Most pawnbrokers don’t need more marketing ideas. Their To-Do list is already overwhelming and it can be frustrating, especially when added to the fact that there is a LOT of noise in the pawn industry about marketing.
How can you know what really works? Our team has over 25 years of working with businesses to tell their stories in the marketplace. We help pawnbrokers flatten the learning curve and focus on proven strategy instead of just chasing shiny-object tactics.
We bring best practices in business marketing to your pawnshop. We’re also working to help reduce the overload with a social media prompt calendar with suggestions that will help spark your own creativity.
DOWNLOAD A PDF OF OUR CALENDAR HERE
How to use this calendar
These calendar prompts are designed to serve as a general prompt so that you can formulate your own messages. Telling your brand story in the marketplace is an important part of growing your business and your livelihood and we believe that nobody is better suited than YOU to do that.
These ideas are best combined with what is already proving successful for getting engagement from your audience. They’re intended to complement and complete your social media messaging.
This free calendar will help you spend less time on tactics and more time on a comprehensive strategy that will impact your bottom line.
We also like to focus on four quick wins every month which are things that you can accomplish in a month’s time from the four most important areas of pawnshop marketing: Digital, Traditional, Community, and Advocacy.
Before you explore the list of QUICK WINS for May below, be sure that you take a look back at the ones that we’ve covered so far this year: January, February, March, and April.
Digital marketing: Graphic design tips
In January, we focused on fostering online reviews. In February, we launched or grew email marketing. In March, we introduced content marketing, and in April we leveled up your Facebook LIVE videos. For May, we’re focusing on improving your graphic design when you’re a non-designer. Here’s a great article from Content Marketing Institute that will help you optimize your use of graphic apps like Canva.
Traditional or in-store marketing: Host a Community Appreciation Day!
Every month, we’ll focus efforts on a traditional in-store event.
In May, there’s a lot of focus on Mother’s Day which makes sense. There are also countless National Days that recognize members of your community including teachers, public service workers, small business owners, military, police, and more. We’re encouraging pawnshops to host a Community Appreciation Day on Saturday, May 8th.
This event can be as simple as a box of donuts on the counter and a social media post inviting the community to stop by for a free snack. Or, it can be a full-scale event that highlights all the ways that your business partners with the local community. The details are up to you, but if you choose to participate please let us know so we can shine a light on the story on our blog!
Community and PR: #PawnCommunity
Each month, you should focus on some sort of community outreach or other newsworthy event in your community. This month, there are so many to choose from, see the calendar for more detail! Consider partnering with other small businesses in your area to host an event that demonstrates your appreciation to the community. Be sure to use the hashtag #PawnCommunity so that we can repost!
Advocacy: Understanding the issues
Advocacy is important for pawnbrokers and the best way to ensure that you’re well informed is to join your state, regional, and national associations.
But don’t stop there.
Since the beginning of the year, we’ve recommended that you establish communication with the legislators and lawmakers at every level of government who impact your business. It’s something that we’ve written extensively about, as seen in this blog post.
Now that you’ve identified the lawmakers who impact your business and established a line of communication with them, it’s time to practice articulating your position with them. One of the most common quandaries faced by pawnbrokers is that they are categorized the same as other alternative lenders. This creates confusion among the public and lawmakers. We’ve created a blog post that makes it simple—find it here.
