“TV wasn’t as successful as billboards. The commercials didn’t stay on long. And with billboards, you couldn’t change it all the time. It was hard to change every time a new party or outfit came out. You know you want to keep fashion up-to-date,” Giglio said.

Giglio also tried putting ads in magazines and concluded she wanted to start her own publication.

“I said hey, if I am going to put ads in stuff and on billboards, why don’t I just make my own magazine?” she said. “It was like 2:30 in the morning. I was up thinking, and I was like Houma doesn’t have a fashion magazine.”

She recalled how she would travel to other cities for business or vacation and those places would have fashion magazines.

“I thought it would be neat to bring to this area,” Giglio said. “The next day I called the printing company and got quotes on magazine prices. Pretty much four to six weeks later, I had a magazine.”

Giglio began Indigo Magazine in 2010. She launches it quarterly in compliance with the fashion seasons spring, summer, fall and holiday. She said it was very hard to put together, but it has become a success with the help of her vendors and advertisers who thought it would be beneficial to them.

“The magazines fly out of the places we put them in. I have to keep refilling the racks every day. It helps business out tremendously. People come in that never heard of the store before because of the magazine. Nine out of 10 times they buy stuff too, and I’ve made a new customer,” Giglio said.

Since the boutique caters to women, Giglio puts her magazine in Houma restaurants, hair salons, doctors’ offices and nail shops to reach her target audience.

Giglio even won the 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Board of Retailers for her success.

“I thought that was really neat that they thought it was something good I brought to Houma,” she said.

The magazine is one of the most expensive things Giglio does for her boutique but said she is thankful for those who buy ad space because it covers the majority of the cost of publication.

“It doesn’t just help me, but all my friends and other businesses that affiliate themselves with me. I want everyone to do well,” she said.

Facebook and Instagram are other forms of free advertising Giglio uses that helps her business tremendously, she said.

The Foundry on the Bayou restaurant and bar, 715 W. First St., Thibodaux, is another business that has found a strategy that works.

Kitchen manager David Matherne said The Foundry relies on free advertising and its customers.

“We do Facebook and we have a webpage for ourselves. But our marketing comes from the people that come in,” he said.

“If they have a good experience when they come in, they will let their friends know about us. That seems to be more effective in my opinion,” he said.

Matherne said word-of-mouth really helped the business for the last-minute “End of the World” party it threw a few weeks ago.

“We had just decided to do the party three weeks in advance and we still got a good turnout. To get 100 people there for only a three-week-planned event was really good for us,” he said. “...and this was while all the college kids were out for break and with people home for the holidays. We still got business from that.”

Matherne said putting up table tents, signs in the bathrooms and around the business, as well as waiter interaction also helps advertise for different events.

The Foundry has almost sold out of tickets for the New Year’s Eve performance by the Good Feelin band because of the combined strategies the business uses to get its message out, Matherne said.

“I am not from Thibodaux. But from what I hear, everybody is going to be stoked up that they are going to be playing here. We are going to be slammed on New Year’s Eve. So I am looking forward to that,” Matherne said.

Staff Writer Sable LeFrere can be reached at 985-857-2204 or at sable.lefrere@houamtoday.com.

<p>Local small businesses may not have the money to market themselves like the big chain companies, but some are making up for that with creative solutions.</p><p>Strategies vary from advertising with different media to just getting the word out through satisfied customers.</p><p>Victoria Giglio, owner of Victoria's Indigo Boutique, 112 Old Towne Blvd. Court, Houma, tried all types of advertising before finding a strategy that worked best.</p><p>“I tried commercials, the radio, B97 (FM) and 102.5 (WFMF). I've tried billboards,” she said.</p><p>They gave her some success but not the success she was looking for.</p><p>“TV wasn't as successful as billboards. The commercials didn't stay on long. And with billboards, you couldn't change it all the time. It was hard to change every time a new party or outfit came out. You know you want to keep fashion up-to-date,” Giglio said.</p><p>Giglio also tried putting ads in magazines and concluded she wanted to start her own publication.</p><p>“I said hey, if I am going to put ads in stuff and on billboards, why don't I just make my own magazine?” she said. “It was like 2:30 in the morning. I was up thinking, and I was like Houma doesn't have a fashion magazine.”</p><p>She recalled how she would travel to other cities for business or vacation and those places would have fashion magazines.</p><p>“I thought it would be neat to bring to this area,” Giglio said. “The next day I called the printing company and got quotes on magazine prices. Pretty much four to six weeks later, I had a magazine.”</p><p>Giglio began Indigo Magazine in 2010. She launches it quarterly in compliance with the fashion seasons spring, summer, fall and holiday. She said it was very hard to put together, but it has become a success with the help of her vendors and advertisers who thought it would be beneficial to them.</p><p>“The magazines fly out of the places we put them in. I have to keep refilling the racks every day. It helps business out tremendously. People come in that never heard of the store before because of the magazine. Nine out of 10 times they buy stuff too, and I've made a new customer,” Giglio said.</p><p>Since the boutique caters to women, Giglio puts her magazine in Houma restaurants, hair salons, doctors' offices and nail shops to reach her target audience.</p><p>Giglio even won the 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Board of Retailers for her success.</p><p>“I thought that was really neat that they thought it was something good I brought to Houma,” she said.</p><p>The magazine is one of the most expensive things Giglio does for her boutique but said she is thankful for those who buy ad space because it covers the majority of the cost of publication.</p><p>“It doesn't just help me, but all my friends and other businesses that affiliate themselves with me. I want everyone to do well,” she said.</p><p>Facebook and Instagram are other forms of free advertising Giglio uses that helps her business tremendously, she said.</p><p>The Foundry on the Bayou restaurant and bar, 715 W. First St., Thibodaux, is another business that has found a strategy that works. </p><p>Kitchen manager David Matherne said The Foundry relies on free advertising and its customers.</p><p>“We do Facebook and we have a webpage for ourselves. But our marketing comes from the people that come in,” he said.</p><p>“If they have a good experience when they come in, they will let their friends know about us. That seems to be more effective in my opinion,” he said.</p><p>Matherne said word-of-mouth really helped the business for the last-minute “End of the World” party it threw a few weeks ago. </p><p>“We had just decided to do the party three weeks in advance and we still got a good turnout. To get 100 people there for only a three-week-planned event was really good for us,” he said. “...and this was while all the college kids were out for break and with people home for the holidays. We still got business from that.”</p><p>Matherne said putting up table tents, signs in the bathrooms and around the business, as well as waiter interaction also helps advertise for different events. </p><p>The Foundry has almost sold out of tickets for the New Year's Eve performance by the Good Feelin band because of the combined strategies the business uses to get its message out, Matherne said. </p><p>“I am not from Thibodaux. But from what I hear, everybody is going to be stoked up that they are going to be playing here. We are going to be slammed on New Year's Eve. So I am looking forward to that,” Matherne said.</p><p>Staff Writer Sable LeFrere can be reached at 985-857-2204 or at sable.lefrere@houamtoday.com.</p>