Social media will drive more holiday shopping decisions this year than ever before. In 2009, 27 percent of holiday shoppers began their search for gifts on social media, and 59 percent used search engines as their first choice for finding gifts. If you think it’s too early to consider this, consider that 47 percent of consumers will have already started their holiday shopping by the end of October.
How can you as a local retailer engage shoppers using social media to generate revenue this holiday season? Let’s kick things off with several low-cost, creative ideas you can implement this week to kick off the holiday shopping season with a kick on social media.
Seven Ways to Use Social Media to Boost Sales
- Start now. Building a following on Facebook and Twitter or through a few simple product videos or blog posts can pay dividends as we head into the holiday season, especially as last-minute shoppers seek out local options.
- Get an online review. Like the signage in a retail store, customer reviews on Google and Facebook draw attention and help differentiate between similar retailers. Over 70 percent of consumers trust reviewer recommendations and recent studies show that 83 percent of ALL holiday shoppers this year will be influenced by customer reviews.
- Be helpful with your vacation messages. Social media is really about sharing useful content with your audience. Make it easy to find gifts by giving them helpful ideas and information, and you’ll be rewarded with increased loyalty, recognition, store traffic, and online word of mouth. Think about your customers’ gift-giving challenges and talk about those needs with your Facebook posts or Twitter tweets.
- Use social media with traditional marketing. If you distribute flyers, postcards, or do any type of advertising, include your social media links everywhere your customers see your name. Don’t forget about in-store apps, where something as simple as sticking a printed “Follow us on Facebook” card in every shopping bag can help increase following and word-of-mouth marketing online.
- Use images and videos when possible. Whether you’re selling hand soap, jewelry, or pheasant hunting trips, research shows that people respond to photo and video posts much more favorably than simple text posts. Remember, you are trying to tell your story, and any images you can use to help tell that story will drive more vacation business.
- Work with local “web-lebrities”. There are over 3,000 people on Twitter in the Greater Green Bay and Appleton area. Many of them have thousands of followers for whom they serve as trendsetters every day while influencing dozens of others. Use Twellow.com to find the (most popular) influencers and learn about their tastes to find potential partners for your business.
- Ad on Facebook. Facebook Ads can be a targeted and relatively inexpensive way to reach a targeted audience in your area. In fact, there are 120,880 people on Facebook within a 25-mile radius of Green Bay. Placing a few targeted ads based on keywords and interest can get you in front of the right people, in the right place, and at the right time.
Going social now will help you compete and win this holiday season and many seasons to come. Standing on the sidelines is no longer an option for local retailers. Get started today to benefit from cumulative effects that only get better with time, increasing your return on investment every month.