Holiday marketing 2015 – Set your cover photos

We’re all using the same marketing theme this year: Shift Your Shopping. When we work together to spread the word, we’ll multiply how many customers we reach.

Let’s get started using the Shift Your Shopping logo on your social media accounts, especially Facebook.

First we’ll need a Shift Your Shopping logo. Here’s my favorite version, in bright red. Don’t like red? OK, get it in blue, silver, or a color combination here on the Shift Your Shopping logos page.

Save that logo where you can find it later, like the Downloads folder on your computer.

Next, find the photo you want to use as your header on your social media accounts for a while. It’s almost Thanksgiving time in the US, so you may want to pick a Thanksgiving-themed photo. If that’s not for you, consider any photo that emphasizes the change of seasons or the theme of family and home. For my store, I picked a new fall product, grown-up root beer.

If you’re great with photos and graphics, head to Canva.com or your favorite graphics tool. Put the Shift Your Shopping logo onto your header photo, and save it. You can see the simple one I did for my store at the Allen’s Liquor Facebook page.

If you’re not a graphics wizard, then don’t worry. Just use one of these ready-to-use banners from Shift Your Shopping. (Scroll down to Social Media Graphics.)

Now log in at Facebook and upload it. Then check your other local businesses. See if they’ve added a Shift Your Shopping logo to their header and LIKE it! If not, send them a little reminder message to get on board.

While you’re at Facebook, like the Shift Your Shopping page and drop back in often to find graphics you can share about the importance of shopping local.

Next week, we’ll start reporting on our other local businesses. It’s a great way to start the holiday season with some gratitude for others.

Shift Your Shopping is our group theme for holiday marketing this year. You have my permission to forward these articles to your local retailers, merchants association, chamber of commerce, downtown development group or any one else you think would benefit from them. All you need to do is list the author as Becky McCray of SmallBizSurvival.com and then let me know who you are sharing with.

Shift Your Shopping 2015 series:

1. Picking your Holiday 2015 marketing theme
2. Set your cover photos
3. Spotlight a local business
4. Spotlight on community
5. Share the causes you care about
6. Support your service providers
7. Small Business Saturday
8. Tell your founding story

• About the Author
• Latest Posts

About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband own a retail liquor store in Alva, Oklahoma, and a small cattle ranch nearby. Becky is an international speaker on small business.

• The easiest way to podcast is from your phone - June 18, 2018
• Dress up empty buildings with these creative window ideas - June 11, 2018
• Expensive code compliance doesn’t have to ruin your small town - May 28, 2018
• The next big opportunity downtown: the rooftops - May 14, 2018
• I’d like to feed business plan competitions to the sharks - May 7, 2018
• What can you do when a traffic detour cuts down on visitors to town? - April 30, 2018
• Are conferences and events worth your time and money? Here’s how to make sure - April 23, 2018
• Six big themes for small town entrepreneurship - April 16, 2018
• Check this list? Did I get your topic on there? - April 9, 2018
• If you help your customers to create a plan, don’t leave out this essential item - April 2, 2018