For consumers, the holidays is a chance to slow down, appreciate the little things, and spend more time with loved ones. For businesses, it’s the time to ramp up your game and get your share of the global shopping sprees. All this is done through an effective holiday marketing campaign.

It’s never too early to begin preparing your social media marketing during the holidays. With all the other stuff you have going on, it’s tempting to postpone your plans. Having a calendar of posts ready for publishing means you may have an advantage over your competition.

Why use social media marketing for the holidays?

According to Deloitte, 73% of shoppers are expected to spend more this holiday season than any other year. The average spend for online purchases is predicted to reach USD 924 which is high compared to the forecasted USD 440 for in-store transactions.

Insights from Salesforce also reveal that online sales will continue to grow up to 7% around the world. Between November and December, spending is expected to reach USD 1.2 trillion globally. A statistic you’ll find particularly interesting is a predicted 30% increase in traffic from social media referrals.

How to do holiday social media marketing

Make and maintain a calendar

Momentum is crucial to determine if this holiday season will be a success for your business or not. The thing is, it’s hard to build a momentum unless you have a strategy on how to do it. Creating a schedule is a great way to start your campaign.

Your calendar must map out the days leading up and through the holidays with specific goals for each special day. The specific days you target vary according to your business and customer base, but you have to be aware of the big four:

• Black Friday on the 26^th of November
• Small Business Saturday on the 27^th of November
• Cyber Monday on the 29^th of November
• Giving Tuesday on the 30^th of November

These are the days when people are pulling out stops for their Christmas gift shopping and preparation. There are last-minute shoppers too, so ready yourself for the days before Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve too.

Become a source of information

The holidays are a time for giving thanks and celebrating but they also give a great deal of stress on your target market. Don’t add to their problems with poor social media marketing. In other words, avoid promotions that are too aggressive and sales-y.

Instead, provide your followers with something they may actually use for the holidays. Provide advice for creating a shopping list or create a special coupon for your subscribers, for instance. Focus on helping your customers through the information you post.

Consider the consumer trends

If you want your target audience to make you a part of their holiday plans, make sure you deliver content that they are interested in. Though you have to deliver content that engages readers and followers all the time, this is especially important during this season.

Create and distribute a survey so you may collect customer feedback. You might send it through email or post it on your social media pages. Ask your fans and followers what they are most interested in receiving from your business during this time of the year.

Schedule other events around them

Don’t wait until the official days of the holidays to give your audience a reason to celebrate. Plan an event earlier in the season–before their schedules are filled with gatherings, parties, and deadlines–to get them in the holiday spirit.

This is the perfect opportunity to make a difference during the holidays. Consider partnering with a non-profit organisation in your area to do some fundraising for a cause. You may also organise an event to bring your community together, even if it’s only online.

Practice moderation when posting

One of the most common questions businesses ask is how often to post on social media to prepare customers for promotions. When it comes to the holidays, bear in mind that people won’t be ready to think about Christmas until the weather turns colder.

When making your social media marketing calendar, consider how much content you want to post. Give viewers a chance to ease into it rather than force them to think about it. Given that it’s already November, it’s safe to have 50% of your posts about holiday promotions.

Maximise social media features

Each social network has its own features and functionalities that help you boost engagement and traffic. For example, Twitter has a polling feature that you may use to identify customer pain points. You may use it to ask for their opinion about trending topics.

On Instagram, you may use product-feed integration and swipe up to shop on Stories. Save the temporary content on Highlights then remove them on January. The Live streaming feature on Facebook lets you interact with your followers in real time so use it to promote new products.

Be authentic to your audience

One of the biggest reasons people shop with a business is the personal connection and exclusive service they receive. Bigger competitors might rely on fictional stories and moments so offer the real thing to connect with customers in the weeks leading up to the holidays.

If you own a cafe, for instance, ask customers to tag you in their photos and repost with their permission. If your business provides products, seek reviews or testimonials from happy consumers and publish on your social media profiles.

Bonus Tip: Get a social media marketing assistant

The closer the holidays are, the more overwhelmed you might feel in reaching out to your target market. It’s a good idea to be advanced in preparing your social media marketing during the holidays. If your time to prepare is limited, get help from an experienced virtual assistant.

Remote Workmate is an offshore recruitment agency that connects you with professionals from around the world. We screen candidates according to your requirements so if you want a VA with experience in holiday promotions, leave it to us!