Are you eager to wow your audience but are struggling to figure out what kind of advertising you want? In this day and age, online marketing has become a staple for most businesses. Surprisingly enough, it’s not the most effective form of advertising you can pick.
Promotional products are popular across all industries since they encourage a tangible form of advertising that has a universal appeal. Today, social media is constantly bombarding us with various posts, and search engines are always trying to predict our lives for us. Branded merchandise, however, is almost the polar opposite that can both excite and surprise people of all backgrounds.
As promotional products also have a considerable recall rate, their impact on your industry won’t go unnoticed, especially if you opt for practical items that can be used every day. And sure enough, one of the most popular options is the printed tote bag. Here’s how you can use this product to effectively promote your brand!
Designing the Ideal Tote Bag for Your Business
Your tote bags are unlikely to generate great results if the design is poor or the quality is off. When the design is just right, your target audience is bound to like your totes more and begin using them more often, thus helping you acquire dozens of impressions each day.
On the flip side, a poorly designed bag can even do more harm than good. If it’s plain or cheap-looking, it’s more likely to end up shoved in a cupboard. Worst of all, it may leave a lasting bad impression on the recipients!
That said, designing some fabulous tote bags doesn’t have to be an ordeal or cost a lot. If you already have a design team, work with them to figure out an image that represents your brand perfectly. Alternatively, go for a supplier that offers design services as well and can help you create the ideal artwork to use on your bags.
What to Include in Your Artwork
One of the most important features of your bags is your logo. However, it’s not enough to just add your brand name and logo and call it a day!
If possible, include other important details, such as your social media handles and your physical and web address. A QR code that leads prospects directly to your website could also impress your target audience. It would surely make it easier on them to find out more about you and your business!
Above all, research your target audience well to find out what could make your tote bags stand out for them. The key to figuring out your artwork is looking into your audience’s interests and incorporating them into your design.
There must be something that connects your target audience, like their love for sports or a type of humour all of them may appreciate. Use those interests while designing your artwork to leave a more favourable impression and encourage your audience to use your bags as often as possible!
How Important Is Quality Anyway?
But the story doesn’t end with design, as you also have to keep quality in mind. Since you want your bags to serve your target audience well, they have to be made from high-quality materials such as our branded canvas totes. Better yet, they should come with specific features that make the audience’s lives easier — and your bags more attractive!
Look into durable materials that will ensure the bags stay in top-notch shape for months or even years. Each time someone carries your tote bag around, you get loads of free advertising. Naturally, the longer the bags last, the longer your promotion carries on!
Going for a stronger material also allows your audience to rely on your tote bags for carrying heavier loads. Whether it’s books, shopping or even their massive stack of daily essentials, your heavy-duty bag will surely beat any flimsy bag your competitors may be giving away.
Lastly, remember to match the bag’s features to your audience’s needs. For example, if some of them are parents, they would benefit from having a larger bag with durable handles like our Lancaster Jute Bags. On the other hand, gym-style bags are ideal for sports lovers, whereas personalised sustainable tote bags will win over your environmentally-conscious audience.
It all comes down to how well you know your target audience. If you can provide them with bags that fulfil their needs and remind them of their interests, you have a greater chance of turning them into your brand ambassadors!
How to Distribute Your Tote Bags
Hand Them Out at Various Events and Trade Shows
Hosting one-off events is a fantastic way to generate some hype around your business and increase its popularity. Naturally, it is also the ideal setting for distributing your gorgeous tote bags.
Such events include store openings, where you can gift bags full of other freebies such as personalised pens, branded umbrellas, or printed mugs to the first 100 lucky customers. Alternatively, you can host workshops, retreats, and other similar events where only the attendees get your special bags as mementoes.
Another option is a good old trade show! If you already have a booth ready and want to offer visitors some great freebies, consider ordering some tote bags as well.
No matter what kinds of freebies you go for — custom USB sticks, printed keyrings, or personalised notepads — the visitors are unlikely to have anywhere to store them while they’re at the trade show. The ideal solution, of course, is to pack it all in a free branded tote bag such as our Colour Pop Cotton Heavy Totes. That way, you’d ensure your logo and company name continue attracting attention wherever the attendees go next!
And while you’re there, why not collect crucial data and expand your email list? If the quality is evident, people would be more inclined to provide their email addresses or fill out questionnaires in exchange for the bags.
Once the show is over, you can use that data to follow up on them and convert them into customers. The fact you’ve given them some handy freebies ought to help them see you in a more positive light. As a result, they may be more easily persuaded to give your business a chance!
Sell Them in Your Stores
Right now, you may be giving away cheap carrier bags to your store customers with every purchase. Some of them may use them again. Unfortunately, it’s far more likely that they end up in the bin as soon as they get home.
Instead of wasting too much money on these bags, you could give your customers another option. They could buy a high-quality tote bag such as our Verona Recycled Branded Cotton Shoulder Bag at a fair price that would remain in use for longer!
