#AlpacaPreneur 🦙🧶🌿🌍⭐️

What is it and what's the Goal? 🏆

A social media marketing campaign, geared to help connect small businesses in the alpaca industry and collectively promote their work to a wider global audience with the aim of generating new business and friendships.

The campaign is an opportunity for you to showcase yourself, your team and the hard work which goes into your alpaca business.  

Who's it for?  🌍

Alpaca farms, alpaca shops (online or brick & mortar), and any brands making or selling products derived from alpacas.

When is it?

October till Christmas 2023.  Ideal season for alpaca clothing and gifts.  Posting dates to suit you.  

Samantha Holmes Alpaca Background 

Over 20 years in the alpaca clothing business working with people in all sections of the supply chain - in Peru, North America, Europe, Japan and Australasia.  

Our business is principally wholesale and export, supplying a broad spectrum of resellers, both internet based and brick & mortar:

• Retailers of clothing, gifts, homeware, babywear and craft supplies /wool
• Garden centres
• Galleries, craft studios and museums
• Health spas, chemists (pharmacies) and beauty salons
• Hotels and tourist attractions
• Interior designers
• Corporate gifting companies
• Sporting and leisure clubs
• Membership organisations
• High end fashion brands
• Farm shops with cafés
• Vineyards
• Alpaca farms / Agricultural tourism destinations

What’s in it for Samantha Holmes Alpaca?

We want to do something which brings all this experience together in a more community spirited way and collectively celebrate the benefits of wearing alpaca clothing and the array of experiences provided by alpaca farms.

Naturally, we are asking you to follow Samantha Holmes Alpaca and engage with our social media activity.  We don't intend this to be one way traffic however and will reciprocate by following you back, featuring or engaging with your posts.   

How will it work 🛠️🧐

The campaign needs everyone who joins to post as regularly as possible (at least every few days) and to ‘like, follow, comment and share'.  Once this momentum builds, you can expect to see:

• More followers / increased engagement on social media
• Opportunities for collaboration
• Ideas on how to grow your business
• Inspiration for new techniques and methods
• New suppliers
• New customers (consumer or wholesale)
• More contacts in the industry

Insta or Facebook will I know be the limit for some of you, but do look into Apps to help you replicate posts across different social media channels like YouTube, Linked In, Google Business Profile, TikTok and Twitter, and also Pinterest which is growing fast.  

You’ll only get out what you put in of course.  Quality of your photos/reels, unique content, tagging, following and engaging with existing and new contacts, are key. 

Participation is free, just your time and effort needed.

What you need to do

1.      Like our Post on Instagram and/or Facebook introducing #AlpacaPreneur.

2.      Follow our page.

3.      Screenshot our Post on your feed and story, or create one of your own.

4.      Tag us and #alpacapreneur on all posts so we can see who is joining in.

5.      Tag friends and colleagues to encourage them to join.

6.      Post photos or reels every few days.  A day or so missed is not a disaster though!

7.      Feel free to use suggested Topics below, include hashtags provided. 

8.      We will share posts that stand out throughout the campaign.

9.      Like, comment, share and follow as much as you can.

10.    Extend your reach to YouTube, Google Business Profile, Linked In, Pinterest, Twitter, etc!  Try and use a Social Media App to help you replicate posts across different channels.

Proposed Topics

Alpacas are a gift for Social Media.  People love scrolling through photos of them.  Some of you are already excellent at capturing them running, noseying up to the camera etc, but let’s balance that with other stories, about you, the rest of your team, your environment.

Perhaps you already analysed your keywords and hashtags.  Fab!  Add ones you know work for you.  Meta allow up to 30 hashtags per post and tag #alpacapreneur and @samanthaholmes.alpaca. 

If there's some overlap in your posts, don't worry about it. Repetition of key themes and brand story is needed to get it out there!  Some topics may not be relevant to you, just highlight and prioritise the ones which are.

Try and spend some time searching the different hashtags below.  It’s enlightening and we hope you find it motivating!

You can tackle these in any order, write multiple posts for some.  Don't forget Topic No. 1.  Pin that one to your profile!

1.       #Yourstory - tell us about you and how you got started in the business?  #ourstory #alpacastory #alpacabrand etc

2.       #[yourbrandname] – List what’s unique about your business.  Eyecatching logo? Share it here!

3.       #[your town/location] – Celebrate your farm location / what’s great about where you live?

4.       #Inspiration - Who/What has inspired you the most?

5.       #Behindthescenes – give us a tour of you at work

6.       #Entrepreneur / #Youngentrepreneur / #Teenentrepreneur – anyone in mind?

7.       #Alpacas – You need no guidance here.  Just keep introducing us. 

