Social Media Tips for the Holidays
During the holiday season, taking pictures for Facebook and writing clever tweets is probably not the first thing on your mind. Avoiding your social media presence though during the busiest shopping season could cost you extra sales.
Instead of thinking about social media as an extra chore, view it as a powerful marketing tool to leverage for your success. Now more than ever people are using social media find gift ideas and make holiday purchases.
Learn how take advantage of your social media sites in a time-efficient way during the holidays with these quick tips.
Schedule Your Posts
One of the biggest lies that small business owners believe is that they simply do not have time for social media. Time and resources are not allotted to social media because it is seen as a wasted effort.
"65% of shoppers tap social media looking for the perfect gift and two out of three shoppers purchased a git they found via social media." Source: Mashable
This large percentage of shoppers justifies spending five to ten minutes a day working on your social media presence.
Facebook has a great tool that allows you to schedule the days and times you want to post. If you know your shop is going to be busy in the morning and around lunch time, work on your post the day before and simply schedule it out. Many florists will take an hour on the weekend to create and schedule all of their posts for the week. (Remember, it's still important to check your page for notifications even if you schedule your posts.) Here is a quick example that shows how to schedule a post on Facebook.
To schedule a post on Facebook, click on the arrow pointing down in the right hand corner. Then click Schedule.
Next you can choose the date and time you want you post to publish. Remember to select a.m. or p.m.
After your post is scheduled, this reminder will be displayed on your profile page. (Only you can see this section.)
It is easy to schedule Facebook posts and it gives you the ability to work on your social media presence whenever it is convenient for you.
Offer One Day Only Deals
Encourage quick purchases leading up to the holidays by offering one day only deals. The day before you announce your special, post a status telling your audience to stay tuned for a limited time offer. Then the next day, release your limited time offer and emphasize that the deal only lasts for one day.
Save and use this social media graphic to post on your sites!
Share Sneak-Peaks
Invite your customers into your business with behind the scenes photos. Whether you are having a holiday party, unpacking new gift items or creating a holiday window display, take a minute to snap some pictures! Your customers will love to have the inside scoop on what is happening at your shop.
Encourage Interaction
The key to building a strong presence on social media is interaction. Think of ways to get your customers to respond to your posts. Encourage people to share their favorite Christmas tradition or recipe. Ask your customers what type of gits they would like to see in your shop. If you only post pictures of your flower arrangements with prices, your customers will get bored and stop following your site.
Get creative and start strategizing your holiday social media posts!
Do you have social media ideas for the holidays? Share with us your thoughts in the comments below!