For today’s blog, I thought I would give something new a try. I’m calling it a 15 Minute Marketing Plan. I choose a small business in my area and spent 15 minutes looking at their website and social media to come up with suggestions that I think could improve their marketing. Today I choose Bark Place in Rogers Park as I’ve shopped there before.
Social Media
I love social media so I stopped by their Facebook page first. There are some great posts there but I see an opportunity to show off the personality I know the owners have. One of the reasons I choose Bark Place is that I see it mentioned in our community social media all of the time. I know they are highly engaged with the neighborhood and I’d like to see a little more of that on their page. Something like the “Bark Place Pup of the Month” featuring one of the local dogs they’ve come to know. A little about the pup, their personality, maybe their favorite Bark Place toy or treat. This is fun for their followers and also creates a special moment for one of their customers who will of course want to reshare the post to all of their loved ones.
A further social media series they could do is with the local pet shelters. Both Felines and Canines and Tree House are in the neighborhood. Featuring one of their fur babies looking for a home would be a great partnership.
A great way to show off the products they sell would be a feature called “Rufus recommends”, ideally with a pup named Rufus and the product they are highlighting in the same adorable picture.
I loved the recent photo they used for the Fourth of July. I would have loved to push it a little further. Any pet owner knows that the Fourth of July can be a hard holiday for animals with all of the loud noises. A Tips and Ticks series with one focused on the Fourth of July would have been wonderful for their community. Something corny like “Many pups have a ruff time during the Fourth. Here are 3 tips and 1 product to keep them safe and healthy during the celebration.”
Website
Next, I headed over to their website and was a bit surprised. Whereas the Facebook page is retail oriented, the website was all about their many services, none of which I knew about! A lost opportunity. The Services pages have a wonderful amount of information to help an owner know how seriously they take the care of our pets. I would suggest using creative formatting to break it up a little so that we read all that they’ve included. There’s also an opportunity for creative use of photos and videos. On the Daycare page, they speak about the opportunity for socializing. How about a video of a bunch of adorable riotous pups doing just that?!
For the Walking page, it would be wonderful to have a photo and short bio of their dog walkers. This will give prospective clients a real feeling of safety and continue the community feeling we are going for.
Throughout the website, I would love to see the amazing testimonials on their Yelp page sprinkled. Maybe even with the photo of the pet who received the wonderful treatment.
Partnerships
As I mentioned before, there are two animal rescue facilities within walking distance of Bark Place. How wonderful would it be if they did a partnership? Something like Adoption Days sponsored by Bark Place. Both organizations could share about it on their social media and other communication channels such as email. Bark Place could offer a discount off of its services for the new pet owners and a take-home package with everything they need to start off right. This happy day will be closely tied to the company that they know they can go to over and over again for years for all of their needs. A trusted friend in raising their new pups and kitties.
With that, my time was up. And with that, I leave you with one final thought – Where are the kitties? As a cat owner, I didn’t see myself on the website or Facebook page when I know that Bark Place has been there for me to take care of my lovely cat Lula.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the crazy 15 Minute Marketing Plan. Let me know your thoughts!
MarketingMichelle 