Over half (56 percent) of consumers say they search social media during the holidays to learn about new products and services. But don’t worry, if you don’t have a robust social media marketing strategy in place for the holiday season, it’s not too late. Now is the perfect time to start developing this year’s advertising and social media marketing plan to successfully use social media to profit during the holidays.
This social media marketing 101 guide is the perfect solution for eCommerce brands and retailers that need a little extra help this holiday season. It features nine excellent tips to help you prepare effective campaigns and increase holiday sales.
Review Last Year’s Data
To improve this year’s holiday social media marketing strategy, you must first look backward at last year’s plan and results.
Sit down with your team and talk about what you did last year.
Which social media channels did you use? What campaigns did you run? Which ones yielded the best results, and which ones were ineffective?
Use this data to decide what to focus on during this holiday season and what to eliminate.
This approach will help you avoid wasting time on tactics that don’t help you achieve your goals. It also increases the likelihood that you’ll reach your goals and increase holiday profits this year.
Create Holiday-Specific Content
Don’t be afraid to get in the holiday spirit. Every good seasonal social media marketing campaign involves holiday-specific content.
Perhaps you can write blog posts sharing tips to help your customers through the holiday season, then share those posts on your social media profiles.
You can also take holiday-themed product photos and showcase your bestsellers to encourage followers to check them out.
Consider filming some holiday marketing videos, too. For example, you can create a video sharing some of your products that make great holiday gifts and share the video content on social media to profit during the holidays.
Host Holiday Giveaways
Giveaways are excellent tools for increasing social media engagement and getting people excited about your brand.
Holiday giveaways are especially beneficial. After all, who doesn’t want something free during the most expensive time of the year?
Encourage people to engage with your social media profile to participate in the giveaway. For example, they might get one entry if they like your post, one if they leave a comment, one if they share your post, etc.
At the very least, giveaways help you get more attention on social media. More attention makes your profiles visible to a larger audience, which can help you build brand awareness and boost sales.
Establish and Stick to a Holiday Calendar
The holiday season is stressful enough without trying to create and share holiday-specific content in real time.
Instead of preparing, designing, editing, and sharing posts all at once, use a holiday content calendar to plan, stay organized, and lighten your (and your team’s) load.
When putting together your holiday calendar, take note of upcoming holidays and important dates you don’t want to forget.
For example, you might want to share a special series of Hannukkah posts or host a Black Friday giveaway. Mark these dates on the calendar in advance, so you have time to create quality content that your audience loves.
Work with Influencers
If you’re struggling with social media for eCommerce brands or just want to spice up your social media profiles, influencer marketing can help.
Influencers are professionals with large social media followers and high engagement rates. They can share your products or services with their audiences and drive more people to your profile, website, etc.
Influencer marketing is an effective way to grow your audience, build trust, and boost your results. However, it can be especially helpful during the holiday season when the competition is fierce, and you need to stand out from other brands in your industry.
Engage with Your Followers
It’s essential to engage with your followers year-round. During the holidays, though, you must go the extra mile and be even more engaged.
Respond to comments promptly, answer DMs, and share posts from those who tag your brand’s profile in their social media content.
Increased engagement helps you distinguish your business from your competitors and increases the likelihood that your followers will shop with you instead of another brand.
Give Your Profile a Holiday Makeover
Get in the holiday spirit by refreshing your social media profiles. Update your profile picture with a holiday-themed one, or redo your logo in red and green.
A simple makeover is an easy way to jazz up your social media image, generate enthusiasm for the upcoming season, and catch your followers’ attention.
Offer Valuable Resources
One of the keys to social media for retailers is finding ways to sell without selling.
If people constantly feel they’re being bombarded with sales pitches, they might get fed up with your brand and disengage. In addition to direct sales pitches and promotional posts, ensure you’re also providing value.
Offer tips, share recipes, post a tutorial, etc. There are tons of ways to offer valuable resources and stealthily promote your brand.
Work with a Professional
Don’t underestimate the value of hiring a professional to help you during the holiday season.
You already have a lot on your plate as a business owner or marketer. Partnering with a digital media agency with social media experts will help you buy back your time and expand your bandwidth to focus on other tasks and responsibilities.
Look for an agency with experience helping brands like yours build their social media presence. Check out their portfolios, read reviews, and look at their lists of services to ensure they offer the kind of help you need.
Partner with an Agency to Use Social Media to Profit during the Holidays
Are you ready to boost holiday sales in 2023? Follow the social media advertising tips discussed above to create persuasive marketing plans for eCommerce and retail stores.
Do you need more help with retail or eCommerce social media marketing? If so, Socialistics is here to help. We are a social media agency that offers organic social, paid media advertising, influencer marketing, and more. If you want real results from a team that really knows what they’re doing, get in touch today.
