In 2011, 36% of all holiday shopping was done online. Today, that number continues to grow as more shoppers turn to the Internet for giving- it’s predicted that online holiday shopping will increase by an additional 17% this season.
Along with the rise in shopping is the increasing importance of consumer reviews and social referrals. It is imperative to optimize opportunities within social media in a way that will quantifiably impact sales during the holiday season.
Tip One: Engage your fans with exclusive social media offers.
Your fans and followers have been there for you all year- give them the appreciation they deserve this holiday season with access to exclusive content and 
rewards, and they’ll reward you with loyalty and positive word-of-mouth:
– Create “early reveals” promoting products they can purchase during the holiday season.
– Grant early access to product lines, so community members can make their purchases before other consumers.
– Use Apps like Instagram to showcase these products and provide a “behind-the-scenes” look.
– Surprise loyal fans with “featured customer” holiday gifts.
Tip Two: Drive awareness with paid social advertising.
When planning the release of this holiday-specific campaign, timing is everything. Act now in creating a campaign rollout schedule so that you can receive all of the benefits of holiday sales.
Take advantage of paid advertisement targeting on Facebook and leverage promoted posts to ensure your audience is receiving your message. The new Facebook retargeting ad unit in particular is showing excellent early performance for brands.
Along with paid media, create landing pages that cater to your holiday season promotions. Driving additional visibility through conversations will connect you to your target audience and specific gift-giving demographics.
Tip Three: Show, don’t tell.
Visual storytelling is an important social trend. Image-based social media platforms are exploding in popularity and successfully driving quantifiable results.
Pinterest is projected to account for 40% of all social media driven purchases this year. Ensure that your product pins have a price attached- pins with prices attached are 36% more likely to convert. Polyvore should also be utilized to create collages and pin them on Pinterest.
Encourage the sharing of your items through other platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. You can leverage your images on those sites by using Apps that further promote your products and drives fans into your purchase path.
Tip Four: Continually monitor and optimize performance
Understanding performance is the key to furthering your campaign’s success in this season and in the future. A large part of this is optimizing visibility in all aspects of search and social media. Potential customers need to be able to find your products not only on search engines, but also on social networks.
While many businesses put social campaigns in place, few capitalize on the “social SEO” value of the optimization process. When potential customers go looking for you, they will either find you or your competitors.
Optimizing all aspects of your brand on social media networks can produce impressive sales and ROI, so get started early.
This informational piece was written by ZOG Digital, a search and social marketing technology company. Learn what solutions ZOG Digital can offer for your search and social.
