The holiday season is upon us. What used to be the time between December 25th and January 1st has expanded to encompass the end of November until the beginning of January.
Millions of shoppers hit the stores on Friday November 27th in search of deeply discounted Black Friday sales. Black Friday refers to “the day after Thanksgiving” in the United States, and is usually the busiest shopping day of the year. The event has been adopted by many countries over the years including Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Romania, and Australia.
Black Friday was just the beginning of the holiday shopping frenzy, and many people will shop online today in what has come to be known as ‘Cyber Monday’, an online extension of Black Friday.
According to statistics compiled by Hootsuite, approximately 92 million people spent $12.9 billion on Black Friday in 2013, and another $1.7 billion on Cyber Monday. CNBC is forecasting up to $3 billion in online transactions for Cyber Monday 2015.
Are you prepared to take advantage of Cyber Monday and engage with online shoppers throughout the rest of the season? We’ve compiled a checklist of the best social media tips to help you connect with prospective clients this holiday.
- Know Your Audience On Each Social Channel
Your social media strategy should include profiles of your target audiences on each respective channel. Think about the types of content that appeal to your audience while shopping online (like deals and special promotions or online stores where they can find your products). .
Also consider that the content you share on Twitter and LinkedIn is in all likelihood more formal than the posts you upload to Facebook and Instagram. It’s natural to use different types of content for each channel since the primary audience on LinkedIn is different than on Instagram. Remember your audience profiles and stick to the tone that’s expected on each account.
- Use The Right Content
Holiday content gets people into the spirit of the season. Brands deliberately weave holiday wishes, inspiring stories, colourful photos, and discounts or promotions into social media schedules throughout the holidays. Most people are already thinking about the season so why not use the holidays to boost engagement?
Cyber Monday is a great chance to test your holiday marketing strategy. Many people will be browsing online for holiday-themed content. This is a great chance to join the discussion and drive eyes to your own content.
- Post To All Channels
Try to use as many social channels as possible throughout the holidays. While you may typically post on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, the holidays are a great time to expand to popular channels like Pinterest. According to research included in our Holiday Marketing 101 guidelines, up to 38 million people have pinned holiday-themed content to their own accounts.
- Spot The Trends
Do a little holiday marketing research to spot the most popular trends of the season. Take a look at some of the most popular pins or messages shared on social media, and conduct manual searches in Google to identify what types of holiday content are ranking near the top of search engine result pages (SERPs).
Hashtags are one of the best ways to join trending conversations. Review which holiday hashtags are trending on social media this season and include those terms within your own posts to join the discussions.
Forbes has a great article about how to deck your social halls this season. Follow some of their tips and get people engaged with your own content.
- Begin A Dialogue
Marketers often struggle to acquire comments or feedback from customers. The holidays are a great opportunity to remedy those challenges by beginning discussions on social media.
When you post a picture or a video connected to the holidays, ask your audience what they think of the content. Encourage people to comment on what they like or dislike and ask them to describe some of their own engagement tips for the holidays. Sharing ideas is a great way to build a rapport that will ideally continue into 2016.
- Don’t Go Overboard
There’s no getting away from holiday content and messaging so it’s natural that you incorporate holiday cheer into your marketing routine. However, you still have a business to run and a brand reputation to maintain.
Weave holiday-themed content into your social media schedule in a manner that is natural and organic. Everything you share on social media, regardless of the topic, should provide value to your target audience and correlate with your core business.