Your online presence is like a bread crumb trail for your customers. Each outpost should reflect who you are and what you do and reflect the interests of your customers. That can be a challenge give each on-line platform’s landing spot. Each platform gives you different amounts of space to describe yourself, even picture size maximums vary. It can be equally challenging to keep customers attuned to what outpost platforms you’re on, and what they can find there.
A.C. Moore is doing a good job of it. Here’s what I found today when I stopped in for some gold spray paint dance recital costuming. The clerk handed my receipt to me in a little folder, along with a coupon.
When I got home I nearly tossed the folder in the trash, until some familiar logos caught my eye. They are on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. And they told me so on the folder I was holding in my hand.
The message on the back side of the folder is simple – “Here’s where we are on the web.” The familiar icons are what caught my eye.
This folder was so simple to do, and works so well. It’s for current customers to expand their interaction with you. You put something physical in their hand to tell them about your digital assets. And tell them what they can do when they get there: become a fan, watch us, follow us.
Do they want to find you in any of those places? You’ll never know until they DO find you. What are you going to give them IF they look you up? It better worth their effort, right, or they will never come back? Think through the whole strategy before you call the printer.
Here’s what I found on YouTube. The videos are all creativity oriented. Creativity is a core value of their customer. There are how-to videos, backstage access to their vendor facilities, like flagship stores in NYC for Lion Brand Yarn. I learned how to pronounce “amigurumi.” There are project demos and project ideas. Here’s the key: they aren’t pushing product. They are informing you about the results you can get from techniques that inspire creative projects. And they show you step by step how to accomplish the project.
One really fun playlist on their YouTube channel is call “Your Haul.” It’s customer uploaded videos of what they bought at AC Moore. It’s a trip! They are unpacking their shopping bags in front of webcams, gushing about their finds. There are 22 videos loaded to “Your Haul” right now. Each one viewed between 23 and 3226 times. Crafters are looking at other crafters to see what they bought and what they like to make. The crafters are pushing particular products! That gets received a whole different way than if A.C. Moore staff and vendors screamed “Buy this!”
This woman bought paint brushes at AC Moore. She uses them for her make up.
And get this, the AC Moore team gets a look at the passions of their customers. It’s a glimpse inside these customer’s homes and lives. Then check out the comments section. Viewers are very clear what they want more of. Someone named Bob Ross is in hot demand. Viewers want full episodes, not clips. What’s Marketing’s content team going to be focused on? Making Bob Ross available. What are buyers going to stock up on? Whatever Bob Ross uses. Hello sales spike. That little folder opened up a whole new A.C. Moore dimension.
