Ready or not, the holidays are just around the corner, and since 25 percent of annual consumer spending takes place between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, you’ll want to be ready to cash in on all those dollars.

So our social media experts want to offer these six ways to help steer some of that spending toward your business.

 

  1. Get them in the mood

The brick-and-mortar stores have been filled with holiday offerings for weeks, so your social media feed should mirror that. That doesn’t mean every tweet and post has to brim with jingle bells and holly, but that does mean it’s time to start introducing the subject.

 

  1. Let them join in

One of the easiest ways to get fans in a holiday mood is to offer them behind-the-scenes glimpses of how you’re preparing for the holidays. If you have a brick and mortar store, post:

  • videos of you and your staff decorating for the Holidays
  • photos of specific store decorations
  • pictures of the piles of holiday merchandise you’re stocking your shelves with

Even if your sales are strictly online, you can still post photos and videos of you and your staff decorating your office, or some of the silly outfits you’re all wearing: reindeer antlers and ugly sweaters, anyone? And be sure to sprinkle holiday-themed images not only on your website but on your profile and landing pages and cover photos.

 

  1. Give to get

This time of year, the only ones who should expect to get something for nothing are small children. Everybody else aims to even out the exchange of gifts as much as possible. So it should be with your customers. Don’t just sell, sell, sell. Give them something useful, like tips on how to keep pets safe during the holidays if you sell pet supplies, or quick ways to lower holiday stress if you run a yoga studio.

In addition, consider posting content unrelated to what you sell, as long as you think your fans might be interested or entertained. This could include favorite recipes, funny holiday animal memes, cool decorating ideas you’ve come across on Pinterest . . . anything that allows you to remind them of your existence without overtly selling to them.

 

  1. ‘Tis the season for giving

Speaking of giving, give them discounts, coupons, promo codes, contests, giveaways. In short, gather all the types of offerings you make to your customers throughout the year, and run them all between now and New Year’s Day.

Or you could just pick one of those ideas and focus on it. Do a holiday countdown, with a daily contest: one fan who comments below wins a 50 percent off coupon; anyone who opts in for your newsletter gets a 10 percent discount; etc.

Of course you’ll be having sales, so offer your fans advanced notice of them. Maybe even offer a private, fan-only sale on one of your normally slow days.

 

  1. Engage your fans

The cardinal rule of social media is give and take. Just as all the decorating and holiday prep shouldn’t fall to one person, you shouldn’t have to do all the heavy lifting yourself when it comes to “decorating” your social media feed. Get your fans involved, as well. Ask them to post funny holiday-themed pictures, share their favorite Thanksgiving take-along recipe, or take a yes-no poll on whether it’s good for kids to believe in Santa.

 

  1. Help them shop

One of the most frustrating parts of the holidays for many people is finding that perfect gift for everyone. Provide regular ideas from now till the end of the season for gifts for hard-to-buy-for people: mother-in-law, brother, father, babysitter, child’s teacher.

Ideally, these gift ideas would come from your own inventory, but there’s nothing wrong with suggesting items you don’t sell if it will help your fans. Give to get, remember?

 

We have lots more ways to maximize your holiday sales through effective social media marketing, so contact our experts today!