Worth including these if you don’t already #alpacasofinstagram #alpacas #alpacalove #alpacalife #alpacaworld #alpacalover #alpacagram #alpacasofinsta #alpacalovers #cria #alpacalypse alpacaworld #alpacalove #alpacafamily #alpacababy #alpacalife #babyalpaca #newcria #alpacaowners #alpaga #alpaka #alpakka #alpaki #alpacafibre/er

8.       #Alpacaproducts / #Alpacagoods – present your collection, wax lyrical!  Online, or just brick and mortar – product tag

9.     #Bestsellers – can you product tag? Link to webshop?

10.   #StartYourOwnBusiness – Give 5 reasons why it was a good decision

11.   #Alpacabenefits – recite these standing on your head, or break it down into a bulleted list!

12.   #GreenBusiness – how eco is your alpaca business?  Can you list your eco credentials?

13.   #Sustainablealpaca – Can you list 5 reasons why alpaca are good for the planet.

14.   #AlpacaProductoftheweek – Spotlight favourite regularly – real people modelling best if poss.  Bright natural light if you can.

15.   #Photoshootlocation – Would other business like to use your premises for photography?

16.   #MotivationMonday – what motivates you? How do you plan?

17.   #ADayInThelife – how do you structure your day?

18.   #AlpacaFun - What’s the most enjoyable part of running your own business?

19.   #WFH - What's it like working from home?

20.   #WomeninBusiness

21.   #Alpacafabric - List 6 benefits.

22.   #Alpacawool – Ditto

23.   #Alpacaclothes /#Alpacaclothing– List 6 benefits of wearing   #sustainableclothing #shopethical #consciousfashion #responsiblefashion #conciousfashion #organicclothing #sustainablebrand #sustainablefashionbrand #ethicalclothes #ecobrand #slowfashion #futurefashion #ecoclothing #handdyed #Naturalclothing #sustainablefashion #buylessbuybetter #ethicalfashionbrand 

24.   #Hypoallergenicclothing – don’t forget to emphasise this one!

25.   #Alpacastories / #AlpacaTales- Funniest stories best #spinayarn #storytelling #brandstorytelling

26.   #Wintercollection – Show us about your new collection – clothes / gifts / crafts

27.   #Challenges - What’s been the hardest challenge so far? New challenges?

28.   #AlpacaFarm / #Alpacafarming - What's your take on the industry?   #farming #farmlife #smallholders #meetalpacas #visitalpacas #alpacaexperience #alpacatrekking #animalgiftideas #farmstays #meetmyfarm  #farmsofinstagram #Alpacatourism #FarmTourism #FarmTours #FamilyFundays #Thingstodoin[yourlocality] #alpacaretreat #awayday

29.   #AlpacaTrekking

30.   #AlpacaYoga

31.   #AlpacaCafe

32.   #AlpacaTherapy

33.   #Alpacaeducation #Edutainment

34.   #AlpacaFarmShop

35.   #AlpacaBoutique / #AlpacaShop #shoplocal #shopsmall #brickandmortar #bohostyle #ecofriendlyproducts #ecogifts 

36.   #Alpacawedding / #Alpacahire

37.   #Alpacaworkshops

38.   #Alpacafelting #AlpacaCraftKits

39.   #Alpacacrafts – #felting /#knitting /#crochet /#weaving /#spinning

40.   #AlpacaGiveaway – any promotions or freebies

41.   #Employee of the month - Shine a light. #teambuilding 

42.   #Throwback Thursday – Any fun photos of the early days?

43.   #Celebrity - Had anyone famous visit / buy your products? 

44.   #Customerspotlight - A shout out for your favourite customer/s

45.   #Alpacoween - what's  your business doing for Halloween?  Experiment with AI – DALL-E!

46.   #Relax – What do you do to relax?

47.   #Invention - What’s the most inventive product or service you’ve come up with so far?

48.   #Bestreview - so nice to get these.  Share one 😇

49.   #Meetthemaker – are you a designer maker?

50.   #Craftkits = a growing market #craftworkshops?

51.   #Export - are you exporting your product already? If so what, where and how?

52.   #ChristmasAlpaca #AlpacaThanksGiving – any family events to shout about? 

53.   Favourite post from another participant!  Maybe we should hold an #alpacapreneur competition nearer Xmas?

Reels are best for attracting new followers.  

It might be slow to start, but be patient.  Let's grow it organically.  Best way!

If you’ve any queries or suggestions, please email me at sam@samanthaholmes.com.

I might not be able to get back to you straight away, but I’ll do my best.

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE JOINING ME. 

Let’s blow some alpaca magic on this and watch it grow! 

Samantha

#AlpacaPreneur 🦙🧶🌿🌍⭐️

#AlpacaPreneur is not endorsed or affiliated with Instagram.