Social Media Business Tips for the Holidays
by Elana Birnbaum - November 12th, 2012 9:13 pm
While the most common online marketing techniques such as SEM, email and media buying have proven effective methods to draw and monetize traffic, social media is still an emerging online marketing metric to not just capture traffic, but to engage with your audience. With the holidays fast approaching, now is an excellent time to ramp up your social media strategy and engage with your fans and followers.
Social networks account for nearly 25% of the time Americans spend online. Approximately 70% of all social networkers actively shop online. However, make sure to take into consideration that social net-workers do not necessarily use their social network for the purpose of shopping online. So plan your social media strategy wisely and intrigue your fans/followers rather than pestering them with sales jargon.
Source: http://ecommerceinsiders.com/flash-survey-social-network-focus-ecommerce-retailers-263/
First you should allocate your budget and decide which social networks your company will focus on. The clear leader for most companies is Facebook, with Twitter and Pinterest tailing closely behind. Follow our tips to reaching, engaging, and converting your social network followers.
Eight Holiday Social Media Tips:
1) Announce Your Promotions: Be competitive and make sure you publish your promotions on Facebook and Twitter so your fans and followers can be reminded of your holiday sales.
2) Exceptional Customer Service: Make sure to go the extra mile and engage with your fans. Respond to questions or comments fans post or tweet to your company.
3) Use Exclusive Promotions: Try offering a promotion like “Sale of the day” for your social network fans only. Link them to a heavily discounted product page. Offer a new discounted product every day leading up to Christmas.
4) Post frequently: Tis the season for a little extra tweeting. With shoppers in buy mode, try posting more frequently offering sales, promotions, and special offers.
5) Don’t Forget Pinterest: If you haven’t done it already, add the “pinit” button to your product pages. Social sharing can go a long way, and Pinterest has hit the nail on the head with product social sharing.
6) Instagram: Instagram makes product images look better and cooler. Post and tweet your product images after “instagraming” them. Works great for the fashion and food industries.
7) Festive Designs: Post festive photos, or make a festive background design for your social media page.
8) Give Gift Ideas: Tell your customers the gift options they can buy for mom, dad, or a significant other. If you’re using Pinterest, create different gift boards (e.g. – gifts for mom).
Social media is a great and cost effective marketing technique for the holidays. The best part is these customers are highly targeted since you already know they have a clear interest in your brand. Tune down the sales tone, keep your postings festive, and increase your social activity throughout the holiday season.
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