Even if you stock your fabric store with the best sewing products on the market, you still need to get the word out about your store in order to be successful.
But with so many platforms to choose from, it can be difficult to know how to advertise a fabric store. So, if you’re overwhelmed, you’re not alone.
The key to advertising is to understand who your target audience is and where they’re seeing your ads — and then making sure they encounter your brand in those places.
In this blog, we’ll discuss a variety of advertising channels and methods, and how you can use them to increase brand awareness and revenue.
1. Leverage Social Media Platforms
Using social media to promote your business expands its reach and helps you engage with your target audience. Because of the vast amount of social media users, having a social presence allows you to reach potential customers who may have never encountered your business otherwise.
First, you need to understand the audiences of each social media platform — and how they relate to your target audience.
Here are a few helpful statistics about social media platform audiences:
- Instagram is most popular with the 18–24 age group.
- Facebook is most popular with the 25–34 age group.
- Pinterest’s audience is 70% women and 30% men.
Data like this helps you to determine how to advertise a fabric store on the right platform. Think about your target audience and find a platform whose audience matches those demographics.
Use these platforms to showcase your products. Fill your Facebook or Instagram page with the wide variety of fabrics, textures, and styles you offer in your store. You can also share video tutorials to teach skills to your audience, and use social media to interact with individual customers, building brand trust and loyalty.
Related Read: Selling on Social Media for Your Small Business
2. Collaborate With Local Influencers
Another way to generate greater engagement on social media is to form strategic partnerships with local influencers. An influencer is a social media user who has gained a following and established trust in a certain field. Influencers’ following range widely — some have millions of followers, others have hundreds. But the important thing is to find collaborators who your target audience trusts.
In the case of a fabric or quilt store, the right influencer might be a sewing blogger, crafter, or DIY enthusiast. For a store that mainly serves the local community, an influencer from your region may be the best bet. Look for a collaborator whose values are similar to your own, which will strengthen your branding and avoid brand confusion.
By finding an individual or organization that is similar to your business, you can reach a new audience that is likely interested in your products, leading to new customers.
3. Invest in Local Advertising Channels
In determining how to advertise a fabric store, you may look to more traditional advertising channels. You can create ads for radio, television, newspapers, magazines, or community newsletters. If you do choose to make the investment in these ads, be sure to create a high-quality ad or pay someone to create one for you.
When you create an ad, it’s also a good idea to have something specific to advertise — whether it’s a sale, a special offer, or a store event. These occasions are more likely to draw customers to your store, and can help you make the most of your advertisements.
4. Create Engaging Website Content
A good website is essential for any modern business. Your customers need a place to find your location and hours, catch a glimpse of your products, and perhaps even purchase your products online. Creating content specifically for your website, like blog posts, can flesh out your website, help your customers learn new skills, and draw more eyes to your website and brand.
Here are some tried-and-true blog post topics:
- Sewing tips
- Project tutorials
- Step-by-step guides
- Fabric care guides
- Store updates
Remember: A blog post should be relevant and helpful to members of your target audience. Adding useful content to your site helps people engage with your site and become customers.
Related Read: Building an Effective Website To Boost Sales
5. Engage With the Community at Events
Participating in community events is a great way to build brand awareness and create relationships with members of your community. Look for a variety of local events to attend. Some may be directly related to sewing, like craft fairs and boutiques, while others may be unrelated, like farmers markets and festivals. Having a presence at a variety of events helps you reach a wider audience.
As you network with individuals at these events, showcase your products, inform them about what they can find at your fabric store, and ask them questions. Showing a genuine interest in others helps you form connections, creating goodwill for your store.
6. Partner With Local Sewing and Quilting Guilds
Look for sewing and quilting organizations in the area where your store is located. These organizations meet to work on and share their sewing projects, and sometimes take sewing trips together. Work with these organizations to host events, sponsor activities, and collaborate on projects. Developing strong partnerships with sewing and quilting organizations connects you to their network and can bring new people into your fabric store.
7. Host Creative Workshops and Classes
Hosting in-person events at your store gets potential customers in the door and allows them to interact with your products, prompting purchases. Teaching classes and workshops on sewing, quilting, and fabric-related crafts allows you to showcase your products and how to use them, growing customers’ confidence with these products.
Classes also help you increase your community engagement. You can even combine strategies and invite a local influencer or member of a local quilting organization to teach a class. This can grow awareness for the class and your fabric store.
Related Read: Benefits of Hosting In-Store Events for Sewing and Fabric Retail Business Owners
8. Create Eye-Catching Window Displays
The exterior of your store either draws people in or turns them away. Ensure it’s clean and well-kept, and is representative of what you sell inside. A fun, vibrant store deserves more than a boring exterior, and customers should have a solid understanding of what your store is like from a block or two away.
A great way to create a well-designed storefront is with window displays, which allow potential customers to see your products before entering the store. Set up window displays with creative themes, seasonal decorations, and colorful fabrics. For example, you could create a floral-pattern display during the spring or a display for the holiday season to catch the eyes of potential customers.
Related Read: 8 Visual Merchandising Tips To Increase Sales in Your Sewing Store
How To Advertise a Fabric Store With Like Sew
As you decide how to advertise a fabric store, plan to use a mix of digital, traditional, and in-person methods.
Carve out a presence on social media and amplify your message by working with influencers. Put together a solid website and post engaging and relevant content. Use traditional advertising means like newspapers, magazines, and radio. Engaging with members of the community in-person at local events and hosting in-store events allows you to network with members of the community and helps more customers find you.
Using a variety of methods allows you to determine what the most effective strategies are for your target audience and location, and helps you craft an advertising strategy that is unique to your fabric store.
An industry-specific point of sale (POS) system gives you access to marketing tools that empower you to more effectively advertise your business, including website services, email marketing, review requests, and more.
Like Sew’s all-in-one system has been designed specifically for fabric and quilt stores — and will help you step up your advertising game in no time. Request a demo today!
