The Holidays are fast approaching. If you aren’t already, it’s time to start implementing your holiday marketing plan. For many small businesses, social media is the most effective way to reach your target audience. Here at Keep It Real Social, we have tips to help you use social media this holiday season to promote your business and products.
- Take a look at last year’s campaign – Don’t start your holiday marketing campaign from zero; look back at what you did last year. Check last year’s stats for each of your social media profiles. The Insights pages on Facebook and Instagram will show you what content received the most reach, likes, and comments. Pinterest has an analytics page that shows you how your pins performed. If you use Google Analytics on your website, you can see what drove traffic to your site during the holidays. Find ways to repurpose, update or recreate content that worked last year. If something didn’t work, look for a new approach.
- Know your objective – As with any marketing strategy, you need to know the objective of your campaign. Do you want to increase online sales, or do you want to drive customers to your brick-and-mortar store? Maybe you have new products to promote. Knowing your objective will help you focus your posts and holiday content.
- Start early – Don’t wait for the week before Black Friday to start your holiday marketing; many people shop early for Christmas. Even those who don’t shop early are already thinking about the gifts they want to purchase before Thanksgiving weekend. Build excitement by teasing them with upcoming promotions and new products you’re launching.
- Offer a limited-time deal – Create a sense of urgency by offering a limited-time deal. Options include a discount code, buy-one-get-one-free sale, or free shipping. A deal that expires will give customers a reason to add to their cart and checkout before they click away.
- Buy ads on social media channels – Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest offer simple ways to set up advertising on their platforms. You don’t have to worry about overspending because you set your budget for the ad campaign. You also choose the target audience that sees your ads. This means you can reach the people most likely interested in your product or service. For more help, check out our articles about using Facebook Ads.
- Run a charity campaign – People have giving at the top of their minds during the holidays, choose a charity to support, and offer a percentage of sales to them. You can also make your brick-and-mortar a drop-off site for a local organization that collects food or toys for needy people or animals.
- Make loyal customers feel appreciated – If you have an email or text list of your regular customers, show your gratitude by offering a special discount just for them. An exclusive offer will make them feel special; a little nudge from you will also keep your business top of mind when they’re ready to shop.
- Make yourself a resource – Instead of just giving your customers a sales pitch, tell them how you can help during the holiday season. For example, explain how doing business with you can help reduce the stress of holiday shopping.
- Make sure your content has a seasonal focus – If you already have a robust content plan for social media, you don’t need to change it completely; take what you’re already doing and give it a seasonal focus. Promote your products by showing how they make great gift ideas or would be an excellent addition to a holiday party.
- Create content assets in batches – Of course, during the holiday season, your main goal as a small business is to sell your products and services. You want to use your social media channels to show them off to prospective customers. To do that, you’ll need assets to create your content. Creating your content in batches will help you plan and make it possible to schedule content ahead of time. That way, you aren’t taking time daily to take photos and write posts during the busy season. Here are the social media assets you need for your holiday marketing content:
- Catalog-type product photos
- Videos that demonstrate your products
- Lifestyle photos and videos that feature your products
- Branded graphics for any sales, discounts, or other special promotions
- Short-form videos for Reels, Stories, Youtube, or TikTok that showcase your products and services
Check out our other Keep It Real Social, social media marketing tips to help with your content this holiday season.
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