The rise of the internet has given way for so many people to become entrepreneurs that may not have been able to do so in the past.
This is especially true of social media, which helps business owners attract more potential customers, and allows them to build business relationships in ways that would not have been possible. Here are a few simple ways that you can use social media to take advantage of the holiday season to promote and sell your products.
Start early
Some people start shopping early (some have all their Christmas shopping completed and presents wrapped before Halloween) so a holiday social media campaign must start early. Even if your potential customers haven’t actually started to buy presents, they are looking around for ideas, so you want to be front of mind.
Although there is nothing worse than flashy Christmas promotions before Halloween, or Valentine’s Day hearts in stores while the tree is still up, it is ok to mention a product line ahead of the next gift giving season.
Use color themes
What do you think of when you see red, green, white and a little bit of gold? Right, Christmas.
How about red, pink, and white? Sure, Valentine’s Day.
Try this one: pastel shades of green, yellow, and pink? Yes, Easter!
Implementing these shades into your holiday graphics can swing your followers into a festive spirit so add them to the images, cover pictures, headers, and advertising several weeks ahead of the next holiday season.
Blogs
If you write a blog along with your business, do a roundup of great products suitable for the upcoming holiday, or better still, a list of reasons that no one should do without your fantastic line up, and share the post on your social media platforms.
Use hashtags as appropriate
A quick Google search will give you a list of well-loved seasonal hashtags. Just a recap, if you are new to social media, a hashtag is this symbol: # and is used to help collate likeminded ideas from different profiles. For example, a quick search for most popular social media hashtags for Christmas came up with #christmas #merrychristmas #xmas and #merryxmas, just as a sample. Anyone can, and will do, a quick search of a specific hashtag to find all the related posts in one place.
Get personal
One of the greatest parts of social media is that it allows you to build a relationship with your potential customers. It gives you an opportunity to get to know them, as they post comments and questions on your page. It is also an opportunity for them to get to know you. And let’s be honest: people do business with people they know and like, so this is important!
Use social media to post about you and your family as appropriate, though don’t share too much of yourself, and never give out details that give away your home address or the name of your child’s school.
What you can do is post a pretty pic of the first snowfall in your backyard or a photo of your family enjoying mugs of hot chocolate (before Christmas). This is a double whammy if you are able to feature your product within the shot. For example, if you create mugs, then be sure to use those mugs, naturally placed, in a shot of your family.
Get engaged
No, this isn’t about finally proposing to the love of your life,it’s about getting your social media followers engaging on your platforms. Ask your readers to share their on holiday memories, ask about their favorite gift of all time or whether they still have a present that was given to them as a child.
People love to talk about themselves and this can help build that great rapport that you are seeking. One thing to remember though: it is important to continue to engage with your followers as they comment on your post, don’t simply ask a questions and walk away. The key here is engagement so if they take time to post a comment, be sure you take the time to acknowledge their effort with a thank you or story of your own.
Remember: People do business with friends, so seek to build the relationship between you and your potential customers.
Keep shipping dates in mind and clear for your customers
Shipping dates and prices are a key concern for any retailer over holiday time and are front of mind for customers too. Prominently posting about how many days left for free or reduced cost shipping, or how long an item can still be shipped in time to arrive at its destination before the holiday is informative for your customers and it also adds a sense of urgency to their consideration.
Promotional discounts
Since most of the shops are offering discount on holiday season, make sure you are providing discount for your customer. Binding a discount coupon with purchase limit is a good idea to increase sales. For example, you can offer 5% discount on $70+ orders. To get that discount, people often buy extra items to reach that $70 mark.
Adding a discount code in your store is not the end of world, you can promote your codes through coupon site like GiveMeDeals. Don’t forget to send an email to your subscriber about the offer.
Social media advertising
A good ad on social media will get you more bang for your buck than most any other paid form of marketing. In fact, you can use the above steps to implement an amazing holiday social media campaign. Create an ad using colors reminiscent of the holiday you are promoting and link back to a blog explaining how great your product is. An ideal feature about such advertising is that you can see how effective it is in less than one day, so if you arenot generating the traffic you were looking for, just make some tweaks to the copy and graphics before activating again.
Holiday themed giveaways
Contests are always a huge way to draw in followers and potential customers so add in a competition that has a little holiday flair. Ask entrants to come up with a great new hashtag, product idea or post a photo of their own holidaythemed decorations to get them a chance at winning your product.
At the end of the day, social media is fun way to share your products, engage with followers, and even build your customer base, so enjoy!
