3 Old-fashioned Marketing Techniques Made New with Social Media

Call it retro chic or recycled marketing but we’ve noticed that some vintage advertising and marketing techniques have come back in full force. These gems are timeless and with social media in action, classic grassroots events can be made fresh and exciting. Here’s a few of our favorites we think are worthy of a second look.

1. The In-store: From Los Angeles to New York, we’ve seen the good old in-store come roaring back. Stories, a bookstore in the hip neighborhood of Echo Park, for example, has taken the in-store beyond the expected signings and readings. From writing workshops to crafting free-for-alls, the space has become a living, breathing part of the community and it’s promoted through social media. In-stores can now be transformed from dinky, sad little events to must-attend functions by targeting followers on Facebook and Twitter. Also, in-stores can transform into check-in opps for FourSquare fiends, too.
2. The Flyer: The rave days may be gone with the baggy pants and fuzzy panda backpacks of the ’90s but the flyer is back in action. Instead of shoving them under dashboards of clubbers, flyers for events are now posted on Facebook. We bumped into an art event in Los Angeles where fans of the gallery were encouraged to print off flyers and posters to hand out to friends.

3. The Bake Sale: Oh, yeah – we know we’ve all had our fill of cupcakes for the next 3 thousand years. But gosh darn it, the bake sale as a fundraiser is not going away. Recently, bake sales made headlines when two kids were busted by the cops for selling cupcakes without a license. But in the end, sweet treats always win, like the third annual Eat My Blog bake sale which benefits the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. The event is being pushed on Twitter, on food blogs and on Facebook. Good causes + goodies is a time tested equation non-profits of any size can rock out using social media.