Independence Day Marketing Campaigns
for Small eCommerce Businesses
Independence Day, the famous 4th of July, is one of a few uniquely American occasions. We celebrate our freedom and our rights every year with parties, parades, and a lot of fun, and all ages are included and encouraged. It’s about being an American as much as it is about America.
Like all occasions, the Fourth of July also provides an ideal opportunity for businesses – both high street and online – to promote their products and services. For smaller online retailers, in particular, such an occasion can’t be ignored. You already have an online presence and market through digital media, so let’s have a look at how to create an Independence Day marketing campaign.
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Red, White, and Blue
The Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, whatever name you use, is our iconic national flag. Knowing the world over and representing this great country, the red, white, and blue colors should be the theme of any Independence Day marketing campaign. Whatever your product, you want to associate at this time with the feeling of national pride that comes naturally on the 4th of July.
By enhancing and pushing your company’s pride in being American on your website and blog in the run-up to the event, you are engendering trust in your customers and audience who are feeling the same way. It’s a simple way of telling your customers you are proud to be American. Do this by putting the flag as a backdrop on your site and blog, adding it to your social media pages, and all communication.
The red, white, and blue theme can be extended to actual products should you have a line that suits. Offer your customers limited edition Independence Day versions of your popular items, for example, or if you have products bought as a trio, offer a red, white, and blue set. This sort of product promotion is simple, affordable, and – with the public already excited for the occasion – gets you more exposure leading up to the great day.
Share Your Pride
We are fully into the national pride aspect of Independence Day promotions, so we recommend you share it with your customers. Offer a freebie for every product bought or order placed, and make it a 4th of July related product. A small flag, perhaps, or a tote bag, pen, or other small item branded with your brand image and the American flag.
Provide a shareable cover photo for Facebook, for example, with the flag as a backdrop and your logo. Invite your customers and audience to share on a page their Independence Day images featuring your product. That way, you get free publicity on social media and greater exposure. Using the Fourth of July as a promotional tool is similar to those other holidays you use – Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Father’s Day, and so on – so think of themes that are inspired by the day itself, and use those.
Get Into Local Events
There will be local events on Independence Day no matter where you are! Large, small, or in-between, this is your chance to get your local credentials out there. When consumers think of local businesses, they automatically think of high street shops and service providers. It’s important you get the message out there, although your business operates online, it is locally based and part of the community.
If there is a street party, have a stall there, and stock red, white and blue 4th of July specials as we mentioned above. Give out a flyer explaining who you are and what you do. This may get your brand out to potential customers who don’t often go online. If there is a parade, dress up a float and get involved. It doesn’t take much to do and you can use your own business as the theme.
Getting involved with local community Independence Day events is a great way of establishing your brand as one that delivers to the consumers of your town or area. You may wish to offer your services in organizing the event – perhaps you have a printing business, or vehicle rental, maybe even a food retailer – in return for recognition on banners and in the event program.
Any local event is a great opportunity to push your brand and also to get to know others in the market who may complement your business, so check out what’s happening on the 4th of July in your community and get out there.
Remember the Veterans
If there’s one sure-fire guarantee to give your online store more credibility, it’s to give something back to the veterans who have defended our country. You may offer them a discount on an item or service in the weeks around Independence Day, or on the day for those showing up in uniform or with a badge.
Indeed, offering a discount to veterans – think not only of the military but of firefighters, law enforcement, the health services – is a great way of adding customers’ trust to a business and you’ll find that people follow. Treat Independence Day as an opportunity to show consumers you care.
Take this concept further and use your social media presence to ask your customers to tweet or post their support for veterans, and those doing so could also be entitled to a discount or placed in a prize draw. All of these ideas draw on the patriotism and pride Americans have in our country and those who serve and will give your online store a boost.
Invite Consumer Participation
We’ve already talked about asking your customers and viewers to participate in tweets, in posts, in competitions, and so on, and we think it’s such an important point that we’d add some more marketing ideas, so here are a few:
- Run a contest to find local people to take a place on your corporate float in an Independence Day parade. They could be given a goodie bag of your products or voucher for discounted services.
- As for pictures of previous Independence Day parties or events and use these as a contest entry. This is a great way of populating your wall or page with fresh images.
- Invite entries into a poem or story writing contest with the theme being the 4th of July or related.
- Run the best customer competition and ask local participants to show up at your stall or kiosk at the local fair or event.
The above are just a few of the many marketing ideas that you can use to make Independence Day an event that gets your small online store into the public eye on a date when everyone is in a celebratory mood. Use these as inspiration and look for a way to shape them around your product or service to get more exposure for your brand.
Made in the USA
Of all the occasions throughout the year, this is the one where you should push the products that are made in the USA. Your entire product range might not be, but those that are should take center stage on the 4th of July. Spruce up your store pages by making American products the ones that are on the main pages. Perhaps invest in the US-made product for a limited time – if it’s local then even better – and offer that as a special edition.
For food and drinks suppliers you have the world at your feet with a choice of nationally famous food and drink, which can be your centerpieces on Independence Day. The trick is to play to the feeling of the day. It’s about America, and about Americans, so you have a short time in which the feeling is high and the potential for extra business and brand promotion is also.
Made in the USA could also be a theme for a competition. Ask your followers and customers to supply photos of their items made in America, or run a comments theme asking: “What are the best things made in the USA?” It will get consumers talking, and you can add comments about your local products too.
Promote Local Heroes
Every state, city, town, and region has local heroes. They may have been founding fathers of the community, or military heroes, or sporting greats, and you can use these fine Americans to tap into the spirit and enthusiasm that comes with Independence Day.
Present special items dedicated to the person in question, run a series of online stories about him or her, or if they are alive, ask them if they’d like to make an appearance on behalf of your online store at the local fete or parade. Many will be more than happy to for a small fee, and it gives your online retail more credence.
Back to competitions, and against a backdrop of Independence Day you could run a ‘who is the greatest local and why’ poll on your website, blog, and social media, the best answer getting a prize or discount.
Final Words
The above is far from a comprehensive list of Independence Day marketing ideas, but we hope it has given you a basis on which to start thinking about ways in which your business can use this great occasion as a promotional platform.
All of the above involve tapping into people’s pride in their country, to their enthusiasm for celebrating, and to their passion for all things local. By adding into this the heroes of yesterday and today, and the ongoing patriotism that comes with the American flag and all it stands for, smaller eCommerce businesses have an ideal occasion to run campaigns and boost trust in the brand, enhance brand awareness, and add to their customer base without the need for much in the way of expense and investment.
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