The holidays are upon us, and it's time to start thinking about what you can do to win the hearts of your custom audience. We have put together a list of 6 strategy posts for this holiday season that will help you get ahead of your competitors and keep your customers coming back year after year.
Why the holiday season is a great time to connect with your audience?
The holiday season is not just about spending time with your friends and family, it's also the best time to connect with your audience. People love this time of the year and many of them are spending their time on social media. This means that they're more likely to spend some time online and engage with brands during the holidays than at any other time of the year.
Which strategies you should implement this holiday season?
The one thing we can say for sure is that people need help buying gifts, which often leads to questions on social media. This is why it's important to be prepared for this time of the year by having essential resources available online so that you don't miss out on an opportunity to help your audience when they need it most.
This is a great time to partner with other brands in your industry if you have the means. If you are an e-commerce store, try partnering up with another brand that has complementary products for cross marketing purposes. For example, Amazon regularly partners with different clothing brands during this season (and all year long).
This is the time of year that people start making wish lists, and if you're selling on Amazon or eBay this means that it's prime season for increasing your holiday sales. If someone has put a product they want to buy online in their wish list, there is an increased chance they will purchase it before the holiday season ends.
What you should be doing as part of your social media marketing strategy during the holidays?
The holidays are a great time to connect with your customers and engage them online, but it's also important that you focus on what really matters. Social media is about helping people rather than pushing sales messages all the time, which means that you should be ready to answer questions as soon as they come in because this could make an impact on how much trust they have in your brand and your brand awareness.
Another thing you should do is create a unique code for this occasion, so that people will know it's only valid during the holidays and not any other time of the year. This way, if someone tries to use it after New Year's Eve or later than January 2018, then they won't be able to enjoy the discount. This is why it's important to plan ahead and make sure that you're prepared for this time of year because having great offers available online will help you win back customers who might not be interested in buying anything else throughout the rest of the year.
There are many different things that you can do during the holidays, but if there's one thing you should always do is focus on helping your target audience rather than promoting yourself. People are more likely to buy from brands they trust, so if you help them in the same way that any friend would then there's a good chance that they will come back next year when it comes time for holiday shoppers to go out again.
These are couple of things you can include as part of your marketing strategy for this holiday season
Giveaways
Your first strategy is to create a holiday giveaway. This can be done in many ways, but the most popular way of doing this is by creating an Instagram contest or product announcements. Giveaways are great because they encourage people to engage with your brand and provides you with valuable user-generated content that will give your feed authenticity.
When it comes to giveaways, you can either create a contest or an event. A contest requires your customers to submit their content while the latter only asks them to post about your brand on Instagram.
Create lists of gift ideas with links
Another way for you is to create lists of Christmas gifts that people might be interested in buying this season. You can do this by sharing useful content that includes listicles on Christmas gift ideas or even creating a blog post that contains different items your audience might be interested in buying.
Monitor social media campaigns for last-minute online shopping questions
Another thing you should do is monitor only the most used networks like Facebook and Twitter because you don't want to be spending too much time on social media when you have a lot of work to do. You can create a schedule that will let you know how many hours per day, week or even month you should spend monitoring your networks and replying to questions from customers who might need help with something they saw in one of your posts.
Include holiday-themed content
When it comes to holiday-themed posts, you can create content of ideas that include Christmas recipes, DIY gift projects and even some funny memes. All of these things will help engage your audience so they don't get bored with all the advertising around this time.
Offer special discounts only available during the holidays
Another thing you should do is create a unique code that can be used only during the holidays. This way, people will know they are getting an exclusive deal which means it's probably not available anywhere else other than your website or social media accounts.
This strategy is extremely effective because people love exclusive deals and will be more likely to shop at your brand when they know that there's something unique about it.
You can also create discounts for specific products or buy one get one free offers. This is a great way to encourage people to spend even more than what they originally planned because if you offer them an incredible deal, then the chances are that they will definitely spend more money.
Give people a sneak peek or behind-the-scenes look at what goes on in your company this time of year
Another thing you should do is give your audience a sneak peek or behind-the-scenes look at what goes on in your company during the holidays. This can be done through social media posts that show people what you're doing and how it all comes together so they have an idea of why things are going to be different this holiday season compared to other times of the year.
This is a great idea because it allows your customers to be more involved with your business and feel like they are part of something bigger which will make them loyal shoppers who purchase from you every single time there's a holiday coming up.
