4 Marketing Grand Opening Event Ideas to Boost Your Brand from Day One
You have signed your franchise agreement. Your new franchise is set up, staffed, and ready to open to the public. Before you set your launch date, however, take care to decide, plan, and execute the way you are going to launch. Hosting a Grand Opening event is a great way to create buzz and brand awareness, introduce yourself to your community as a new business owner, and set in motion the oldest and most effective type of marketing there is — word of mouth. A great event will get people talking about your new venture and make them curious enough to check it out.
There are four key digital marketing strategies you can utilize to make your Grand Opening event a success. The earlier you start the better. You want enough time to plant teasers, build excitement, and plan an excellent event people want to attend. Let’s talk about social media, your website, public relations, and email marketing. A robust appearance via these four pillars of digital marketing can all but guarantee an awesome turnout and introduction of your business.
1. Social Media Creates the Buzz
It’s no secret that more people talk to each other via social media than they do in person. By now, you’ve likely created a presence on one or more social media platforms that suit your brand based on your target audience. Stick to what works. If your key demographic hangs out on Facebook, then put your money there and leave Snapchat off your list.
An effective grand opening promotion idea to create buzz for an event on social media is to plant teasers to count down the time until the event takes place. Images, puzzles, and snippets of “what is to come” are all great ways to utilize your brand story and style to make your community so curious about you and what you’re doing that they will mark their calendars for the big day.
2. Your Website is Home Base
If your target market isn’t seeking you out on social media, they are likely headed to your website. Add some eye-catching content to your home and location pages. Use side bars, pop ups, and banners to bring attention to your Grand Opening event. Link to a landing page filled with all the details. Provide a way for visitors to your site to add the event to their calendar. Then of course, link to your social media platforms for the next marketing touch, and an opportunity for them to follow you and your brand in those locations as well.
3. PR for the Win
The great thing about a good PR campaign, is that it has the power to touch all major marketing points. A well-written press release will send people to your social media platforms and website, but it will also alert the media that you are doing something spectacular and newsworthy for their audience as well. Get yourself interviewed by the local paper, radio stations, or television networks. Media outlets like to give their audiences something to do, and an exciting Grand Opening of a new business in town is just the thing.
4. Email Marketing Still Works
If you are lucky enough to get your hands on a list of your local community email addresses, this is an excellent time to get familiar with email marketing. Set up a drip campaign like the teasers on your social media platforms. Finalize the campaign with email content like that of the landing page on your website, complete with information about the event, as well as links to social media, and any digitally published media that has come along because of your PR campaign.
Looking to learn How to Market Your Local Business? Practice Makes Perfect
If you have never hosted an event like a Grand Opening before and would like to give yourself and your staff some practice, you can always do a soft opening. A soft opening mimics a grand opening, but for a selective audience. You can invite friends and family first, or perhaps a sneak peek event for your vendors and suppliers. A soft opening works out the kinks before introducing your business to the entire community.
Bringing Your Digital Marketing All Together for a Grand Event
It’s a lot to add to your already lengthy to-do list before opening your business, but by utilizing the four pillars of digital marketing ideas to promote your Grand Opening, you are sure to have a well-attended event. The key is to stay on top of it. Nothing kills the buzz around an event faster than a stalled marketing campaign. Work out your digital marketing strategy well in advance of your Grand Opening. When you see a campaign planned out in front of you, it’s easier to manage all the moving parts.
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