Social Media Tips for the Holidays

Doorbuster deals, shortened holidays, fighting over that perfect gift that you swore you saw fist. Great memorize, but times have changed, for the better. 

Promoting your brand during the holidays can become challenging, especially due to the high volume of merchants selling at the same time.  Here are a few tips to navigate the chaotic holidays and stand out on social media this season. 

1.Update your Social

A simple way to promote the holiday festivities is to update your profile photos and banners. This will put your promotions front and center so potential consumers know exactly what your business is offering. Instagram has grown exponentially as the go-to platform for brand identity. Consumers who value your product are more likely to follow your brand on Instagram, making this a great place to begin your holiday promotions. 

2.Create Urgency 

Many companies are promoting at this time. Consumers become desensitized to the amount of promoted ads at this time of year. Although it is important to add keywords such as “ limit time” and “ today only”  using these terms over time and spreading your promotions amongst different platforms including emails. If urgency is pushed on a single stream platform, users are less inclined to continue on the site. Placing a countdown on the website directly can also encourage users to purchase. 

3.Create Custom Gift Collections

When pushing product cross-selling will be worthwhile. Searching for that perfect gift, users are more inclined to purchase more than one item when seen complementing each other in a lifestyle image.

4.Tracking 

It’s never too early to begin preparing for next year.  Many monitoring tools can track campaigns and allow A/B testing for these campaigns. This is important not only to identify success but enhance customer engagement.  The holiday season, when shoppers are most active is the ideal testing season giving businesses larger data sets to evaluate. Using tools such as google analytics and facebook analytics can provide any company insights into what worked and how to improve next season.

5.Hashtag

Creating custom hashtags can help customers engage more in your company. If done correctly can positively drive traffic to your website and have your customers become influencers for your brand. Following trending hashtags can also give your business recognition. There are websites specifically dedicated to trending hashtags. 

6. Step Outside of your Comfort Zone.

Testing new content tones and imagery that is outside the traditional brand guidelines can be beneficial to stand out during the holidays. It may attract an audience that once haven’t had. 

“Brands need to get outside of their comfort zone to set themselves apart. Try different content, that are not considered “safe” or “off brand”; outside of free shipping and a sale” 

-John Surdakowski

Take Away 

‘Tis the season to try something new, brands have the opportunity to stand out and what better time that the largest buyer season of the year.  Optimizing your social media during the peak season is essential to success. Utilizing these simple tips can promote your business and boost sales during the holidays.