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planetm
12-02-2012, 01:32 PM
Hi everyone! I am new to this site and quick background. My partner and I have been testing products on Facebook, and there has been overwhelming success. We are now taking it to the next level by having our website designer along with logo and signature packaging. Our product is Tutu's for little girls (not for recitals or pageants but for dress up, weddings, holidays and birthdays). While there are many other companies who stand out, we feel our products are superior in quality and detail. We are not trying to sexualize little girls as some of the other companies sadly do and we are keeping our product upmarket, classy, and yes, more expensive.

My questions are:

1. Which Social Media avenues should we focus on and include as links to our website? I believe Facebook, Etsy, Pinterest are three I feel we should certainly use but any other we should have? How many is too many?
2. Do we need a blog and if so, how can we keep our readers interested?
3. What sort of video could we post on YouTube with this sort of product
4. How do we make ourselves stand out from the competition? Do we just outline some of the facts as I have above
5. Is it worth finding bloggers who are in our target market, a free product to review
6. How likely is it that free product sent to glossy magazines for review be viable?

Any and all advice is welcome!

Thank you!

Pack-Secure
12-02-2012, 01:43 PM
Hi everyone! I am new to this site and quick background. My partner and I have been testing products on Facebook, and there has been overwhelming success. We are now taking it to the next level by having our website designer along with logo and signature packaging. Our product is Tutu's for little girls and while there are many other companies who stand out, ours are far superior in quality and detail. We are not trying to sexualize little girls as some of the other companies sadly do and we are keeping our product upmarket, classy, and yes, more expensive.

My questions are:

1. Which Social Media avenues should we focus on and include as links to our website? I believe Facebook, Etsy, Pinterest are three I feel we should certainly use but any other we should have? How many is too many?
2. Do we need a blog and if so, how can we keep our readers interested?
3. What sort of video could we post on YouTube with this sort of product
4. How do we make ourselves stand out from the competition? Do we just outline some of the facts as I have above
5. Is it worth finding bloggers who are in our target market, a free product to review
6. How likely is it that free product sent to glossy magazines for review be viable?

Any and all advice is welcome!

Thank you!

1) Google+ is another one.
2) Blog is always nice, articles on ballet and the arts.
3) Videos of children wearing your Tutu's while dancing would make for a nice display of your product.
4) Since you state your product already stands out. Customer service, customer service and might I add excellent customer service will help you stand out.

planetm
12-02-2012, 02:10 PM
Thank you for your tips! Yes, I have just found that Google+ is one we should be looking at. I will note that while we are offering "tutus", these are not for dancing as such - more for little girl dress up, special occasions wear such as holidays, weddings (as a flower girl or as guest attire) and birthdays.

And yes, Customer Service is key!

KristineS
12-03-2012, 11:53 AM
Hi everyone! I am new to this site and quick background. My partner and I have been testing products on Facebook, and there has been overwhelming success. We are now taking it to the next level by having our website designer along with logo and signature packaging. Our product is Tutu's for little girls (not for recitals or pageants but for dress up, weddings, holidays and birthdays). While there are many other companies who stand out, we feel our products are superior in quality and detail. We are not trying to sexualize little girls as some of the other companies sadly do and we are keeping our product upmarket, classy, and yes, more expensive.

My questions are:

1. Which Social Media avenues should we focus on and include as links to our website? I believe Facebook, Etsy, Pinterest are three I feel we should certainly use but any other we should have? How many is too many?
2. Do we need a blog and if so, how can we keep our readers interested?
3. What sort of video could we post on YouTube with this sort of product
4. How do we make ourselves stand out from the competition? Do we just outline some of the facts as I have above
5. Is it worth finding bloggers who are in our target market, a free product to review
6. How likely is it that free product sent to glossy magazines for review be viable?

Any and all advice is welcome!

Thank you!

1. The best social media venues for you are the ones your target market uses. Facebook would probably be good. Pinterest could be useful. Google+ has potential. Really what is most important, however, is knowing what social media venues your target market uses and then following strategically so you're talking to potential customers and not just random people. Also, make sure that you're having a conversation with those who follow you, not just selling at them constantly. Social media is about community, not about sales.

2. You don't necessarily need a blog, but they can be useful. A blog would also give you a tool for reaching out to the Mommy Bloggers who would be a natural target market for you. Keeping your readers interested is just a matter of knowing your target market. I assume you're targeting parents, probably moms, of little girls. Put yourself in their shoes. What sort of blog posts would interest you were you a mom with a little girl?

