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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or business advice. For specific advice applicable to your business, please contact a professional.
With Christmas fast approaching, it’s time to start implementing your end of year social media strategy. Regardless of the industry you’re in, the festive season is an opportunity to refresh your social media presence and extend your reach, build loyalty and boost your sales this Christmas.
Australia Post is predicting that Christmas 2020 will shatter records, with expectations it will be the biggest online shopping peak we’ve ever had. Even if you’re not an online retailer, getting in front of buyers with engaging and shareable social media will give your small business the best chance of capitalising on seasonal spending.
If you’d like to run a Christmas social media campaign for your business, but you’re not sure where to start, these seven social media marketing ideas might spark some inspiration.
1. Use Instagram Shoppable posts to sell on social media
Instagram’s Shoppable posts allow your business to sell directly from potential shoppers’ feeds, with users able to browse, buy and checkout without leaving the Instagram app. To create Shoppable posts, you must have an Instagram Business account and be in a location where Instagram Shopping is available.
Connecting your Square Online store to Instagram is quick and easy – and means that people scrolling for inspiration can buy from you with a minimum of fuss. You can also create an online shopping page with Instagram, with Square Online. If you don’t have a Square Online store, you can still accept online payment for products on Instagram with Square Online Checkout.
2. Create a Christmas gift guide
Shoppers are actively looking for present ideas at this time of year – why not pull together a Christmas gift guide to encourage them to spend with your business? Depending on your product range, you might choose to create a standalone gift guide for your brand or collaborate with like-minded businesses to offer a wider variety of potential presents.
Tools like Canva make it easy to create a professional-looking gift guide. If you’re technically savvy, you could even create a clickable version that links directly to your online shop. Once it’s created, send your gift guide to your mailing list and share it widely on social platforms.
3. Set up a Facebook Shop
Launched earlier this year to help small businesses sell more online, Facebook Shops make the online shopping experience seamless by allowing social media users to transact with your business without leaving Facebook. You can tag up to five products on each of your posts, and Shops makes it straightforward for customers to ask for help or further information via Messenger, WhatsApp or Instagram messages.
You can create a Facebook shop by importing products from your existing online store or by creating a catalogue that can be customised with your brand and colour palette. Tools like Square Online allow you to import your product library, manage your Facebook Shop and create and manage ads.
4. Create Christmas-themed banners, profile pics and ads
Christmas is an excellent time of year to refresh your social media imagery. It’s fast to update your business’s banners and profile pictures with festive-inspired text and visuals using a tool like Canva, or you might choose to work with a graphic designer to create something unique.
Giving your socials a Christmas feel doesn’t need to be a large or time-consuming project – something as simple as adding a Santa hat or a pile of presents to your brand’s logo can give it a fresh and fun feel.
5. Launch a Christmas or end-of-year offer
Many small businesses swear by the effectiveness of Christmas-themed promotions. It’s a time of the year when most people are looking to spend on presents and giving their homes a festive vibe – and many start their spending as early as October.
You might consider running a few different promotional offers during the last quarter of the year to test their effectiveness. A free shipping offer, gift with purchase, percentage off and Christmas giveaway are all popular choices; a creative idea or standout delivery will give your promotion maximum cut-through.
6. Set up a remarketing campaign
A remarketing or retargeting campaign is an advertising strategy that lets you pay to display ads to potential customers who have visited your website but left without buying. By serving ads to people who have already shown interest in your business and products, you have a higher probability of making a sale. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter all let you create a run remarketing campaigns to drive recent visitors back to your website.
7. Create a Christmas poll
People love a poll – and Christmas is a great time to have some fun while gaining valuable anonymous insights about your social community’s preferences. From their favourite Christmas movie, album or desert, to how far along they are with their Christmas shopping, polls are a simple and effective way to drive engagement with your social media followers.
You can keep it general – such as “how much do you usually spend on a Secret Santa gift?” – or ask specific questions about your product range – like “which gift would you be more likely to buy for your partner?”
Christmas means high shopping volumes and lots of competition for buyers’ dollars. Investing in a well thought out Christmas social media campaign with various engaging elements will put your business on the front foot to cut through the holiday noise, attract new customers and capture a greater share of festive spending in 2020.
