Social Media Marketing Strategies to Increase Holiday eCommerce Sales

This holiday season, 39% of consumers plan to consult with social media networks before making holiday purchases. Bizo, a provider of B2B marketing solutions, recently released a survey claiming that 65% of executives view social media as the leading source for holiday marketing initiatives. A study conducted after the 2010 holiday season concluded that small businesses’ utilizing social media saw a 400% increase in website traffic, resulting in additional online and in-store purchases. With such staggering statistics it’s evident that social media should be an integral aspect of any e-commerce holiday marketing initiatives. Below are some tips on how to use social media to maximize your holiday e-commerce sales.

Thanksgiving:

Before the Thanksgiving holiday, focus on social media strategies that will build a strong fan base.  Work to acquire as many followers as possible prior to the major selling holidays, so your campaigns will have a greater reach to result in increased sales.  Thanksgiving provides the perfect opportunity to highlight the ways in which your company gives back to the community, and donation campaigns can be a highly effective way to increase your fan base.  Be creative, partner with a local food bank and donate a can of food for each additional ‘like’ received within a certain timeframe leading up to Thanksgiving. Thank all of your followers and be sure to acknowledge their contribution through continued support of your business.  You could use Facebook’s “Sponsored Stories” campaign to highlight your commitment to the community and reach more potential fans at the same time.

Black Friday/Cyber Monday

Black Friday and Cyber Monday provide countless opportunities to utilize social media marketing to drive traffic to your website and increase both online and in-store sales. Capitalize on the increased fan base built during November and direct increased traffic to your website. This is the time of year when more people are online than ever, make sure you grab the attention of “window shoppers” and deal hunters who might not normally stumble across you.  Try using Facebook ads that are targeted to your highest converting audience and contain strong calls to action. Again, get as many of your fans and followers onto your ecommerce website as possible during this online frenzy.

Christmas/Hanukah Holidays

The core of the holiday shopping season begins directly after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This is a time when shoppers are not just looking around for gift ideas and bargains, they want to buy; they NEED to buy. Take a look at what worked over the past month and then adjust your remaining social media holiday campaign accordingly. The goal is to use social media to further engage fans with your brand, and ultimately, drive them back to your e-commerce site.  You should have built up your fanbase through acquisition campaigns, now switch gears to focus on innovative strategies that highlight your most sought after products and encourage sales. Make sure you mention any specials you are offering like free shipping, free gift wrapping, or no hassle returns. Again, this is the time of year when your number one goal should be selling – so make sure your social media efforts display how delightfully easy it is to buy from you.

New Years

The beginning of the new year is an opportune time to run giveaway campaigns through social media to clear out remaining merchandise or returned products. There are many creative approaches to engaging followers in contests and encouraging them to interact with your social media content. Ask fans to write in about their New Year’s resolutions, and ask other fans to ‘like’ their favorite resolution. The resolution that gets the most likes can win a giveaway prize.

Most importantly, the new year means a new look at social media for 2012. Surely social media strategy will be facing vast changes in the coming months, with a strong push towards creating more meaningful consumer experiences and brand engagements. Facebook timeline will present companies with new opportunities to connect with customers, but will also impact the way consumers engage with their social content. In January, devise a social media project plan for the coming year. Formulate a strategy, set goals, and then determine metrics to measure ROI. Most importantly, remember that e-commerce and social media are both constantly evolving and changing – make sure you don’t get left behind.

Helpful Holiday Tips

Here are 10 helpful holiday tips you can try this year:

1. Create holiday themed profile picture and photostrip with branded images.
2. Include social media integration into all traditional holiday marketing materials.
3. Post holiday themed content relevant to brand/product.
4. Engage with fans to understand their holiday shopping process and provide solutions. Listen and monitor the conversation and apply it to your e-commerce business model.
5. Engage with charities and promote efforts.
6. Run a ‘12 Days of Holiday Discounts’ campaign, offering different and exclusive discounts to fans each day.  Such private discounts work well to increase brand loyalty, and encourages fans to remain engaged with your social media, as well as share with their friends.
7. Run a holiday campaign to grant a Christmas (or Holiday) wish. Have fans post a status that tags your company:  “dear @ [company] all I want this year for the holidays is _____. Let fans choose from any of the products featured on your e-commerce site (or set a price range). Pick a winner and then pre-schedule a post announcing the winner on Christmas day. This successfully builds relationships with fans, gives insight into popular products, and ideally receives more ‘likes’ by having fans promote the company through their status update.
8. Facebook recently released a gift card feature, simplifying the online shopping process even further. Facebook users can now purchase gift cards from a company website and have it delivered directly to a friend’s wall. Social commerce is continually evolving, and will most likely be the next wave of innovation in e-commerce. Implement these practices early to stay ahead of the curve.
9. Run time-sensitive deals announced exclusively through social networks. Always remember to encourage fans to share with their friends, as a means to gain more followers and ‘likes,’ and ultimately, more sales. Time-sensitive deals create a sense of urgency, and fans will be more inclined to respond to exclusive promotions.
10. Create a custom tab to highlight special promotions or merchandise. This allows you to keep customers informed about your Black Friday deals without pushing products through social media platforms.