Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we anticipate that the majority of holiday shoppers will shift their spending online. This means that your website and social media platforms will act as your storefronts. Today, we’ll discuss how to effectively leverage your social media to get more sales during the 2020 holiday season.
Salesforce recently posted about how COVID-19 will shape the 2020 holiday season and expressed that “Social media will be the most important emerging platform for engaging with customers.”
Enable Facebook & Instagram shops
Earlier in the year, Facebook launched Facebook Shops, making it easier for small businesses to create an eCommerce platform. Facebook Shops gives businesses the opportunity to create a mobile-first online store that lives on their Facebook Business page and Instagram profile.
Setting up a Facebook Shop is free and simple, so ensure you’re not leaving any money on the table and set this up if you haven’t already!
By enabling this feature, you have instantly increased shopping opportunities for your audience.
Implement your holiday marketing and promotion strategy
The online shopping arena is especially overcrowded this holiday season, so your holiday marketing efforts need to stand out from your competitors and grab the attention of your customers. Your social media strategy should include the following:
- Paid social media ads
- Search ads
- Email marketing campaigns
- Video content
- Increased holiday-related SEO efforts
Do you have holiday-themed promotions planned for your customers? For our clients, we have these planned, photographed and ready to execute by the end of October. Some of the ways in which you could build up holiday excitement with your customers include:
- Create weekly promotions
- Promote gift card purchases, make this an easy add on at checkout
- Create a sense of urgency with time-limited offers
- Offer free shipping
- Plan holiday giveaways and contests on social media to increase engagement
- Create an influencer campaign (great for exposing your products or services to a new service)
- Offer a contactless pick-up option, make sure it’s safe and convenient for customers
Use social media to communicate with customers
Your social media is also your megaphone, so use your platforms to effectively communicate the following to your audience:
- Share your exciting promotions (on your feed and in stories/reels)
- Showcase high-quality images featuring products
- Use video to share product knowledge
- Share key delivery and shipping information (due to increased digital orders, postal services are already seeing a surge at distribution centres and delays may occur, offer your customers a fair warning of this potential issue)
- Feature customer reviews
- Do you have any charitable efforts going on? Perhaps you could share these, or offer to match what your customers donate. Only include this if it’s authentic!
Key shopping dates to note for your social media
| Event | Date |
| American Thanksgiving | November 26 |
| Black Friday | November 27 |
| Small Business Saturday | November 28 |
| Cyber Monday | November 30 |
| Giving Tuesday | December 1 |
| Free Shipping day | December 14 |
Final thoughts
Essentially social media is crucial to your success this holiday season, as it’s your storefront, marketing and communication platform all in one. Explore every aspect and functionality of your social media channels to ensure you leave no stone unturned.