The idea here is to keep your bags in constant circulation by making them durable enough to stay in use even after the customers leave your store. Another benefit is that these bags would earn you more profit while simultaneously giving you free advertising!
Going beyond that, quality reusable tote bags make your business seem more legitimate. They could help spread the word about you and create some necessary buzz. As a result, they may give you a good jump-start if your business is small or even brand new!
That said, don’t place all your bets on this distribution channel. Try it out with your first set of branded bags to avoid wasting money. If they pique enough interest, make them a store staple that gives your business more recognition.
You could also offer specially designed bags during various holidays, like Christmas or Halloween. This should increase the customers’ interest even more, especially if the bags are well designed and of the same (or higher) quality as your regular ones!
Send Them to Influencers in Exchange for Social Media Promotion
Social media influencers are a large part of marketing today, so use that fact to your advantage if you want to increase brand awareness. Send your bags for free to those whose lifestyle and content align with your company. Along with the gift, write a letter asking them to feature the bags in a photo or video to draw some significant attention to your brand.
Keep in mind, though, that influencers can be expensive. Not every business is able to use this form of advertising, at least not until they have a larger marketing budget to work with.
Some micro-influencers, however, would be happy to advertise your brand in exchange for the bag itself. Since they don’t have millions of followers yet, they lack the leverage necessary to ask brands to pay for ads.
Because of this, you can spread the word about your business through micro-influencers without worrying about the cost. But remember to be fair to them even though they don’t have too many followers. For example, you could fiill the bags with other freebies to make them feel more special!
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Turn Them Into Collectibles
Remember how we suggested you order specially designed bags for Christmas, Halloween and similar holidays? That could be a chance to turn your bags into collectibles!
Collecting anything, whether it’s personalised glasses or branded badges, is a fun hobby in and of itself. But if your customers are particularly loyal to your business, they may be more inclined to collect as many of your limited edition bags as they can.
Of course, you’d still have your regular bags, but consider running different promotions that would let you make bag variations that spark even more curiosity in your audience. Perhaps your other designs could focus on their other interests or different activities. The same design can be used on other types of bags, too, thus allowing your audience to acquire the whole collection featuring their favourite artwork!
Give Them Away to Your New Employees
It’s not just your customers that could give you some free advertising. Your own staff can also help your business gain more popularity and make more sales in the future!
When it’s time to welcome new employees, consider giving away tote bags full of other freebies, like logo notebooks and customised stationery. This should leave a more positive impression on them and paint your company as an altruistic one. Better yet, it may make them more excited to work for you, thus influencing their productivity and overall happiness in their new jobs!
This goes for remote workers and freelancers too. As they aren’t a part of the office culture, they don’t get to connect to your business as much as your office workers. If they get a thoughtful gift package, though, your relationship should grow stronger. It may also inspire them to think of your company better and even mention you more to friends, family, and their other connections!
But don’t stop there. Your tote bags are the ideal welcome gift, but they can also serve as staff incentives. If you’re eager to increase productivity and drive, offering gifts at various thresholds (10 years at the company, highest-performing employee of the month, etc.) should keep your staff happy, satisfied, and above all, motivated!
Offer Them as Incentives
You can also boost the exclusivity of your gorgeous tote bags by offering them in exchange for pre-orders or people signing up for your subscriptions. Those eager to score a bag will be more inclined to sign up or order, especially if your bags are well made and durable.
That isn’t to say that you must spend a massive chunk of your marketing budget on these totes. They can be relatively affordable if you play your cards right (e.g., order them on time), allowing you to get a better return on investment.
As for how to market these incentives, you can always feature them in ads promoting your pre-orders or subscriptions. Better yet, get your staff to promote the bags whenever possible. They can tell your target audience all about the bags AND use their charm and expertise to persuade them to participate!
Turn Them Into Valuable Prizes
Finally, you can distribute your bags through online giveaways and competitions. Giving away your bags without any strings attached would certainly make your audience happy. However, by adding certain requirements, you can actually make your followers work for the bags and feel a lot more accomplished later on.
You can offer the bags alone if you already have lots of followers and don’t need to generate more interest. However, if you desire more engagement, filling the bags with other awesome goodies like printed T-shirts or company logo snacks would definitely help.
Of course, the bags have to be practical and well designed to boost your brand awareness and following on social media. If they are desirable, your engagement should skyrocket naturally, thus introducing you to a whole other group of potential customers.
That said, you may have to use social media adverts to draw in more followers. And don’t forget to set some good (but still) realistic requirements!
In most cases, brands ask people to follow their social media page to enter the competition. To up the stakes (and increase your numbers), you can also ask them to like and share the post, as well as tag others who might want to win a bag too!
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Check out our full collection of personalised bags which includes printed non-woven bags, custom paper bags, and branded foldable shopping bags. If you require further information or have any specific questions, don’t hesitate to give a member of our experienced team a call on 0800 0148 970 or simply email us today.
