Winter often slows foot traffic, but it doesn’t have to slow your business. The months between late fall and spring are the best time to build momentum. The work you do now will help you capture leads, stay visible online, and start spring ahead of the competition.
Refresh Your Website and Inventory
Your website is your shed lot online. Keep it current.
- Keep inventory current.
- Replace summer photos with recent ones that reflect your lot today.
- Add banners or messages like “Winter Savings” or “Order Now for Spring Delivery.”
BarnDealer makes these updates simple. Your inventory syncs automatically, and editing is quick. Small updates keep your website active and help Google see your business as up to date.
Optimize for Local Searches
Buyers still search for sheds during winter. Many are planning spring purchases now. To show up in their searches:
- Verify your Google Business Profile information.
- Update your phone number, hours, and photos.
- Add a short business description with phrases like “portable sheds in [your town].”
Respond to reviews. Thank happy customers and address questions. Activity on your Google profile improves your visibility and builds trust with future buyers. For more tips on this check out our Google Business Profile Blog.
Stay Active on Facebook
People may visit your lot less often, but they still check Facebook daily. Stay visible in their feed.
- Post 2–3 times a week.
- Share photos of sheds on your lot, customer stories, or winter specials.
- Remind customers you offer remote sales and delivery.
Use BarnDealer’s posting tools to share inventory directly from your website. If you want extra reach, boost one post with a small budget to keep your dealership in front of local buyers. For more help with Facebook, check out our Facebook Blog.
Nurture Leads and Past Customers
Reach out to people who showed interest earlier in the year. A simple follow-up message or call can turn an old lead into a new sale.
Ask recent customers for reviews or photos of their sheds. User photos are powerful content for your website and social media.
If you’re using BarnDealer’s Lead Dashboard, check in on older leads. Even one or two new follow-ups a week can create steady results.
Plan Your Spring Marketing Now
Good SEO and social visibility take time. What you do today will decide how visible you are when shed buying season returns.
Set simple goals for winter:
- Add one testimonial each month in a Facebook post. Something like:
- “Great service and Fantastic Quality. Jon was a treat to work with!” – George A. Check out this building just like the one George got from us! [using BarnDealer Facebook Posting tool to link to inventory page of a specific building]
- “Great service and Fantastic Quality. Jon was a treat to work with!” – George A. Check out this building just like the one George got from us! [using BarnDealer Facebook Posting tool to link to inventory page of a specific building]
- Post weekly on Facebook. If you don’t know where to start, use some ideas we included below or simply use our BarnDealer Facebook Posting tool and use a caption like “Check Out This Great Shed – very affordable monthly payments!!”
- Upload new photos to Google Business Profile. Pass those “vibe checks” by updating photos of your lot when the season changes!
Consistent activity now gives Google more signals to trust your business. When buyers start searching heavily again, your dealership will already rank higher.
Keep the Fire Going
Winter isn’t downtime—it’s preparation time. Dealers who stay active online through winter see faster growth when Spring hits.
The BarnDealer Support Team is here and ready to help. We’re here to help you stay visible, capture leads, and keep the fire going all winter long. Reach out if you need any help with your BarnDealer site or are ready to sign up!
Final Thoughts - Practical Actions
Remember, you don’t have to spend hours editing photos or be a social media expert to have a great digital presence! Consistency and Effort will outweigh hours spent editing one photo or coming up with the perfect graphic. Post on Facebook 2-3 times a week and use the BarnDealer Facebook Posting tool to drive traffic to your website!
Here are some easy, practical things that you can do throughout the “slow season” to keep your dealership at the top of your game!
- Update Your Google Business Profile (GBP) Religiously: This is your most important local marketing tool. Make sure that your profile is up-to-date as your business changes. Update your winter hours. Make sure your holiday hours are entered. Update some photos to capture the “winter aesthetic” of your lot. Post links to your Facebook posts featuring your other digital marketing efforts.
- Heavily Promote “Rent-to-Own” (RTO) & Financing: In any season, but especially when cash is tight (like after the holidays), RTO is your best sales tool. Make “No Credit Check” and “Low Monthly Payments” the headline of your social media posts and link your Inventory Posts using your BarnDealer Facebook Posting Tool!
- Feature Your 3D Builder Tool: Make your 3D Builder a “Call to Action” on your social media posts. Use phrases like “Check out this building that’s great for storing your snowmobile! Want a different color, check out our 3D Builder on our website!”
- Launch a “Refer-a-Friend” Campaign: Email your entire list of past customers. Offer them a tangible reward ($100 gift card, free shed accessory, etc.) for any friend they refer who buys a shed in the Spring.
- Pivot to “4-Season” Use Cases: Stop marketing it as a “summer lawnmower shed.”
Your winter content should should be 100% focused on other uses:
- “How to Prepare Your Site for a Shed (Even in Winter)”
- “Creating a ‘She-Shed” Winter Retreat”
- “The Ultimate Guide to a 4-Season Workshop”
- Publish “How-To” Planning Content: Answer every question a customer has before they’re ready to buy
- “How to Prepare Your Site for a Shed (Even in Winter)”
- “Do I Need a Permit for a Shed in [Your County/Town]?”
- “Concrete Pad vs. Gravel Base: Which Is Best?”
- Create Helpful “Winterising” Content: Be a hero to your past customers. Post a video or blog on “5 Ways to Winterize Your Shed to Protect Your Gear.” This builds brand loyalty and authority.
- Run a User-Generated Content (UGC) Contest: As past customers to post photos of their sheds decorated for the holidays or covered in snow. Offer a local restaurant gif card for the “best photo”. This gives you a mountain of free, authentic social proof.
- Post “Throwback” Transformation Photos: Use your best “before-and-after” photos from last Spring and Summer. The caption should be aspirational: “Spring will be here before you know it. Is your backyard ready for a transformation like this? Plan yours today.”
- Use Polls and Questions in Stories: Keep your audience engaged with simple, interactive content. “What would you use an extra room for? A) Home Office B) ‘She-Shed’ C) Workshop D) Storage.”
- Gather and Post Video Testimonials NOW: Before it gets too cold, contact your happiest customers from this year and offer them a small incentive to film a 30-second “selfie” video testimonial. Sprinkle these across your social media all winter with links to similar buildings that they purchased. They can be just as powerful (if not more powerful) as any ad you can run.
