As a millennial and college student, I have mastered the art of procrastination. Thanks, social media. My usual browsing pattern is Facebook, Pinterest, back to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and then a long drag of Pinterest.
Recently while browsing Facebook, I saw a “Trendy Succulents Workshop” event hosted by my county’s historical museum and a local garden center.
SUCCULENTS! It immediately caught my eye and took my mind back to my “Outdoors” board on Pinterest that is overflowing with different varieties of succulents in creative pots, tins, and fixtures. (If you want to see exactly what I’m talking about, check out my outdoors board here. I love new followers!)
According to the event page on Facebook, it was an hour class of learning about succulent care (which was necessary to try and combat my brown thumb), painting a planter, and potting two plants to take home with you.
Needless to say, I was sold on the idea, and within 10 minutes I had my spot reserved for the class.
What does this have to do with small business social media marketing? Everything.
If you’re looking to get millennials engaged with your content/events/promotions and get them in your store, here are five things that worked for this garden center’s class with my added millennial perspective.
Facebook Events & Details
1. Create a Facebook event page with all the details about the workshop. By doing this, I can check that I’m “Interested” or “Going” to this event to keep updated on changes and conversations about the event. This option has to be one of my favorite tools Facebook provides to its users. It keeps the event on my radar with frequent notifications from the Facebook app itself. Another helpful tool is having your followers share the event to their circle.
One more crucial aspect to having a Facebook event page, is providing ALL the details regarding the event. This page did a great job of providing details on the page itself and sharing a poster/flyer of the event as well. On both of these, there was the time, date, location (remember to give specific addresses for those unfamiliar with the area!), cost, approximate length of the class, and how to register.
I also applaud them for providing multiple ways to register. You could either sign up the day of the event at the location, email and sign up on an application (such as SignUp Genius), or call and reserve your spot. Don’t forget, convenience is key for many millennials, and make sure they have all the details at their fingertips!
Find What’s Popular Among Your Audience
2.Catch the audience’s attention right off the bat. If it’s not a topic I’m intrigued by, that’s probably as far as it will go for me. Check out what is popular right now among your target audience. Pinterest is a great place to do this through their “Popular” page or by specifically searching a topic. For example, if you were wanting to do a workshop that dealt with wedding flowers, search and browse what’s trendy in the wedding world this year.
Figure Out What Is Possible For Your Business
3.Set your class at a price everyone can afford and be respectful of your attendees’ time. As an example, in my class, we took home two succulents, one pot, and specific soil to set our plants up for success. It was at a completely affordable price from the help of a donation by the historical museum. Even if you don’t find someone to partner with you in this endeavor or donate anything, I would’ve been happy providing my own container and only taking home one succulent. Remember, take my suggestions and adjust them to what is possible for your business and your situation.
As for a time span, it doesn’t have to be a long class. An hour was the intended time frame, yet as many of the attendees found, it was fun to stay a little longer and talk with others interested in succulents.
Variety of succulents for the class and some for purchase afterward.
Active Social Media Is Essential
4. Be sure to have an active role in social media! This is vital if you want to attract and keep the younger audience. After I got home, one of the first things I did was have a photo session with my plants. I snapped some shots of my prized plant babies and shared it on my Instagram and Facebook page. I also tweeted a picture of my plants on Twitter and tagged the museum as well. I tried to make sure I added a location to each picture, so my friends and family could know where I took the class.
One of the many shots taken of my succulents.
I definitely think it’s important to ask your attendees to tag the business/organization in your photos you share to social media. It not only makes the person who posts the status/picture feel great that they are having interaction with the business/organization, it provides you (the small business owner) with an awesome (and super easy!) piece of content to share on your social media pages. It’s content you didn’t have to create and it shows happy, brand advocates. Double win!
Let Your Brand Do The Talking
5. A final piece of advice to you is let your brand shine through and do the work for you. As I’ve previously mentioned in my Targeting the Millennials, By a Millennial article, social media engagement starts with the interaction in the store. Or in this case, the class. It was refreshing to listen to an expert in their field talk about something they love, how succulents are involved in their personal lives, and give their care advice to an amateur plant-owner. It was great having a hands-on class where I could visit and ask questions one-on-one with the store owner as she made her way around the room, looking to help anyone in need of assistance. It was a personable experience, and she made a great impression on me of the type of store and brand they were promoting.
Our teacher for the class demonstrating how to propagate your succulents.
In conclusion, here are some reoccurring themes I’ve found looking back on this class – make sure your small business is active on social media with as many details as possible about your event and keep on showing your customers exactly what your business and brand is all about!
Now you have heard of my experience with this class, what workshop will you try with your small business?
I would love to hear some of your ideas and answer any questions you might have!