Canadian Retailer - Winter 2015 - 26

MysToRE retailer's Guide Vol. 11.1: mARketing

Boost posts on Facebook
Facebook has an array of advertising features. one-Facebook's Boost Post feature-
pushes your post higher in your friends' news
feed, increasing the likelihood that people will
see your news. You can target the boosted post
to customers in specific locations, of specific
ages, genders and interests. a variety of payment options allow you to set limits on how
much you spend so you can experiment with
what posts you boost.
Measure success
it's hard to answer exactly what draws customers into a store. digital marketing campaigns can make measurement easier because
we can count clicks. When you sign up with
digital marketing, whether Google's suite of
programs or social media networks, familiarize yourself with how the programs measure
success at the start so you can see what messages and promotions have pickup. old technology like coupons still have relevance, even in
a digital era, Mamdani says. "Coupons work.
and you'll know if they work."
BE casl coMplIaNT

If you market by email, your email marketing program
must be CASL compliant-compliant with Canadian
Anti-spam legislation. CASL imposes a number of
requirements on marketers that diligent retailers probably already address. To be CASL compliant, you must
obtain valid consent from the people you email. You must
identify yourself and your store when you send an email.
You must give people on your email list an unsubscribe
option. And if you install an app on a customer's device,
you must have expressed consent.

Respond to negative comments
if social media networks represent an unregulated marketplace of free speech, everybody-including retailers-have to deal with
negative comments, whether or not they're fair
or warranted. as you develop your social media
presence, monitor networks for unhappy comments and unfair reviews and use them as an
opportunity to show unhappy customers that
you care and that you're willing to address their
issues publically until they are happy-or as close
to happy as you can make them. in social media,
where talk is currency, the act of responding can
help to build wealth for your brand.

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caNadIaN RETaIlER | Winter 2015

Build with the BIA
Social media is a word-of-mouth medium.
You can gain traction for yourself by working
with neighbouring businesses. Get them talking about you and ask them to spread the word
about your store's promotions. When you can
speak favourably about their businesses and
promotions, return the favour. This is one area
when a Bia can play a strong, useful role in
helping to create a network for your business
and a platform for publicizing the work that
you do.
Use a universal hashtag
Work with the other retailers and businesses
within your Bia to create a hashtag for the
neighbourhood, if your Bia doesn't have one
already. as a rule, keep hashtags short, snappy
and relevant. The eglinton Way Bia in Toronto
uses its tagline as a hashtag: #styleliveshere.
Get other members of the Bia using the hashtag when they communicate with their customers, and use it in your tweets when you speak
about events or anything else related to your
neighbourhood.
Leverage trends in your microcosm
High fashion and celebrities dictate global
trends but local interests drive what happens
on your block. Step back and examine the
things that are going on in your neighbourhood and get in early on what's hot in your
neighbourhood. Follow influences, see who is
leading the discussion and cross promote with
the people and businesses setting the trends
in your neighbourhood.
Create posters
When you need to get a message out to the
local crowd, put the message under their noses.
Create posters for your store's key promotions.
Hyper-local outreach like this can make a big
difference, especially if you give your audience
an attractive, eye-catching poster to look at.
Write a clear, succinct headline and brand posters with your logo, social media handles, location and the dates and times of the events.
Next Issue: Leveraging outreach and humanto-human relationships to market your business.
For more Retailer's Guides offering tips and
tools for small businesses, visit www.retailcouncil.org/research/publications.

http://www.retailcouncil.org/research/publications

Canadian Retailer - Winter 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - Winter 2015