leverage social and digital marketing this holiday season

by Czarina R. Content Manager and SEO

For many businesses, leveraging social and digital marketing strategies for a successful holiday season is a challenging and exciting period. For others, it can be like standing in the middle of an unending snow laden plain begging for the beach and the sunshine. Obviously, the holiday season represents an insanely busy time of year for most.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) reports the holiday season can represent as much as 30% of annual sales.

That is an insane figure! 30 percent!

Here is what the websites says about its recent consumer spending survey for 2019 holiday season:

October survey: Consumers plan to spend 4 percent more this year's holidays. While Halloween 2019: Spending to reach $8.8 billion

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The NRF also reports that consumers begin researching their holiday purchases earlier and earlier every year. More than half of consumers start researching in October or earlier with 33% of purchases starting in November.

With so much at stake, it’s imperative that small and medium sized business owners begin planning a marketing strategy to capitalize on the onslaught of holiday interest as soon as possible.

How do you leverage social and digital marketing strategies for a successful holiday season?

Make a plan and set up a smart goal for the holidays.

Having none is a sure way to lost your way around the business landscape. 90% of ecommerce businesses surely does not have a plan as far as social media and digital marketing is concerned. Don't be counted for that kind of stats. Having no plan and smart goal are top reasons why most of these small businesses fail in social and digital marketing.

When you make a plan, see to it that it is measurable. Put a time limit to it and make it clear when the goal is going to be completed and what are it's milestones.

Having one will do wonders for your ecommerce website this holidays - even if it is not "smart" - better than not having a plan at all.

If you consider that most small businesses do not have a proper social media URL. Some of the URL are not easy to remember. The URL link is often too long and there is no proper brand positioning. Most small businesses merely are just “filling up space” by registering their names on social media. There is very little update from them on social media. Some companies do not even have a Facebook post yet even though their Facebook pages had been created years ago. This is ridiculous, you might think! But it is true, according to an article on linkedin.com

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Recreate an easy and enjoyable offline shopping experience online.

Competition in the retail industry is fiercer than ever. Between ecommerce sites and subscription services, consumers have plenty of choices when it comes to where they spend their time and money.

You sales person cannot be just that anymore. They should be as much as a product consultants as well. If your customers see you only as a sales person, it will not bode well for today's clients. Why? Because, they see sales persons as people who just want to get their money. While a consultant is seen as someone who is there to help them out and make them make better buying decision.

Ever wonder why pop-stores are effective in driving traffic to your online stores? The reason is that, customers get to interact with people behind the online store. It allows them to get to know you in person, and vice versa.

People are still that, people. I think a lot of digital marketers forget this. Some thinks that just because they have an ad campaign running, and a beautiful ecommerce website up - people are going to just give them the money for the products they offer. Relationship is still high up in people's psyche. And I am not going to apologize for it, even in the midst of all these automations and AI around us.

Another way of improving customer experience is to get them into a really easy checkout process. If you can do it in a one-page checkout process that would be nice. The gist is to provide them a good experience all throughout their shopping time.

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