Birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and parents across the U.S. are about to spend a boatload of money on dresses, corsages, limousines and photographers to immortalize a linchpin of the teenage experience – the high school prom.
Like they do with many other event-based industries, store owners need to be sure their marketing plan is on point in the months leading up to and during prom. Coming up with a plan early on is best to ensure your business will be considered by the two most important groups in this particular purchase funnel – the students and their parents.
Compulse Integrated Marketing has worked with plenty of boutique prom shops so that they are best prepared for the busy season. From making sure stores have optimized sites with available catalogs to advertising campaigns that hit all of the important customers at different points in the buying cycle, Compulse is ready and able to help you make the most out of this special time of year.
Mobile optimization
When working with a prom boutique, the first thing we do is make sure websites are optimized for mobile devices, clearly organized and that they contain information prospective customers would be looking for. Shops chose either to utilize one of our existing templates or to custom design a site themselves. In both cases, Compulse’s designers collaborate with the client’s subject-matter-experts to create sites that are user-friendly and engaging. They also spend time tailoring them to the specific needs of the shop’s target audience. The result is a brightly colored palette of the dresses themselves, all of which incorporate eye-catching designs with easy-to-navigate functionality so that customers can shop by brand or by style.
Directory listings and SEO
Each site is also optimized for search engines according to the product catalog available and the locations each specific boutique serves. Simultaneously, the directory listings for the individual locations are claimed and optimized for best practices, making sure each storefront has existing information fleshed out for the best SEO possible.
Digital advertising and retargeting
For our digital advertising blitz, the prom campaigns utilize a mix of tactics meant to get in front of prom shoppers, regardless of how they go about their search. For display advertising, clients typically go with a mix of static banners, videos and rich media creative that showcases a variety of dresses in single ad unit. These ads are then targeted using our own preset network of sites (in this case, Women age 15-21 and Fashion & Style). We also target keyword contextually (utilizing ad space across the web in articles featuring things such as prom styles, prom colors, dress store, etc). Site retargeting can also be utilized to reach previous site visitors, which allows interested users to keep seeing the styles that caught their eye as the season wears on.
Social media work
Shops that work with us tend to take a variety of different paths to supplement the display campaigns. Some choose to utilize Search Engine Marketing (SEM) campaigns and specific ads targeting students and their parents. Other clients decide to develop Instagram campaigns, playing right into the literal hands of their target audience with videos, carousels and banner ads, with copy designed to emulate a text from a friend.
By putting the cart before the horse and making sure we have a solid landing page for future advertising, Compulse has been able to devise a specific voice and tone fit for prom season. If you are interested in working with us to get the most out of your spring shoppers, contact Compulse Integrated Marketing at www.compulse.com.