3. Videos could be as simple as some of your customers talking about how much they like the tutus and how great your customer service is.

4. Making yourself stand out from your competition is all about finding your differences and emphasizing them. You did outline several points where you feel you differ from the competition, so make sure you hammer those points home in every bit of marketing you do. Also, keep in mind, if you're charging more, your marketing and web site has to appeal to that market segment. You're creating an image, so make sure that image carries all the way through.

5. Connecting with the popular mommy bloggers would be a great way to boost sales. You might also check with Blogher, as they have several popular mommy bloggers as members. They might be an effective way to do some online ads as well.

6. If you want magazines to review your product, you best bet is to get in touch with an editor and ask if they do a great gift or product round-up at some time during the year. Also offer yourself as an expert on kids playing dress-up, quality kids costumes, or whatever subject fits in with your product and on which you can speak knowledgeably. You should also inquire if they accept press releases and, if so, to whom those should be sent. Also, don't neglect local media. A story in the local paper or a segment on a local news show gives you good press and also legitimacy.

planetm
12-03-2012, 12:42 PM
Wow! Thank you so much for your detailed and informative post! Thank you for your advice which we will surely take on board!

planetm
12-03-2012, 04:24 PM
I have another question, we have spelled our business name in an Old English fashion but want to link to the traditional spellings...how then do we link in the "traditional" spelling into our keywords on our webpages and so forth while still keeping the integrity of our business name?

vangogh
12-04-2012, 01:16 AM
1. I think the 3 sites you're targeting are the main ones for your business. I was thinking of all 3 before I read your list. Google+ might be another general network. The same for Twitter. I would imagine there are some niche sites you could try, though I wouldn't know which.

2. You don't need a blog, but done right it's probably one of the better ways to market your business. It helps you connect with your customers at a deeper level than social sites allow. Plus it's something under your control. Other sites can change the rules on you at any time. I think there lots of ways you can keep readers interested. Granted I'm not a young girl who plays dress up, but I would think someone who likes to dress up and pretend they're a princess or a ballerina is interested in reading stories about princesses and ballerinas and whoever else they're dressing up to be. I think you could offer series of fictional posts as one potential idea.

What you want to do with a blog is publish things around your product instead of necessarily about your product. Think of who your customers are and create content that they would be interested in. For example you could tell a story about a young girl attracting her dream guy and from time to time she thinks about her wedding and wedding dress, etc. When it's time for the person reading that story to buy a Tutu to play dress up guess where they're going to buy.

Once you have an audience in place you could have them write stories to submit of post pictures of themselves dressing up, etc.

3. Everything I just said about blogging applies here too. Don't think of it so much as having to create a video about your product. Create videos that would be of interest to your customers in some way that's related to your product. You can also later have your customers post videos of themselves that they send to you and you upload.

4. Facts probably aren't what's going to lead to sales for you. It's going to be more about the emotion people feel in connection with your product and how the product makes them feel. Have the facts there for those who want them, but remember your customers are buying tutus not because of the facts. They're buying them because when they put one on they get to be someone they dream of becoming. Play up to that last part. Make people believe your tutus are the ones that transport them to their dreams.

5. It's definitely worth finding bloggers in related industries. I think Kristine is right that mommy bloggers are a good group to connect with. Approach them with the idea if how you can help them. Think what you can do for them and do it. They'll be more likely to do for you after you've done for them.

6. I'm not sure the best way to approach magazines, though again I think Kristine has it right about getting in touch with an editor. I also think just as with bloggers you want to think about how you can help the editors. Don't approach them looking for them to help you. Approach them in a way that helps them find a story.

Hope something in there helps.

ozetel
12-04-2012, 05:31 AM
Hi

A lot of information has already been posted so I cant offer that much, but would mention Vimeo as a video channel as well.

Also with the business and keyword, is it the type of name that you could interchange between the old spelling and the traditional spelling when writing content for your page? Would people type the old spelling to search in Google do you think? If so you may need to consider this when developing your keyword strategy for google rankings. It makes for a bit more work of course but would be well worth your while.

Sounds a great concept though and certainly I think tugging the heart strings in social media is a must do!

vangogh
12-05-2012, 11:25 AM
Just want to second the mention for Vimeo. I think it's a great site and a great place to house your videos. Naturally YouTube is another option for video.