My RI Life: Elizabeth Stone Of Mint Leaf Media & Baby Got Booth
I am a RI native and small business owner of Mint Leaf Media (a marketing consulting firm) and Baby Got Booth (A photobooth company but, I think the name speaks for itself.). I am a soon to be mom to a little girl in the beginning of 2016 and a step-mom to a wonderful 5 year old boy. My husband, son, and I live in Providence and love how close we are to the city and the beach. I love running, walking, yoga, family hikes, and basically any kind of exercise. I also enjoy going for long motorcycle rides in Little Compton and South County. I have my motorcycle license, but like riding on the back of my husband's motorcycle more because I can close my eyes and enjoy the wind in my face (NOT while pregnant, don’t worry!). Below are some of my favorite spots in RI and some bonus holiday marketing tips.
Food & Restaurants
For smoothies: Benefit Juice Bar and Wildflour are my two favorite smoothie places. After my smoothie, I enjoy a nice walk down the Boulevard or around Swan Point.
For Dinner: I love Los Andes, in a city where our choices for fine dining are Italian and...Italian, Andean cuisine is a breath of fresh air, comfort food mixed with exotic accents. Not only that, but the quality and execution are great, with a very lively atmosphere to match. My son and marine biologist husband love the huge salt water fish tanks.
For Drinks: My drink is a dirty martini which I’ve missed dearly in the last 6 and a half months! I especially love my husband’s extra special martinis on a warm night in the back yard, but when I get to go out, I enjoy having a martini at Hemenway's or on the Waterman Grill’s back deck.
Health & Wellness
For Yoga: My go-to yoga studio in Providence is my home studio Providence Power Yoga, the teachers are amazing, and they offer so many different class times that can fit anyone’s schedule. For prenatal yoga, my favorite class is Sat a.m. with Wayne at Raffa. I also love the salt saunas and as soon as my pregnancy is done, I’ll be in there sweating and soaking up the salt.
For Hiking: The Newport Cliff Walk and the Arcadia Trail in Coventry are two of my favorite hikes in RI. I also love, love, love the East Bay Bike Path and of course, getting ice cream in Bristol at the end.
Holiday Marketing Tips
1. Create Time Limited Offers. Encourage customers to buy now. Make sure to stick to your time-limit, so customers feel the urgency to purchase asap.
2. Offer Gift Certificates. Whatever your business, selling gift certificates, gift cards, and e-certificates is a great way to give your customers a convenient gift option. They also help you generate sales well into the New Year, with recipients often spending more than the value of the certificate.
3. Use Your Website And Social Media to Promote Your Holiday Activities. Develop holiday themes for your email templates and update your website and Facebook profile picture with a festive look. Make sure to include call to actions on your social media posts. A great tool to make great social media post and cover photos is canva.com (The best part is it is free!!)
4. Partner With Other Businesses. Is there a way you can partner with complementary stores or restaurants to cross-promote each other’s businesses? Or partner with other businesses in sharing each other's social media posts. This way you reach an entirely new audience. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there when networking.
5. Offer Free Shipping. The average shopper will do 44% of their holiday shopping online and free shipping is important!
6. Make A Call to Action Button On Your Facebook Business Page. It's something that takes less than 10 minutes, do it now!
Contact Info & Social Media
- Email: Elizabeth@MintLeafMarketing.com
- Twitter: @mint_leafmedia
- Facebook: facebook.com/mintleafmedia
- Instagram: @mintleafmedia
Photo Credits: Photos of Elizabeth Stone and family provided by her. Additional photos of Los Andes logo and Providence Power Yoga logo and class are all courtesy of Google Images. Other images of local food and restaurants are courtesy of the PattyJDotCom Instagram account.