Did you know that nearly 40% of consumers will be using social media to plan their holiday shopping?
If your business isn’t using social media, and using it effectively, you’re missing out on valuable dollars. With the official start of the shopping frenzy just days away, it’s time to make sure your business has a strategy for reaching consumers, engaging with them throughout the season while implementing a customer service strategy that will leave them impressed and coming back for purchases throughout the coming year. Here are a few tips to help you this holiday season:
- Offer Great Content and Company Insight. It’s called “social” media for a reason. People want to engage with you and they want to get a complete understanding of your company through your social media pages. It’s important to implement the 80/20 rule, even during the holidays. This means, 80% of your posts should be interaction driven, while 20% should incorporate direct sales and offers. We know it’s the season of sales, but over-sell your fans and you risk losing them for good. Formulate a schedule that promotes behind the scenes images, tips for the holidays, exclusive social media promotions for your fans, and employee related and/or fan related spotlights.
- Grow Your Community. Don’t post without intention. Are you hosting events with other area businesses? Tag them in your posts or engage in twitter conversation with them; make sure their followers see your business. Use trending hashtags and become part of a much larger conversation and network. This is a great idea for Twitter where you need to reach your potential customer in 140 characters or less. Using these relevant hashtags will help grow your community across the board. Be sure your social media icons are visible on your website and/or blog and link directly to your pages, making it easy for people to follow your pages. Also, if it’s in your budget, you may want to consider Facebook advertising during the holiday season to promote your business and your incredible deals.
- Exclusive Fan Promotions. This is a great time to reward your followers while giving potential customers a reason to follow you. On Twitter, you can do what is commonly known as a Twixclusive – an offer only available to your twitter followers – and can be done by encouraging a specific number of retweets to unlock the offer. You can release exclusive information to your followers such as pre-sale deals or product launch dates and offers. The same can be done on Facebook in regards to likes and comments. People like to feel like they know something others don’t, and these exclusive social media deals make that a reality. Knowing they will be the first to know, the first to purchase or be among the few to receive such an offer, will encourage a loyal following while attracting a new following.
During the holiday season, and all year through, it’s important to remember that no matter how exceptional your product, with inadequate or substandard customer service, it will mean nothing to your customer. People are on edge during the holiday season, worried they’ll miss a deal, feeling the budget tighten and still searching for that elusive toy their child desperately wants. Make sure you’re answering inquiries on social media promptly, making their customer service experience something to rave about. In addition, be proactive and think of potential problems such as a limited number of highly sought after items. Know how to respond positively, and quickly, to address the issue and rectify it in any way possible. Don’t assume customer service outside the store is less important; your customer doesn’t feel that way and neither should you.
If you’d like to increase your social media presence during the holidays or begin a digital marketing strategy for 2015, let our award-winning team help. Download our e-book now and contact us today to start reaching potential customers tomorrow.
