From Halloween, Black Friday to Christmas and New Year, it's the season to get your busienss noticed!
I am a huge advocate for getting Christmas done and dusted early!!! By the time December rolls around, the heat is extreme, the last minute shopping frustrates me and quite frankly I just want to sit back and enjoy the festive season with my family and friends.
Now I am only one person, but I can guarantee millions of consumers have started planning and looking for the perfect gifts!! Some 25% of shoppers began planning in September, a further 25% in October and the remaining 50% in November and December.
So what do you have planned to capture these customers?
If you have resisted my recommendations to develop a social media strategy in the past, let’s finish the year on a high and maximise your growth and revenue by strategising your online presence for the remainder of the year.
Where to start ? Consider here.
I have listed some key dates for you to make a start.
- Grab a piece of paper or content planner of your choice and let’s choose 2 or 3 to focus on now.
Social Media Content Key dates
31 October Halloween
1 November Melbourne Cup
25 November Black Friday
28 November Cyber Monday
1-12 December Twelve days of Christmas
22 – 24th December Pre Christmas Sales
26 December Boxing Day
1 January New Years Day
26 January Australia Day
20 – 30 January Back to School
Customise your approach
The dates I’ve listed are a good foundation but they are generic dates. I want you to allow some extra planning time to think about your customer and relate it back to what you offer. For example, December and January is a peak period for families to take holidays, so if you target families, this is a perfect time to promote your attraction, product or service, throughout the holiday period not just once or twice. You need to be front of mind when the consumer is ready to shop. And this could be 6am or 11pm, so having an ecommerce option to purchase or at least reach out is essential.
Corporates are looking for gifts for their staff. Organisations are looking for venues for Christmas parties. And a lot of service businesses close for 2 -4 weeks, so these consumers will need something to do during this well earned break, it may be a craft project, a home renovation or a workshop with your business.
- Here add some industry/your business specific dates to your campaign?
Key points
Customers will be time poor, rushed and need businesses that react to their needs. So monitor your socials and emails (if that’s your preferred customer contact) and be available to respond to their questions. This targeted engagement will create connections and result in increased revenue for your business.
Broadcast any sales and promotions you have running.
Run teasers of sales that are coming, add a countdown to your socials and website.
Even if you don’t have a special sale for that particular holiday it is an opportunity for higher engagement.
It could be as simple as adding the theme, or by adding the colours we identify with Halloween for example, or adding Christmas baubles to your posts, using a funky tech font for Cyber Monday.
It is the season where more customers will be online, giving increased opportunities to extend your reach and audience, however, this also means that more product and service businesses will be attempting to take their bite of the cherry, so ultimately you need to stand out. This might mean adjusting your branding and colours temporarily, adding audio, showing your face behind the camera to create stronger connections etc.
Don’t forget Google, 81% of consumers search online before purchasing, so you can see the importance here!!!
Google Business profile
- Keep your trading hours up to date, add your seasonal hours.
- Don’t forget to post to Google also.
- Ask for reviews, connect and comment. A poor review is an opportunity to improve your service and to reach out to the customer.
I am assuming here that you have Google Business operational, if not it is a vital element to be found by consumers. Reach out if you need help to get started on this.
Take advantage of every avenue you can, recreate the message, adjust the content for your audience and customise and personalise where you can.