When it comes to building brand awareness and getting your products into the hands of your target audience, promotional products and giveaways are always great options. In fact, roughly 81% of consumers keep promotional products for more than a year. When you give away something functional – like a t-shirt – the item has countless opportunities to make an impression over the course of a year (or more).
While any type of free gift can generate brand awareness and interest in your business, there is something about a t-shirt that offers especially far-reaching benefits. Just about everyone loves a free t-shirt, and when the one you offer is comfortable and stylish, the people you share it with will wear it over and over. And in doing so, they will be offering free marketing for your business everywhere they visit.
If you want to run an effective t-shirt advertising campaign, though, it’s not quite as simple as just handing out shirts to everyone you meet. That strategy will end up costing you a lot of money and isn’t likely to help you achieve the results you are hoping for. Keep reading to discover a few helpful tips on how to use t-shirt advertising to promote your business in a manner that is both cost-effective and highly beneficial to your business.
Dress Your Staff in T-Shirts
Dressing your staff in t-shirts emblazoned with your company’s logo is one of the easiest ways to use t-shirts to market your business. This option is great for restaurants, retail businesses, service companies, and other types of businesses where t-shirts serve as appropriate workwear. When you dress your employees in branded t-shirts, they serve as walking billboards for your brand. If employees wear their shirts on their way to and from work, there are countless opportunities for them to make impression on potential customers along the way.
Give Shirts Away to Potential New Clients
If you work with high-value clients or sell expensive products, you can add a personal – and impressive – touch to your pitch by giving branded t-shirts to prospective new clients. When you are trying to win over a prospect, offering them a promotional item with a high perceived value (like a high-quality t-shirt) can help sway them over to your side. Trust us, the cost of giving away a free t-shirt is nothing compared to the financial gain that could come from making a huge sale!
Host a Contest
When you are trying to build awareness for your brand, hosting a contest where participants can win t-shirts is a great option. There are a few different ways to do this. If you are already an established brand, you can simply offer the chance to win a free t-shirt emblazoned with your company’s information in exchange for sharing your business on social media, joining your mailing list, etc.
If you are just starting out or you are thinking about giving your logo a facelift, try hosting a design contest. Encourage members of your target audience to submit logo and shirt designs, and provide the winner with a shirt plus a free product or service that your business offers. Once the contest ends, have shirts printed with your new logo and use them as promotional items. Be sure to give the winner credit for the design!
Attend Trade Shows
Depending on your industry, attending trade shows could be an amazing way to build awareness for your brand and gain new customers. Free swag is a huge part of what draws people to trade shows, so you want to be prepared with a great giveaway.
Plenty of businesses give away low-cost items, like pens and highlighters, but you can set your company apart from your competitors by offering free t-shirts, which have a much higher perceived value. When you buy bulk t-shirts at discount prices, you can easily customize them with your logo and other important information as giveaways for the people who stop by your booth. If your budget won’t allow you to give shirts to every single person, you could set up a prize wheel to offer a limited amount of promotional freebies. This option will save you some money while still allowing you to offer a valuable freebie.
Sponsor an Event
Sponsoring events that are likely to appeal to members of your target audience is another solid option when it comes to building brand awareness. Doing so can also help ensure that your prospective customers see your business in a positive event. Whether you sponsor a charity 5K, a local sporting event for kids, or any other type of event, hand out t-shirts with your logo and business information as a thank you for participating. Even if the shirts are not worn during the event, they will be worn at other times and will provide a great deal of promotional power.
Get Creative
When it comes to marketing your business with custom t-shirts, the options are limitless. There are all sorts of creative ways to use shirts as an integral part of your marketing efforts. Think carefully about the nature of your business and the members of your target audience, and you will likely be able to come up with creative ways to use t-shirt advertising to promote your business.
Conclusion
In the world of promotional freebies, t-shirts are one of the most popular options. Despite their low cost, they have a high perceived value that makes them appealing to prospects. For business owners, they offer opportunities for free advertising every time someone wears them, so they tend to offer an exceptional return on investment.
Whether you choose to use t-shirts as your main marketing material or as a smaller piece of your advertising efforts, they will help you grow your business and build brand awareness.
