“It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Well almost, but will you be ready to take full advantage of the holiday season on social media?
Social media has a huge impact when it comes to holiday shopping. According to a recent study, 65% of shoppers use social media to find gifts, and 67% of shoppers purchase a gift they saw on social media. Then there’s one of my favorite stats, 92% of consumers trust earned media over all other forms of advertising. Now is the time when companies should be implementing their holiday marketing campaigns. Is your social media team ready for an influx of shoppers? If not, here are a few social media sites you’ll especially want to take advantage of:
Currently women make up 80% of the 70 million users on Pinterest and spend about 14.2 minutes on the site per visit. The top categories on Pinterest include food & drink, DIY & crafts, holidays & events and hair & beauty.
This is a huge opportunity for brands to take advantage of, especially those that have a large female demographic. Here are some key things to remember when creating Pinterest holiday campaigns:
Create holiday boards
Holiday boards are a fantastic way to show your creative side! Make your holiday boards into wish lists, gifts under $25, DIY holiday items and more. Incorporate keywords and #hashtags on all pins to help increase the number of users that will see your content.
Use rich pins
A rich pin will add extra details to the pins you create. It will include availability, pricing and where to buy. It is a way to get out more information about your product than your average pin.
Launch a contest
There are many contest ideas that companies can use on Pinterest during the holidays. Some include asking followers to repin a product or build a wish list. It’s a simple way to get more engagement on your Pinterest page and keep potential customers excited.
There are 1.3 billion monthly active users on Facebook. If your brand does not create a holiday campaign on Facebook during the shopping season, you are missing a huge opportunity, regardless of your target audience. 67% of these consumers will share a digital coupon on Facebook during this time and 63.4% are likely to share a link to a holiday contest. Check out these tips to remember when it comes to holiday Facebook campaigns:
Create an ad campaign
The possibilities are endless when it comes to creating ads on Facebook. The most effective targeting practice to use is custom audiences and lookalikes. But coming soon look out for Atlas! It will help your company reach more qualified leads and possible customers. Your ad type will be dependent on the campaign you plan to run. Some options include website clicks, website conversions, video ads and more.
Holiday competition
There is nothing better than a holiday competition to get people excited. One of the best ways to do this is by having fans submit holiday photos or answer fun holiday-related trivia for a prize. Prizes could include special discounts, tickets, gift cards, etc.
Daily prize drawing
Create a theme and have a daily prize drawing on your page. A popular theme is the “12 Days of Christmas.” Have your fans answer a question a day and pick a winner at random. It keeps the fans engaged and coming back to visit your page daily.
Instagram is on the rise among the social platforms. Currently there are 200 million monthly active users. Lately more companies are taking advantage of this visual platform to show showcase their products and increase brand awareness. Here are the top tips to remember when it comes to Instagram during the holidays:
Create videos
Video is one of the most powerful tools for engaging audiences. It is reported that 80% of people are watching more online videos today than they were a year ago. Companies can create short videos including new products, behind the scenes looks, holiday tips and more. The best part about Instagram video is they’re only 15 seconds!
Games and puzzles
Find a holiday theme that ties in with your brand and run a game or puzzle for 10-14 days. Post a clue each day and have fans guess the answer at the end. This will keep your fans returning to your page daily.
Use hashtag campaign
Create a specific hashtag and a campaign to go with it. The use cross-promotion opportunities to launch this campaign. Have users submit a specific photo or video using the specific hashtag. It’s a great way to come up with an exciting holiday theme and get fan participation.
There are only 58 shopping days left this holiday season! It is important for companies to use social media platforms during this time. Remember to keep your content creative and engaging, and make it easy to share by others. What social media platforms will your company take advantage of this 2014 holiday season? We’d love to hear from you!