Christmas is a time like no other, and if you run a small creative business, then you may be selling your wares at a local festive market this month. Having a spot at a Christmas Market can take up a significant amount of your time and money, but making sure you promote yourself properly on social media before, during, and after the event can make all the stress and effort worth your while and get people coming to your stall.
We all love a good Christmas market, with its twinkling lights, festive music, and mulled wine. Local gift markets are popping up everywhere, and they're a great opportunity to get your products in front of shoppers who are primed to buy, and ready to support small and local businesses.
How can you make sure you promote your trade stand to the absolute max on social media and get the most out of your time at the market?
If we haven't met before, we're Brass Bee Marketing - founded by expert Catherine Hills - and we're on a mission to help small business owners build more profitable (and enjoyable) businesses.
Steps to take before the Market:
Optimise your Instagram page for the event by setting up a story highlight for the show. Temporarily edit your profile bio with a Christmassy themed logo, and add the event location and dates to your bio. If you have a website with a news page, you can share a news post about the upcoming market and leave a link in your Instagram bio. You can change everything back to normal again after the event.
Update your Facebook and Twitter cover picture with a graphic that details the upcoming market, and where to find your stall (if you know the location). Use Canva to create something that looks attractive and festive, and remember to check how your cover photos look on mobile view, as well as desktop view.
Create an event on Facebook, with details of your products and what you will have on offer at the market.
Share social media posts announcing your attendance to the market, and what you'll be selling, and pin to the top of your profiles. Remember to tag the event organisers in your posts and use the event hashtags.
During the build-up to the market:
In the lead-up to the fair, it's crucial to build up intrigue and interest so people will make a beeline to you when the market starts. Start promoting your attendance at the market in good time, up to 4 weeks in advance. Don't leave it to the last moment, and don't make the mistake of thinking one social media post will be enough!
You'll get extra brownie points if you can create a sense of mystery at this stage, so your social media content should focus on sharing sneak peeks, surprise features, and things that people won't have seen before, etc. The aim is to get people guessing in some way, so they'll want to come and see what you've been up to for themselves.
Promote the market in local Facebook groups to reach new audiences. Group admins may be more inclined to allow posts that promote a local event as a whole, rather than posts that promote an individual business and their products.
The event organisers should ideally help you to promote your presence at the market via their own socials - however, it's often something they forget to do as things start to get busy. Send the organisers some photos of your best products along with a short bio and your social media handles so they have the information to hand when they get a spare moment to post. Don't wait to be asked - just send the information over!
Now is an excellent time for people to become invested in your business journey - to be with you from the start as you make preparations for the market. Capture and share everything in the lead-up to the market - even the disasters, no matter how trivial you think it might be. You want your followers to feel like they are there with you.
It's a great idea to network and show other market traders and the organisers some love. Everyone's working hard to bring their trade stands together, so reach out and engage with the other stallholder's posts on social media. They'll be more likely to engage with your content in return. Want to go bigger? Send the other stall holders a little gift, such as a small hamper with afternoon tea, morning pastries, or a bottle of mulled wine for them to enjoy in the evening. You'll find they are highly likely to share a pic and mention you on their social media profiles as a thank you, again helping you to promote yourself.
Consider teaming up with your fellow market traders and running one big, irresistable social media giveaway beforehand. Quite a few people run giveaways on social media, but by joining forces with your pals, you can put together a fantastic prize bundle, stand out from the crowd and generate a lot of interest on social media before the event.
Your content should have a countdown effect - reminding your followers on a regular basis that the event is getting closer. This will ensure they don't forget the event is approaching and are more likely to remember to attend.
Share live videos and short form videos just before the event starts!
As your trade stand begins to come together, get filming! Live videos and reels often get a higher reach!
If you're happy to be in front of the camera, get streaming and give a fist-peek tour of the market so your audiences can see how things are progressing. Introduce your products, talk about your designs, share it all with them! If you're not so happy in front of the camera, then see if someone else from your team is comfortable being the 'face' of your live video. Or invite one of the event organisers to interview on the video. Failing that, you could film behind the camera and record a voice-over.
TOP TIP: Remember to film content during quieter moments - if there are background noises this will effect the quality of your video.
What makes you and your brand stand out?
Find your angle! Many similar businesses attend Christmas markets, especially jewellery designers and candle makers. If there are identical competitors in the same market, don't panic. Think about how your products are unusual and what makes them stand out. What unique or exciting stories lie behind the design?
Always have your hashtags, tags, and call-to-action phrases ready to go for the market.
Hashtags are essential if you want to get found and noticed at events like Christmas markets, but it's easy to forget them when you are rushing about.
Research the best hashtags to use in advance, have them copied into a blank page in notes on your phone, and copy and paste them into everything you share during the market.
Include a little hand-written sign on your stand with your hashtags and social media handles so people can tag you in their posts from the market.
The same applies to profiles you'd like to tag in your posts, e.g. the event organisers, or charities the event promotes. Have their profile handles for both Facebook and Instagram (as they can often be different) close to hand, so again, you can copy and paste to your post before publishing.
During the market:
Start things off by sharing content showing you or your team sitting at your finished stall, ready for the market to open. Remind your followers of the opening times of the market. Big smiles all round!
Be the most prominent, helpful member of the market's community on social media during the market! Share tips, answer questions, lift others up, comment and share!
Social media platforms reward content that generates high engagement when it first gets shared. Share posts that ask questions and invite opinions. If engagement is slow to start with, ask your friends, family, employees, and collaborators to go to town on your posts by liking and commenting. You'll notice this will get the ball rolling and encourage others to engage, too.
Try to reply to every comment and DM you get during the show. You want to keep the conversation going and get the most organic reach possible.
Never underestimate the power of creativity at Christmas! If you have a creative mind, then now's the time to let loose and come up with some fun ideas to promote your business and spread some cheer. Want to dress up as Santa and offer people free samples? Go for it. Were you thinking of running a raffle or a giveaway competition from your stand? That's a brilliant idea - crack on! Games, lucky dips, pickin' mix bags... it's all good fun and will get people enjoying themselves - after all, it is Christmas. All these creative ideas are good content opportunities, so film everything!
Your content should be positive and reflect your popularity! Mention how busy the event is, how many people you've spoken to, and how popular your products have been. Take photos showing busy crowds and smiling customers. Show off your best sellers and let people know if products are running out, or have sold out. This shows 'social proof' - never EVER say that your stall is quiet, or complain about no-one attending, on your social media pages.
Follow up after the show:
Don't make the mistake of simply logging off after the market has ended, or you'll be missing a trick! Thank everyone involved on social media, including the people who made it happen, your team, and the customers who bought your products. Remember to share a link to your website or Etsy store for those who couldn't make it or forgot to visit you, and let everyone know what's still available.
Share your highlights from the market and how it went for your small business. It's critical to maintain that connection with your followers who have followed you during the build-up, especially if you didn't get a chance to share much content during the market - how are you feeling now that the event is over?
Let people know your plans for the rest of the month and remind everyone of your last day of business as December comes to an end.
So, there you have it - our straightforward guide to boosting your stall's presence at Christmas markets! By following these steps, you can transform from being just another stallholder to becoming a well-known and important participant at the event.
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