Include quotes or sayings about the holidays
Another thing you can include is quotes or sayings about the holidays that will help motivate your audience and get them excited for this time of year. This can be done by including different images on social media with inspiring words to start conversations among other things.
This strategy works well because it gets people thinking about what they should do during the holidays and when they see your social media posts, it will give them some inspiration to try new things.
Create blog post graphics for important holidays during the year
Another thing you should do is create blog post graphics that include images of different relevant holidays throughout the year like Christmas day or even Halloween if people in your country celebrate these events. You can also share these graphics on social media and include a caption that encourages people to leave comments suggesting what they're going for dinner, where they will be spending the holidays or even if you think it'll snow.
You can also create blog post images that promote your business as well like offering last-minute deals or simply thanking everyone who has been loyal customers throughout this year.
This idea works well because it gets people excited about the holidays and gives your brand a lot of exposure which means more customers!
Share useful content
People are spending more time online during the holidays, so this is a great opportunity to share useful content with them. You can do it by creating social media posts that offer tips on how they can enjoy this special season even more or you might create some Christmas-themed articles as well.
Which posts should be published this holiday season?
Now it is time to talk about the kind of content you need to create now, yes now to be ready for this holiday season. You need to know the kind of posts you should be publishing this holiday season in order for them to have maximum impact on your audience because let's face it, they are all over social media and online looking at content that will help them enjoy these holidays even more so give it to them!
These are a couple of topics/things you can share on your social media platforms during this holiday season.
1. How to make a holiday gift guide
Everyone loves gifts, right? This is why you need to create holiday gift guides that show people how they can surprise their family and friends with unique gifts. You can do this by dividing it into different sections like:
Gifts for men Gifts for women What everyone needs (accessories, beauty products etc.) Gifts under $50 or $100 etc.
This is a great idea because it will help people get inspired to buy gifts for their loved ones and most importantly, give them ideas they might not have thought of themselves.
2. Tips for hosting the perfect party
People love going to parties especially during the holidays so why not offer them some tips on how they can host a perfect party this holiday season. You could also create blog posts that include different appetizer recipes people might want to try, what drinks should be served etc.
This is an awesome strategy because it will give your audience something useful and interesting to read, so they will continue coming back to your social media pages for more.
3. How to find the perfect gift for your loved ones
People also want to find the perfect gift for their loved ones, so why not create blog posts that offer helpful advice on how they can find gifts even if it's last minute. You might do this by including different things like:
What kind of person is your friend or family member? What are some common hobbies/interests among men and women? What's the best gift for an older person, a younger one etc.?
This is also another awesome idea that will help people figure out what to get their loved ones and it'll give them ideas as well.
4. Holiday recipes and entertaining tips
People also want to have a good time during the holidays, so why not create blog posts that will give them some helpful tips on how they can entertain guests this season. You might do it by including things like:
What recipes should be prepared for these special days? What types of snacks or desserts would people enjoy eating etc.? How to decorate the table and other things that would help people enjoy themselves.
This is a great idea because it will give your audience something to do this holiday season, so they can really look forward to these days! Plus you'll get them excited about coming back to read more from you in the future when they see what kind of content you create.
5. 5 easy ways to decorate your home without breaking the bank
Another thing you can do is create posts about how people can decorate their homes or even share some DIY projects so that your audience takes advantage of this season by improving their homes.
This is a great idea because it will help your audience get motivated and inspired to prepare for the holidays, which means more sales for you! You can also do this by creating blog posts that explain why spending time with friends and family during these days of celebrations should be everyone's goal. It gives people something they can look forward to and you can even create graphics that are meant to encourage people.
Now, it's time for the most important part of this blog post which is how you actually start publishing these kinds of posts during the holidays! If your brand is growing then there should be someone who is in charge of social media content so make sure they have all their ducks in a row. You should also create an editorial calendar which includes the topics you'll be writing about and when they will publish so that your audience can always know what to expect from you!
Another thing is to make sure these blog posts are really helpful, informative or entertaining because if people don't like reading them then there's no point in posting them.
Grow your social media presence with a holiday marketing strategy managed by Social growth engine and enjoy this season with your loved ones
Now you know what kind of blog posts you should be creating now during this holiday season to make your content marketing strategy work even better than before!
If you don't have the time to create your social media marketing strategy for this season contact our team of professionals at www.socialgrowthengine.com and we'll help you get started with holiday marketing campaigns that are guaranteed to drive sales!
We can take care of your posts for this season, interact with your target audience, increase the engagement of your content, and create a social media marketing strategy that will be sure to impact your bottom line!