether you offer several valuable prizes, ribbons for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, or just applause and bragging rights, you can tailor the contest to fit your budget.

Make sure you have a designated photographer and get the photos up on your social media channels following the event.

Decorate the Store

This is a simple idea that you may already be doing. If your business has a location, choose a theme and a scale that suits you. The fresh look and fun of it will get people talking. Check out these tips for DIY decorations.

If your business is primarily online, you might consider working with your web designer/developer for skinning your site with a Halloween theme. Make sure you don’t violate any franchise rules if you have to maintain brand standards.

Partner as a Sponsor 

You can do this alone, or partner up with other organizations. Put your logo on a trick-or-treat bags that kids can carry on the big night. Partner to help promote a local party or event. You can hang a banner or hand out stickers. Better yet, make your product the hero by sharing samples.

Hashtag that Holiday!

Learning how best to navigate social media can go a long way toward spreading your message. This article talks about getting a hashtag right to promote certain holidays. The ones mentioned above, #backtoschool and #Halloween provide a starting point. Don’t stop there! Explore the internet for “hashtag holidays” related to your business. You’ll find everything from Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19) to World Kindness Day (November 13). Plan ahead rather than scrambling for an idea at the last minute.

Marketing your Business During its Off-Season

If Autumn marks the end of your season, remember you can continue building your fans through the downtime. This post tells of several strategies that you can use to keep your brand on customers’ minds. Remember, social media works 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When you reopen in the spring, they’ll be champing at the bit to experiencing what they’ve been missing!

PHOTO: George Hodan / CC0 Public Domain