So, I invested heavily in better cameras, cin- ematography and production quality to make our online presentation stronger.” And that investment has paid off. The cat pedal videos alone have helped expand B’s Music Shop’s footprint on YouTube, with the Meowdulator demo video grabbing some 56,000 views. B’s Music Shop’s Instagram ac- count currently has 20,800 followers — proof, Hansen said, that today’s online audiences crave authenticity. “To drive our social recognition, I decided to put myself on camera and see what hap- pened,” Hansen said. “I acted a little goofy and leaned into being authentic. It started connecting. We did brand collabs with manu- facturers, and I started riding the line between content creator and store owner. And yes, that does lead to sales.” One example Hansen looked to was pedal maker JHS’ model. “Not every piece of their content is a direct sales pitch,” he said. “So, sometimes I just have a product, and I make a dumb joke with it — no pitch, just a bit. I think it’s mostly about showing up every day, being authentic and throwing things out there. I try to make a lot of content. I used to joke that I’m not
the greatest guitar player, but I can make content in weird and infinite quantities. I get on camera and say weird stuff, and people either find it funny and follow us, or they hate me. Either way, I’m zeroing in on my market and my people.” BRAND IDENTITY IN EVERY DETAIL B’s Music Shop has also been sure to show- case its brand identity in everything it does, including incorporating its unique logo into every facet of the customer experience. “We have our own tape and stickers, and our boxes are printed with our logo. It costs a little, but it makes us feel like a real opera- tion that has its act together,” Hansen said. “I’m also most likely the only music retailer with my own branded cat toy.” That’s right, B’s Music Shop has its own guitar pedal-shaped catnip pillows. “We sell them online constantly,” Hansen said. “We order them in batches of 5,000 at a time, and we’re on our third batch now. We send them out to companies, too, for example Orange Amps sent a batch to their team and all their cats were playing with them. So, I’ve tried to really focus on being a brand and do- ing a great job with what I can bring to the
B’s Music Shop’s Pro Tip: “When it comes to running a guitar shop, it’s really about figuring out who you are and what your own voice is — not just from a content standpoint — but as a business. Figure out the audience you con- nect with and lean into that con- nection. There’s no single formula. Finding your voice, knowing your strengths and building your audi- ence around those things is genu- inely hard to replicate. And that’s what makes it valuable.” — Brian Hansen, owner table, rather than just being another retailer posting, ‘Here’s the new thing every other retailer is also selling this month.’” Or, as Hansen might have put it, “selling right meow.” MI
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