Off Season Marketing Strategy: 5 Tips For Your Business

Winter is coming. For many businesses, that means a slowdown in sales and a time to regroup and prepare for the year ahead. But it doesn’t have to be that way! There are plenty of things you can do to market your company and attract new customers, even when you're not running trips. Here are our top 5 marketing tips that will help you keep your business thriving so that when opening day comes in the Spring, your phone will be ringing off the hook!

It's no secret that the best way to improve your business is through marketing. But what happens when your budget is tight and you can't afford traditional advertising? Or when the offseason leaves little opportunity for new customers? Don't worry, we've got you covered! In this article, we'll be discussing 5 creative ways to market your business on a shoestring budget. So read on and get inspired!

#1: Invest In Your SEO

SEO is one of the most important aspects of off season marketing. With so much competition for attention online, it's essential to make sure your website is doing everything it can to rank high in search engine results pages. Here are a few tips to help you dial in your SEO strategy:

1. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly. In an age where more and more people are browsing the internet on their phones, it's important that your website is responsive and easy to navigate on small screens. If your website isn't mobile-friendly, you're likely losing out on a lot of traffic.

2. Optimize your website for keywords. Keyword optimization is still an essential part of SEO, so make sure you're targeting the right keywords for your business. Research what people are searching for related to your product or service and make sure those keywords are included in your website copy, title tags, and meta descriptions.

3. Publish high-quality content regularly. One of the best ways to improve your SEO ranking is by publishing high-quality content on your website regularly. Not only will this help keep people engaged with your site, but it will also help you rank higher in search engine results pages.

4. Get links from high-quality websites. In order to rank higher in search engine results pages, you need links from high-quality websites. So make sure you're reaching out to other businesses in your industry and getting links from as many quality sources as possible.

5. Use social media to drive traffic to your website. Social media can be a great way to drive traffic to your website and increase awareness about your brand. Make sure you're using social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram to share engaging content that will capture the attention of potential customers. You need to make sure your Facebook pixel is installed so you can re-market to these website visitors with ads in the future.

#2. Organic Social Media Marketing (without spending money on ads)

While paid social media advertising can be a great way to reach new customers, it's not the only way. There are many organic methods of social media marketing that don't require any spending on ads. Here are a few ways that you can get started.

Your presence on social media shouldn't be seasonal like your business is. Your clients are still wanting to engage with you and keep up with what is going on in your business. You really need to make sure that you stay active on the major social media channels like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Make sure your profiles are complete and include accurate information about your business, and be sure to post regularly with engaging content.

When you post, you should keep using those hashtags to increase exposure as well. Hashtags are a great way to increase exposure for your brand on social media. When you post content with relevant hashtags, it will show up in the feeds of people who are following those hashtags, which can help you reach a larger audience that may not know who you are yet, but are interested in what you provide.

One of the best ways to grow your audience on social media is by connecting with other businesses in your industry. Yes, we know, they could be your competition. But there's enough business out there for everyone. Share each other's content, collaborate on joint projects, and join forces to create social media campaigns that will capture the attention of potential customers. This is a great way to show your enthusiasm for others as well.

Video content is always King. Lean into Instagram Reels, TikToks and Youtube Shorts for your video content. A recent study shows that 40% of young people are going to TikTok and Instagram to search for services or products instead of using Google. This has launched a new trend called TikTok SEO where creators show you how to rank your TikTok content, much like you would with Google content. The ideas are the same if you're familiar with how SEO works, if not, just go to TikTok and search "TikTok SEO" and you'll find plenty of content around the topic.

#3.Email marketing

Email marketing is a base level marketing strategy, but it can be a great way to connect with customers and keep them updated on your business. It's a great way to stay on top of their mind and keep your brand in front of them. Your email marketing shouldn't be a sales pitch every time you send it out. You really should spend some time thinking about where your customers are at and what is appealing to them.

One of the best ways to use email marketing is by creating a subscription list. When people sign up for your subscription list, they're agreeing to receive regular emails from you. This gives you an opportunity to keep them updated on your latest products, services, and promotions. One easy way to get people to give you their email address is by offering them something of value in return.

Gated content is the easiest way to achieve this. What is gated content? It's simply an article, much like this one, that brings value to them. That goes back to understanding who they are and what they want. For example: You run a whitewater rafting business and shut down your business in October each year. The majority of your clientele are outdoorsy people and enjoy being outdoors year round. How could you write an article or a "The Complete Guide To Winter Activities In (Your City)". You put this article on a landing page with a form that asks for their name and email address before they can view it. Boom. You've added a new person to your email list.

Another great way to use email marketing is by sending out automated emails to a segmented audience. For example, someone downloads your gated content about winter activities. You can set up automated emails to go to this person that are very natural and specific to how they entered you're sales pipeline. You can then keep sending them nurturing emails to book a trip closer to your season start date.

And finally, don't forget to use links in your emails! Links are a great way to drive traffic to your website or blog and increase awareness about your brand. When you include links in your emails, make sure they're relevant to the content of the email and that they open in a new window so the reader can easily return to your email after clicking on the link.

#4. Text Message Marketing

Did you know that 58% of people say that texting is their ideal way for a business to reach them?

Text message marketing is a great way to reach your customers on a more personal level. It's also a great way to stay top of mind and keep your brand in front of them. When you send out text messages, you should include a CTA (call to action). This is a button or link that will take the reader to a landing page where they can learn more about your product or service.

In the same way as the email marketing above, one easy way to get people to sign up for your text message list is by offering them some valuable gated content. You simply ask for their phone number before they can get access to what you're offering. You could offer them a coupon or discount for their next purchase. Or, you could give them early access to new products or services before they're available to the general public. Be creative here, but also be human. Your potential clients don't want to feel like a piece of meat. So don't treat them that way.

There is plenty of software out there that you can automate text messages from as well. But, we're a bit partial to Outfitter Pro Online. Yes, that's our shameless plug of our software.

Regardless of what you use, automating text messages is a huge way to stay in front of your target audience. Unlike emails that are highly inconsistent with open rates, text messages have a 100% open rate according to this article we've found.

That's pretty amazing. So get creative and start texting your customers!

#5. Local Community Engagement

When it comes to off season marketing, local community engagement is a great way to go. We realize that a lot of tourism based businesses get their clients from out of town. While this is true, locals in your community more than likely have friends from out of town that would love to experience your business. There are so many opportunities to get involved in your community and connect with potential customers. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

-Host a free event at your business. This could be a workshop, demonstration, or even just a meet and greet. Make sure to publicize it well and have plenty of signage up on the day of the event.

-Sponsor or participate in a charity event in your area. There are always charity events happening in every city and town. Find one that is relevant to your business and get involved! You could donate money or goods, or even just volunteer your time.

-Participate in local festivals and fairs. This is a great way to get in front of a lot of people who may not have heard of your business before. Set up a booth and hand out flyers, coupons, and samples.

-Make yourself available to local media outlets. If you can get yourself in the local news, that's great exposure for your business. Contact your local TV stations, newspapers, and radio stations to see if they need any guest commentators or interviewees.

However you choose to connect with your community, there is no bad result that comes from that. People want to be known and know others, so let them get to know you and your awesome business!

Now that you've read our top 5 marketing tips, it's time to put them into action! One of the best things about these tips is that they can be tailored to your specific business. So get creative and see which ones work best for you. And, if you need help implementing any of these strategies, reach out to us! We're more than happy to help.