S&S Activewear Podcast, Success Stories

“If You Stand For Something, They Will Come” – SUCCESS STORIES Podcast: Ep. 5 (feat. Roger Burnett of Social Good Promotions)

Promotional marketing companies have always tried to connect customers with the best products for their needs, but do those products always make the world a better place?

One company has found success with targeting the marketing needs of clients and aligning them with products that offer a deeper and more meaningful story.

Social Good Promotions works diligently to use promotional marketing products in a way that serves a greater purpose other than just simply being a canvas for a logo. They deeply believe in being socially responsible and try to give back in some way.

On this episode of Success Stories, we’ll discuss this with Roger Burnett and discover how his passion for improving the world, providing value, and always surprising and delighting his clients has moved him to the forefront of the promotional marketing space.

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S&S Activewear business advice

Turn Your Product Images Into DOLLAR Signs

One of the best ways for distributors to reach their target audiences and increase sales is through the use of shoppable ads. In recent months, Google added shoppable ads to its capabilities and Instagram is also promoting ways to monetize consumer searches for advertisers.

Erich Campbell, program manager of Albuquerque, NM-based BriTon Leap’s Commercial Division, believes these shoppable ads do, in fact, reach customers.

“Decorators and apparel sellers often expect customers to know what they want before they contact us,” Campbell says. “In truth, they often need a creative target. Shoppable ads allow us to give customers a vision. You can create something remarkable to get people in the door and discussing the possibilities.”

Let’s look at the benefits of these ads and how you can implement them into your decorated-apparel business.

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S&S Activewear business advice

Looking For More Revenue? Start Building Web Stores For Your Clients.

Should web stores be in your company’s future? All signs point to yes.

“Everyone’s so used to Amazon: simply clicking to make their purchase,” says Tom Rauen, CEO of Dubuque, IA-based Envision Tees. “A web store takes a lot of friction out of a regular transaction. You show the customer what you can offer them—and they can buy 24/7.” They’re a one-stop-shop for your clients—and their employees, team members or supporters. This personalized shopping experience can turn your business into a selling machine, generating profits round the clock. Distributors and decorators like Rauen are capitalizing on web stores, to bring in more frequent and even higher-volume purchases.

Let’s look at exactly how adding a web store service to your lineup can increase your bottom line. Plus: We’ll explain how easy it is to set up a web store, and why you should pitch them to your existing and potential clients.

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S&S Activewear business advice, FEATURED

5 Winning Video Strategies Every Screen Printer Should Use

Businesses miss a huge marketing opportunity when they don’t use video, experts say. “People like bite-sized nuggets,” says Sam Sprague, founder and CEO of Portland, OR-based Sprague Media LLC. “Video and social are all about gaining access and attention.” If a picture tells a thousand words, imagine just how many you can express with a short 30- or 60-second video. In fact, videos elicit a more visceral, immediate response from your viewers than reading a blog.

The biggest stumbling block for business owners though, Sprague says, is Continue reading “5 Winning Video Strategies Every Screen Printer Should Use” →

S&S Activewear business advice

7 Creative Ways to Find New Customers

Prospecting like a pro? Kevin Pendergrass, co-owner and sales rep at Shawnee, OK-based Pendergrass Promos, has it down to an art. Pendergrass targets 10 new businesses a week with a gift-focused campaign. “We send a promo item in the mail to introduce ourselves,” he says. “This separates us from our competitors because it cuts through the clutter—and gets our name in front of prospects loud and clear.”

Seventy-one percent of buyers want to hear from sellers when they’re looking for new ideas to drive stronger business results or to solve a problem, according to consultancy SalesPop. Even better, 82% of buyers Continue reading “7 Creative Ways to Find New Customers” →

S&S Activewear business advice

Yes, You Should Try Influencer Marketing.

Lots of decorators will remember when embroiderer Marie Sophie Lockhart shot to veritable “decorator stardom” after a back-and-forth with rapper Drake on Instagram (she used the handle Good For Nothing Embroidery) in 2015. That led to a commissioned OVO prayer hands jacket that he wore for an entire tour. After that, Lockhart went viral,  appearing in Vogue, stitching more custom pieces for Drake, and even collaborating with Marc Jacobs and Stella McCartney.

In fact, Lockhart’s experience is very similar to results that influencers today achieve for companies that want to grow brand awareness, sell more, capture leads, increase engagement, or even appear in major publications. And, yes,  influencer marketing is  heating up—and it can work for your decorating shop or distributorship.

An Association of National Advertisers (ANA) survey of brand executives shows that 75% of respondents use influencer marketing, and almost half (43%) plan to increase their spending in the next 12 months. A majority of respondents (54%) were either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the performance of their influencer marketing strategies. To note, of the executives who don’t currently use influencer marketing, 27% plan to start in the next year.

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S&S Activewear business advice

4 Ways To Take Your Business to New Heights w/ Hybrid Marketing

Brandon Levy first opened his storefront after moving his decorated-apparel business out of his garage. At that time, he offered his local community a one-week-only coupon for one free monogram on any item they brought to his shop. The Denver, NC-based business ended up having a great turnout, in part because Levy used Facebook’s paid ads to promote his offer. “People loved the idea of something free—who doesn’t, right—and the majority of people who came in for their monograms also purchased another product or service,” says Levy, president and owner of Digitize4u.

Levy’s strategy was a great example of what’s often called hybrid marketing. This marriage of online and offline marketing allows marketers and business owners to combine two effective concepts, into one streamlined campaign. Plus, with the power behind hybrid marketing, you’re more likely to see better ROI on your advertising dollars, via better conversion or expanded market reach. “It’s a bricks-and-clicks approach,” says Luke Webster, a digital marketing analyst with San Diego, CA-based Miva. “Your company most likely already has some type of physical location, along with a digital presence.”

Focus Is Key

In the current multichannel browsing-and-buying climate, you can’t just focus on one or two marketing channels to get your message out to prospects and customers. Instead, it’s vital that your company crafts a marketing strategy using varied platforms and mediums to connect with the appropriate audience. 

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S&S Activewear business advice

The Marketing Strategy Your Brand Shouldn’t Ignore

As consumer trust of brands continues to plummet, shoppers look toward recommendations from friends, family and peers—leading more companies to invest in influencer marketing on social media.

More than just a marketing buzzword, the digital age has allowed businesses of all sizes to partner with trusted online leaders (or “influencers”) to drive a brand message to a dedicated audience—opening the door for smaller brands and budgets.

From fashionistas to hypebeasts to techies, there’s an influencer niche for pretty much every market. Yes, even “kidfluencers” exist.

Brands looking to partner with kidfluencers (influencers under the age of 13) must be extremely cautious. Sometimes known as “spawn con”, there are a lot of ethical debates concerning companies who partner with kids and their behind-the-scenes parents for social media marketing.

Currently, there aren’t any definitive laws protecting insta-famous children and their ad earnings like the Coogan Law does for child actors.

Pro Tip: If you’re looking to start a kids’ streetwear line and want to work with kidfluencers, we recommend reading this article by Adweek for tips on how to ethically engage partnerships.

If you’re not ready to work with the complexities of child influencers, there are plenty of older influencers out there to help spread your brand’s message! Read on for how to build a brand partnership with influencers.

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