May 31, 2014
Bring the power to the people and utilize a dedicated group of individuals to help you spread the word about your company, brand, products, ideas or causes. There is something to be said for taking it to the streets, and a street team is a quick, effective way to get as much information out there as possible within a short amount of time.
If you’re not familiar with the concept, a street team is a group of people (generally unpaid but enthusiastic) that take your flyers, brochures, stickers and other material literally out to the streets and hand them out to people they meet. It helps put a face to the cause and bring people closer to your idea than social media alone can, and gives people an opportunity to ask questions they might otherwise not feel comfortable doing.
Here are some tips to get you started:
1. Gather your materials - Get your promotional material together and make sure you have enough of each type to sustain several individuals for a few (or several) days at a time. Take into consideration the size the area being marketed to, time of day and any other contributing factors that might make foot traffic heavy or light.
2. Gather your team - If you have a group of friends that wouldn't mind doing some marketing for you, great! Get them together and let them know the situation and what you would like done. If you need a fresh team to start with, advertise in your local paper, on TV, the radio or your social media accounts.
3. Incentive the team - Most street teams get a little something for their efforts, whether it be money, tickets, products or mentions or whatever else you can think of. Most people work better if they know they have something to look forward to - be creative and help out the team that is working hard to help you!
4. Give them knowledge - Before you send your newly energized team out to bat for you, make sure you arm them with all the information they might need should someone stop and ask them questions. Brush up on some commonly asked questions, background for your idea/cause/product, and where they can go for more information. A street team can only help if they know what they’re doing.
These are some basic tips for putting the power in the people’s hands, but there are more out there. Come up with some of your own, and let us know the ways you bring your ideas from the drawing board to the streets!