COST EFFECTIVE MARKETING FOR YOUR BALLOON / EVENT DECOR BUSINESS!
- sparklingpartysupp
- May 11, 2024
- 8 min read
Ok so you’re starting up or already started your balloon and or event decor business. And now you need clients! In this blog post I’m going to share some of my experience and some tips for getting your business out there to potential customers without breaking the bank!
Small start up businesses or self employed persons offering a service don’t always have big budgets for advertising and marketing, that is normal! And is not a necessity to start getting your name and services out there to the people! So let’s discuss some ways to do this! Without spending lots of money on Online Paid Promotions/ADs, Paid Advertising such as Billboards, or spending lots of money giving free services for exposure. Let’s get into it!
Social Media Presence
This one was really important for me. Especially as within the Event Decor / Balloon Styling industry, alot of your customers want to see photos of your products, they find their themes or inspiration from searching online, they’re looking for someone local! Instagram and Facebook are where I initially started building an online presence and focused on when first finding clients.
Set Up your Facebook Business Page! Add your logo, some photos of work you have done, list some services you provide, with details of the areas/locations you are looking to work in. It’s great to have somewhere to refer clients to see your work. Almost treat your social media platforms as an online portfolio of your work. Keep it up to date, be active, share your page to others and get friends and family to share too, to start building some followers.
Another way I like to use Facebook to gain customers is Local Groups! Join some local selling groups in your area or the areas you would like to work within. Do always check the rules and regulations of the groups as they can vary, some do not allow business to promote, some allow business promotions on certain days etc. Even if you’re not allowed to directly post and promote your business in a group, there may still be people asking there for recommendations in which you can then comment with your business page so still worth joining! For the groups you are allowed to promote your business in, write some eye catching posts! Not too long, but with enough information for people to understand what you are offering and some photos of your work to catch their attention. Tag your business page so they can find where to follow you!
Same as Facebook, for Instagram, set up your profile! Add logo, description in Bio including the services you offer and the locations you cover. And start posting your work! Instagram is very interactive with lots of different ways to share your work and content. Making use of Reels is a great way to get people who aren’t necessarily following your page to discover you! Look into trends, trending sounds, and add photos and videos of your work! Stories are also great for sharing content to, and then adding those stories to highlights so that visitors to your page or followers can always access your stories content.
Gain followers, stay active, and hopefully you will start to grow your Instagram page and with that grow your audience to your services, and then your customer base! You want to pop into people’s mind when they think of needing balloon or event decor for their events!
PHOTOS, PHOTOS, PHOTOS!
So maybe you’ve ordered a prop, or backdrop, or balloon hoop for your business but haven’t hired it out yet. How do you promote it? YOU SET IT UP FOR YOURSELF! Now, I’m not saying order lots of balloon stock and spend lots of money just to create set ups in your own home or space to get photos to advertise. However, they do say speculate to accumulate! And how will people know what you can do if you can’t show them that you can?! Maybe yourself or a family member or friend has a celebration coming up? And you just need them to cover the costs of the balloon stock? You can create the set up for them at a discounted rate or cost price, in the aim to take some eye catching photos that will be great for advertising your work? DO IT! Take photos of everything. Take photos of your props or backdrop without any balloons as well! So people at least can see that you can provide this.
Any set ups you do, do, if those balloons are going to get popped or disposed of after the event and aren’t going to be taken home by the celebrant.. Take them yourself! Re Style Them! Re Use Them! Make them into a different display. And get as much content and practice from them as you can! It’s a no brainer!!! You could get multiple different types of set up from one set of balloons that you have done previously. Don’t waste the opportunity to get more practice and more photos so you can show these to potential clients.
And always remember that you don’t just need photos. VIDEOS! Remember videos. As I mentioned earlier, Reels and Stories are also great ways to share your work as well as just posting photos. Get people interacting! Show the space before you added the decor and then after, show them what an impact your services can really make!
