The winter holidays are quickly approaching, and they are one of the most important times for a small business. The holidays present the perfect opportunity to finish the year strong and create happy customers that will come back again. While the basics like decorating your store with a holiday theme are important, online shopping continues to be where a majority of businesses see their most sales.
Here’s a checklist courtesy of gomiso.com for preparing for the holiday rush and leveling up your marketing to make the most of this festive season.
Your Logo Is Important
Put your best foot forward this year by upgrading your logo. The right logo will draw customers in, build brand awareness, and expand your reach. Use inexpensive online logo makers to easily overhaul your brand identity. You can choose from lots of different looks and color schemes to best suit your business.
Upgrade Your Marketing On Facebook
With 2 billion active users and more than 140 million businesses, Facebook has quickly become one of the internet’s primary marketing tools. This makes it the perfect place to connect with your customers, allowing you to showcase your products and services to hundreds of thousands of people. Whether you use Facebook ads in a few target areas or simply post your latest products with informative videos for your followers, Facebook can get you a lot of customers.
However, users of the platform also have expectations, primarily that they aren’t looking for content they consider irritating, with many flagging the page as spam and moving on. To avoid this happening to you, don’t post too many ads that are overly sales-y and instead look to post educational content mixed with posts about your products.
Take Advantage Of The TikTok Hype
If you haven’t dipped your toes in the TikTok water yet, now’s the time. Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be a dancing video. TikTok has achieved massive popularity, particularly among younger demographics. Not sure where to start? Find TikTok agencies on an online job board to help you get the most reach and conversions. While you’re at it, consider hiring other freelancers to save you time and headaches during a busy time of year.
Encourage Your Customers To Engage
Look to market your products by using your followers. Often, followers enjoy interacting with brands, and by putting out the call for interactions, you can expect your followers to respond.
The best way to do this? Have followers share photos of your items with hashtags or tags, allowing people who look up your hashtag or tagged photos to see your items with people who have actually purchased them.
By doing this, you’ll be getting free marketing materials from your happy customers while letting them know your brand is listening to them. As an added bonus, you can offer incentives for posting, like giveaways and discount codes.
Get Last-Minute Shoppers
Last-minute shoppers are likely natural procrastinators or people who are super busy, and they usually don’t need a huge incentive to shop at your store. Look to reel them in by offering fun events like fashion shows and cooking classes they can watch for 20-30 minutes, and then easily make their holiday purchases.
These events are really a venue for you to demonstrate your product to people who need ideas on what to purchase, allowing you to show someone exactly why your item is perfect for their needs. If you find you cannot set up an event in time, look to host digital get-togethers where current customers can share their experiences.
To get the last-minute shoppers, it’s also critical to post your updated holiday hours so they don’t miss you and go somewhere else. If selling online, offer guaranteed rush shipping by Christmas to give them peace of mind and meet their last-minute needs. Use your social media pages and other marketing channels to promote these offers, along with any special holiday deals you have. Respect your customers’ time constraints, particularly during the last-minute shopping rush.
End Note
The holiday season is a magical time of year, and it can be wonderful for your business. Use our guide for increasing sales and customer loyalty and taking your store to the next level. Remember, it’s always better to give than it is to receive, so consider using your newfound success to give back to those in need.
