Save the date! This year’s biggest eyecare hashtag holiday falls on June 27th, and planning ahead for how you will utilize this social media firestorm to drive patients to your office and optical can make a huge impact on your bottom line. Last year’s National Sunglasses Day generated over 500 million impressions according to the Vision Council, with high profile features including The Today Show, ELLE magazine, and even sports teams like the New York Yankees and Carolina Panthers. How can you make the most of this year’s National Sunglasses Day promotion?
- Utilize the power of social media. Celebrities, athletes, and social media stars will all be participating by using the hashtag #NationalSunglassesDay. Repost your favorite celebrity looks on your office’s social media accounts. You can make this more interactive with your followers and increase their engagement with your brand by creating a poll to ask what’s their favorite look!
- Run a contest. This hashtag holiday is a perfect time for an online contest. Your online followers will be seeing the hashtag all over social media, and are likely going to get involved anyway. Run a promotion for a pair of sunglasses or a giftcard to your office and ask them to tag #NationalSunglassesDay and @YourOffice in their post to enter. For the most impact, make sure you comment on each of your contest entrant’s posts complimenting their style! The key to successful social media is to make a personal connection and develop brand loyalty. That’s what will separate you as a private ECP from online vendors or commercial chains.
- Promote the holiday in your optical. Make a feature sunglass section or capsule display in your optical and create branded signage combining #NationalSunglassesDay and your office logo. This encourages patients to participate in any contests you’re running online for the event, or even if you’re not running an promotion and just wanting to start the conversation about sunwear, it will tie your office in their mind to any social media activity they see on June 27th. Extra credit: if you have an iPad or tablet, run a loop of last year’s social media features like The Today Show spot or celebrities who got involved with the hashtag last year on their social media accounts to immediately attract attention to your sunglass area. Video and motion stand out on the optical floor and bring people right over to the area you want to highlight.
- Use The Vision Council’s resources to talk about local UV impact. It’s one thing to talk about the general dangers of UV light; it’s another to talk about your specific patient’s personal dangers in their daily world. Check out http://nationalsunglassesday.com/sunglasses/geographic-area/ to see the Vision Council’s break down of the risk for major cities across the country, or check your local newspaper’s UV index reports. Talking about local risks make the dangers of disregarding sun protection very real to your patients, something they can’t just associate with a vacation or a trip to the beach. Here’s an example of a great conversation starter when you are talking sunglasses with a patient:
“Did you know 1/3 of the year Raleigh gets ‘Extreme’ or ‘Very High Risk’ UV ratings from the EPA? It’s really dangerous out there if your eyes are unprotected!” When you’re faced with your personal risk, it’s easier for the patient to understand the importance of investing in everyday protection.
