Go with the flow: how to incorporate vacations into your marketing strategy

So what the heck do I even mean by that? I recently took my family to Disney. I set big goals in 2019 and I have exceeded every single one! One of the goals was $15K in one business in my first quarter. My average in 2018 was slightly less than $5/month, so this wasn't a HUGE deal- if I simply just did one thing better, I would hit it. But we all know in business, one year can just be bad, so this goal meant staying above the previous year and seemed like a good starting point. 

Ya'll! I hit $15k in the first 5 WEEKS of quarter one. 
Then, before booking the trip I promised for that goal, I sat back for another two weeks just to make sure something catastrophic wasn't going to happen. 

Don't we all do that with our business? Doubt the success will last?


The money kept coming, and I kept my promise. I booked the flight, hotel, Disney tickets (ouch!) And told the family. 

Fast forward to go time! I booked this trip to align with our youngest two being home from camps. Last week of july/first week of August. 
I knew going in I would be adding in as much "work" as I possibly could. This not only offsets some of the costs of the trip, but it meant working and networking in areas I have never been able to before. 

First, I want to list out all of the business related stops I incorporated into my trip. Second, I want to show you exactly how to turn every day life (even vacations) into content, so that you aren't sitting on your thumbs all day wondering what to post! Ready? 

Day one: 
We headed to ROW DTLA midday. 
Shopify has a fun spot there.

Check out our blog post all about this amazing spot here!
Lucky for us, that area also hosts a fun food event once a month, and it happened to land on that day. While I worked, my husband and two kids hit up every food truck they walked by. 
I walk in and check myself in with their front desk gal. It is a COOL vibe. Open spaces for working, a photography studio, a podcast studio, a conference room, and desks and couches galore for quite work spaces. 
Check out that awesome boomerang 

Later that afternoon, I had a few ladies meet me close to our hotel. I had brought tons of products with me, and knew I wanted to do a photo shoot with some local babes I never get to see. They were more than willing because: free clothes and free photos! 

Content: 
Live video DURING shoot (thanks, husband for quick thinking!) 
+ Several posts as well as the entire shoot! 

Days two + three: 
This was our first day at the parks. I knew I wanted to either have a meet up hour where I could meet some fans of our brand while my family had fun at the park or a fun scavenger hunt. I went for scavenger hunt in the end. This meant no one had to stop their park plans (those parks are quite large, and planning to be in one place at one time takes great effort!) 

Heres what I did: 
I made gift cards by cutting cardstock and printing a cute template from canva onto my dymo label printer. Hand wrote the gift card codes with sharpie and stuffed them in cute envelopes. 

When we headed to the park, I let my followers know on all platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Text Alerts + E-mail) how many gift cards there would be and which park we would be in that day. 

We would give small hints and a quick boomerang or video of where each card would be placed. We were careful to ensure we spread them out by time and place. 

Content: 
Okay, this one was quite obvious. Lives, Stories, posts, interaction. We even CAUGHT someone grabbing a gift card and snapped a quick pic with them!

Day four: 
We decided to take a "chill" day after two 12 hour days in the parks. We headed to Huntington Beach for a surf competition. 
Oh, you thought I wouldn't work? I spent about an hour handing out postcards with discount codes and posting cute Instagram stories! 

Content: 
Lives on the beach handing out postcards, Stories for days + Tagging ourselves on Facebook 

Day 5: 
This was the day I had personally been waiting on for the entire trip. FASHION DISTRICT! I had been on several calls and scheduled three meetings for that day. I wasn't going to waste one second. After all, I had three family members on the trip with me, and while I looked at every opportunity to work, they were on vacation! 
I did my research and had a game plan. Husband parked 10 blocks away! YIKES! 
No worries, game plan back on and all three meetings attended. I walked away with 49 lb of fabric, 3 rolls of spaghetti, and a handshake contract with a supplier for more spaghetti.

Oh, and of course- content for days! 

We even made a thread for a few stops we loved

Not shown: blog post coming about LA Fashion District

 Shopify @ ROW DTLA, and business relationships for days! 

If you thought I couldn't possibly pack more into that day, you're wrong! Once we headed to the airport, I hopped on a call with the other two I had meeting with to let them know I had chosen door #1, then I spent time instagram storying + live chatting while waiting for our flight! 

If this sounds exhausting, vaca content may not be for you. For my fellow workaholics, I hope this gives you tons of ideas!!! 

 Need help with ideas? Book a consult now! 

*No family was hurt in the making of this work-vacation*
*not shown: loads of fun had by all*