Word of Mouth
YES, YES and YES. I am proud that a vast amount of my customers come to me through word of mouth. I feel this is a real testament to your work, your service, your customer service and your business as a whole. One way I like to think about adverting my work, is if I attend and decorate a Baby Shower with 30 Guests.. I have been paid to do the work.. and also get 30 people to also see my work and my business! It’s free promotion.. whilst getting paid! The same stands for any event. Like I said previously it could be a 30 Guest Baby Shower or a 150
Guest Wedding.. they are all going to see your work! And chances are, a guest may also be planning an upcoming event, and they may well ask the host ‘who did the balloons?’ ‘who provided the decor?’ And there it is.. word of mouth recommendations! Another reason why your great work, your customer service, attention to detail and professionalism is so so important, with every job! Not just the bigger ones, every job is important! As well as impressing your client of course who is your main focus.. but impressing the guests and the venue staff is also extremely important for this reason.
Have your friends and family recommend you in conversation with others! RECOMMEND YOURSELF IN CONVERSATION! And your clients will do too!
Never underestimate the power and importance of personal recommendations and word of mouth. Ask your clients to leave reviews, it’s great for new potential customers to see true representation of your work though the words of previous clients.
Venues!
This leads well with the previous section of Word of Mouth. When working at different venues, speak to the staff! Introduce yourself, let them know what you offer! Make sure you’re in their minds when their customers who are booking their venues are speaking about bringing in Decor for their event.
Some venues run with a ‘Preferred Suppliers List’. Which means when their customers are looking to bring in external suppliers for their event, the venue will recommend suppliers who they have worked with before that they trust. This could be a list with various different vendors including caterers, DJ’s and photographers but also BALLOON ARTISTS AND EVENT DECORATORS! And you want to be on the list. They may have some requirements to be considered, you may need to fill out a form.. but do it. Because it is worth it.
Building relationships with venues is key!
Marketing Materials
So far, I don’t think any of the advertising I mentioned has required any actual cost! So do know there are many ways to get your business out there without paying out. However, there are a few other things that I did when starting out that did require paying for. Not breaking the bank stuff.. but definitely worth it.
Printed Items including business cards and leaflets. Design them yourself, and a small cost to have them printed, but again, it is worth it. I have been asked countless times for a business card or leaflet. That could be whilst on site setting up from someone viewing the venue or a passer by. Or just whilst in conversation with someone, day-to-day, when talking about by business. Giving out cards and leaflet when asked for one is great. But they don’t need to ask!! One thing I tend to do, is to leave a small pile of cards or a few leaflets close by to the decor I’ve set up. Yes, when you come back they may still be there, but if even one has been picked up and put in someone’s pocket it is a WIN!
Add them to community boards, whether that is in a supermarket, a local store, library, or a community hall. Lots of these places have boards where people and businesses can post adverts and business cards/leaflets. And it works! I’ve had people call me up and say ‘just seen your leaflet in The Co-Op and wanted to enquire about your services’. It’s about getting your name out there, and these are all ways to do that!
Something I started recently, was Business Signage. Take this Sign below as an example. I made this sign with an acrylic sign and personalised it with my Cricut Machine. If you don’t have the equipment to do this, have one printed! And add it into your displays. Larger and more eye catching than a business card. And professional. Claim your work and be proud of it! I have added some links below for the items I used to create this sign that I add in somewhere to my displays.
Work Wear
Not a necessity! I didn’t do this until a few months starting my business. But looking back now I could have done with this a bit sooner.
There are different types of business workwear available, printed or embroidered, t shirts, hoodies, coats, aprons, the list goes on. I started with a few T Shirts and a hoodie. My uniform collection has grown vastly over the last few years. But just a simple T Shirt printed with your logo can work wonders. Not only does it look professional when out on site, you are a walking advert! I have literally had people come up to me and ask to take photos of the back of my TShirt so they don’t forget my business name when they get home! Walk down the street, in a busy shopping centre or anywhere you are and people will see your business name!
Ok so that is just a few ways to start to get your business out into the world and noticed by potential customers! It may be slow to start with, but stick with it! The more of a name you get for yourself, trusted reviews, reccomendations and a strong portfolio, the easier you will find it to find potential clients, get the conversation going and turn enquiries into bookings! Be sure to let me know how you get on. And what cost effective ways have you found to advertise your services?
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