By Gloria Rand
How is your holiday sales plan coming along? Is your business on track to cash in this year? If the holidays snuck up on you, don’t panic. There’s still time to put together a plan to boost holiday sales.
I received two separate emails this week on this subject. One from Facebook. The other, from Constant Contact. I thought I’d share with you some of the tips they offered to increase holiday sales.
#1: Plan Ahead – Create a content calendar and plan your promotions in advance. Make sure you deliver content your customers actually care about. Focus on these popular shopping days in the U.S. when customizing your Facebook posts and emails, and schedule accordingly:
►Black Friday (November 22nd)
►Cyber Monday (November 25th)
►Small Business Saturday (November 30th)
►Green Monday (December 9th)
►Free Shipping Day (December 18th)
#2: Be a Resource – Don’t overwhelm your customers with salesy emails or Facebook posts either. Provide them with resources they can use, such as tips on preparing their shopping list, or how to throw a holiday dinner party.
#3: Use Photos in Sales Posts & Emails – Use pictures to tell your customers about new products. Ask your Facebook fans to comment on the pictures, so your content has a better chance of reaching more people in the news feed. Consider using holiday-theme images to capture attention.
#4: Offer Exclusive Deals – Consider offering special deals to your email list, and Facebook fans. Free promotions and special discounts will encourage more people to like your Facebook page. Giving your email subscribers a sneak peek at seasonal products will build holiday excitement, and encourage them buy early.
#5: Remind Your Audience of Shared Values: People like to support and spend money with businesses that share the same values and support the same causes they do. they also like to share that information. If your business supports a worthy cause, let your Facebook fans and email subscribers know about it during the holidays.
Here are a few interesting facts according to the Edelman Good Purpose 2012 study:
►72 percent of consumers would recommend a brand that supports a good cause over one that doesn’t.
►71 percent of consumers would help a brand promote their products or services if there is a good cause behind them.
►73 percent of consumers would switch brands if a different brand of similar quality supported a good cause.
What other ways can you think of to use Facebook and email to promote your products this holiday season? Please share them in the comments below!
Image courtesy: freedigitalphotos.net / Salvatore Vuono
