Reef nutrition

How to gain traffic?

salty_taste

salty_taste

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Wanted to create a thread focused on how to bring in more potential Members! In addition, I also had some ideas to share with the group if we can provide more feedback:

- Coral Giveaway Raffles ( Lots of FB Groups have been starting this and it gains traction. If we had members open to giveaway frags to the group, I believe that would bring more attention)
- Tank Thread post? ( Showing off member build Threads on IG / Facebook as a way to celebrate the growth + Create new content to post )
- Favorite Corals + Fish + Inverts ( Members posting their favorite photos would provide more content so I can up the amount of post monthly )

The idea behind these ideas is to diversify content from Events and POTM. Just a suggestion. If you have input, I would love to hear more
 
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Who are our LFS Sponsors? Companies that we work with?
- Would it be okay to show off their inventory when they post shipment as a way to give them Free Publicity ?
 
This is not quite social media related, but reiterating an idea we could try:

A lot of people are not aware of BAR, especially when they start looking to purchase a tank/get into the hobby. We could try out search engine marketing (SEM) with keywords focused around bay area LFS, city name + coral keywords, etc, and do cost-per-click ads.

How this would work is say someone searches, "Bay area coral shops" or "Bay area torch coral", we could have an ad for BAR that would pop up linking to our site. We only pay if someone clicks on it, with the specific cost of the click depending on the keyword in question. We could do a trial balloon and set a limited budget (e.g., once that pre-paid budget is used up, the campaign is over) to see how well it works.
 
IOnceWasLegend said:
This is not quite social media related, but reiterating an idea we could try:

A lot of people are not aware of BAR, especially when they start looking to purchase a tank/get into the hobby. We could try out search engine marketing (SEM) with keywords focused around bay area LFS, city name + coral keywords, etc, and do cost-per-click ads.

How this would work is say someone searches, "Bay area coral shops" or "Bay area torch coral", we could have an ad for BAR that would pop up linking to our site. We only pay if someone clicks on it, with the specific cost of the click depending on the keyword in question. We could do a trial balloon and set a limited budget (e.g., once that pre-paid budget is used up, the campaign is over) to see how well it works.
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That is also a great idea! Thank you for sharing.

The idea behind making this thread was checking in to see how BOD members would feel if I were to start posting more content in general on our pages. Consistency is what builds the following which ultimately goes back to this website. Events and POTM are great beginners, but to see what our members have in their tank might give more incentive for newcomers to "check it out"
 
Crazymex408 said:
Sidewalk pop up booth on weekends at lfs vs a card on a counter. Team up with lfs for a exclusive promo/Discount for signing up day of.
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Another great idea.. However, I will not take on that task myself.. 7 days a week of work and I'm pooped.

Maybe if another member was open to that, might be something to consider
 
IOnceWasLegend said:
This is not quite social media related, but reiterating an idea we could try:

A lot of people are not aware of BAR, especially when they start looking to purchase a tank/get into the hobby. We could try out search engine marketing (SEM) with keywords focused around bay area LFS, city name + coral keywords, etc, and do cost-per-click ads.

How this would work is say someone searches, "Bay area coral shops" or "Bay area torch coral", we could have an ad for BAR that would pop up linking to our site. We only pay if someone clicks on it, with the specific cost of the click depending on the keyword in question. We could do a trial balloon and set a limited budget (e.g., once that pre-paid budget is used up, the campaign is over) to see how well it works.
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I never heard of this community until Steve from lucky ocean put me on to it. Joining was the best thing ever.
 
ashburn2k said:
and stop people advertising our club's DBTC as a FREE coral perks after you join. this bug the hell out of me when i over heard this from other new upcoming reefers.
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That is something that will not be spoken on through IG or Facebook. The idea for the group is to build engagement. Another reason why I suggested raffle giveaway for livestock instead
Chrism1330 said:
I never heard of this community until Steve from lucky ocean put me on to it. Joining was the best thing ever.
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Hopefully with time our social media presence begins to build more of a following. I am making an effort to have a few post monthly regarding events + POTM.
 
ashburn2k said:
and stop people advertising our club's DBTC as a FREE coral perks after you join. this bug the hell out of me when i over heard this from other new upcoming reefers.
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Who's been advertising this? I'd like to talk to them. We have been doing DBTC tables at events but those are for existing members only, not for recruitment.
 
My two cents for Instagram:

Yes it’s about the club but I would widen the target audience. It should have reefing related content posted daily/weekly alongside club events/features. Anyone interested in the hobby should be able to click on that page and leave with something. And behind it know there’s a BAR club.

I like the tank feature idea (club members have amazing tanks on here). To add to that. How about posting coral pictures (crazy/regular ones) that are submitted into the monthly contest? With the caption being info on the coral. Par, parameters and care level. You could do mini features on simple things like what topping off a tank, scraping film algae, water changes? I get we don’t want to miss inform anyone but you could put widely accepted practices/knowledge.

All of this content could feature the clubs hashtag/ water mark. The more people at least know about it. More word of mouth. Better the chances people wanting to join a club can hear about it.

Lastly I know you have a life outside of the club but being active on the account helps. Example liking general reefing content &commenting helps people see the account and possibly click on it.
 
MarcosDelgado0 said:
We have an Instagram! @bay_area_reefers
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I’ve seen it’s pretty dead lol and that’s limited to one person using the account. I mean like an app where all reefers can go on like a social media platform specifically for reefers. I mean like turn this BAR.org into a social media platform instead of having it as a website.
 
Maybe keeping it simple and we could come up with some short but convincing messages on social media / IG stating reasons/benefits of joining a local club (in general, not only ours). And rotating throughs these over a 7 day period. We could collect them here and polish the respective sentence/benefit that we post.
 
Answer is always make a message that makes people feel they'll get something they want out of it, and then deliver it to the most people in the cheapest way possible. What they want may be socialization, might be free coral, might be advice, might be a buy/sell group with deals. How to deliver it cheaply is social media, but that requires good content and an ever increasing set of followers; SEO works too. Next is ads, which to convert requires compelling content like above.

IG is about beautiful pics that show awesomeness. People don't go there to read stories.

All depends on the budget, time investment, and what the desired type of people growth is. A big banner that's a fixed cost at a LFS is almost certainly the highest ROI.

Edit: and fwiw I think people love to rag on people for joining a group looking for deals, but they simultaneously expect everyone in the group to give them huge deals. Most of the clubs I've joined I've justified the cost by doing some mental math to make sure I'll get my money back. "The first one's free" is one of the most successful marketing tactics ever; drugs, apps, free trial periods, ... Someone doing a DBTC and meeting another fellow club member is probably the best onboarding tool the club could ever offer
 
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For $30 yearly membership your reward is knowledge and assistance.
The reef aquarium hobby is of the most expensive hobbies to be involved in.
If you can’t afford the $30, maybe you need a different hobby.
If you’re not here for the “ethical husbandry”, knowledge and support in this difficult and expensive hobby, maybe this ain’t the place or hobby for you
The BONUS of being a club member is the DBTC, not the focus
NO FREELOADERS
 
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