700 billion dollars!
Yes, you heard it right! This is a close estimate of what American consumers spend on holidays each year. Of course, that calls for a tactful social media strategy, even during holidays or non-working days. Isn’t it?
For most businesses, especially e-commerce, holidays are considered a peak time to shoot up sales by organizing tactical marketing and advertising campaigns. Whether it is a much-awaited holiday that you have been waiting for or a celebration in the family, consumers splurge for new clothes, goodies, fashion accessories, holiday packages, seasonal offers, and the list is too huge to mention! So, if you are in business (which I am assuming you are since you are reading this article) and after years of dwindling hard, you don’t want to be surprised unpleasantly after returning from a long family break, your work should go on.
Smart businesses might be off work during holidays, but they hardly let the world know about it. With social media fostering a sustainable change in the business world, you cannot afford to develop even the slightest communication gap with your customers. But, by hook or by crook, you have to be sure that your customers still get their share of content every day. Here, I will discuss some of the ways you can use social media to stay connected with your customers 24 x 7 x 365.
Automating Your Social Media
The good news about today’s social media is- you can easily automate it for any day. Some online tools which can help you chat with your audience even during holidays are listed below:
Hootsuite– Hootsuite works wonders with Miin and makes sure that all your key messages are delivered to you whenever you wish to be posted. You can also use our template to publish your blog posts automatically.
Buffer-You can schedule your content with the help of this wonderful tool called “Buffer “to be posted whenever you wish to on your platform. It also provides you with an analytical service to help you trace the ongoing activities.
Sprout social-Sprout Social is an excellent automation tool that comes very handy in posting messages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Another great way to engage customers on your web platform is through promotions. If you have already planned your day off, then it’s wise to schedule these promotions so that your content management systems can post them automatically when you are away.
Festive Schemes
If you are nearing a festive period, then why not just announce a festive scheme before closing? People often gear on to e-commerce websites for several things during festive seasons such as gifts and goodies, home décor, fashion and clothing, travel, etc. Moreover, you can take good advantage of the festive season through social media. In fact, this is a wonderful time to post and keep the audience engaged with your special offers. What works best in such instances is, the promotional content for festive days can be prepared in advance, which would work even when you are away.
Interactive Sessions
It’s not a bad idea either to invite a celebrity or an industry expert to conduct an interactive session with your audience during weekends or their days off from work officially. Not only will it be a very healthy and informative engagement for your audience when you are away but, it will also add a ‘wow factor to your business.
Competitions, Contests, and Polls
When you are away from work and relaxing during those special days, how about announcing a giveaway through a contest or inviting a poll? This will help invite more traffic and provide you with the much-needed critical information that can be a good resource for the future. New and more interactive topics engage audiences from a variety of genres. You can always announce various competitions which are related to your product and consumers in a way. With the help of competitions, no wonder you might be able to find some new and fresh talent as well.
Thank You Notes and Greetings
You don’t need a thanksgiving week to send thank you notes to your customers. Do you? If you have not thanked your audience for quite some time, holidays are the best period to finish all your gratifying duties and to thank everybody who has contributed in some way or the other to your company’s success so far. Even if you have been frequent in thanking and greeting them, it’s even more important to make sure that you send them good wishes, especially during festivals and important dates. Along with a thank you note, you can additionally send them a discount coupon or a voucher code as a small token of appreciation and reward.
Conclusion
Since there is immense competition and customers are always on the lookout for new and versatile avenues to stop and watch, it is essential to keep your audience busy at all times. Owing to your personal engagement, if you happen to ignore your business even for a day, your esteemed customers will get a chance to move on to your competitors. Therefore, with regards to your loyal customers and to enhance regular foot traffic on your website, it is imperative always to provide new and engaging content. With open minds and intelligent social media marketing, you can make your business venture go smooth and normal even during your official absence.
What is your social media planning for the next holidays? Do let me know in the comments below.
VERY NICELY WRITTEN
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