A Guide to Make Sales on Social Media During the Holidays
We know, it’s only October, but the key is to start now!
The holidays are a time of joy and spreading cheer… but even better, the holidays are a time for businesses like you to make big bucks. Consumers have their wallets open and ready, so let’s get into how you can drive sales during the holidays by making it as easy as possible from your audience to buy from you.
THE DATES
November 25th Black Friday
November 28th Cyber Monday
December 24th - 26th Christmas Period
These are the main dates to note and add in your calendars! Now that we have that down, let’s get into your action plan to drive sales during this period…
SET UP INSTAGRAM & TIKTOK SHOP as well as pinterest catalogues
Setting up Instagram and TikTok Shop makes it as easy as possible for customers to buy from you, because you are minimizing the steps they take to get to your product. Traditionally, they would be directed to an external website; however, having products directly linked to both your Instagram and TikTok makes it easier for users to browse and ultimately shop without leaving the app! Here is a quick tutorial on how to set up Instagram Shop and here is a tutorial on how to set up TikTok Shop.
Pinterest Catalogues are just like Instagram Shop and TikTok Shop, but more advanced. While users are browsing products on Pinterest, they are suggested similar products with different brands with different price points, so they can compare. On Instagram & TikTok Shop, browsing products is limited to the brand itself. Consumers tend to browse and compare products and price points before purchasing, so Pinterest aids in that process. Adding products to your Pinterest Catalogue allows you to tag them in your Pins, here is an example of Glow Recipe doing so with a creative gift guide (they know what they’re doing - look at how early they’ve started with their gift guides)!
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF BLACK FRIDAY AND CYBER MONDAY
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the best times to make sales for businesses, but they're also the best times for customers to save money. If you're not taking advantage of this opportunity, you're missing out on a huge chunk of potential revenue. Start planning what you will be offering now and if you’re lost, here are some ideas…
If you have multiple products/ digital products within the same category - bundle up your offers and run a sale on it
Up-sell other products or services as a no-brainer add-on to drive more sales at checkout
Offer limited discounts for Black Friday & Cyber Monday only - to drive the exclusivity factor to your customers
Offer free shipping, free gifts & free samples
“Buy one get one free”
Set up automated emails for carts that were abandoned to remind them of the discount
It’s important to email your customers early & often, to let them know for your upcoming sale, so they can keep you in mind when the time comes; however, we want to note how detrimental it can be to spam your customers inbox. Think about any emails you might get in your inbox, how many would you like to see from the same brand? We, personally, don’t appreciate multiple emails per day. Make sure to do the same for your customers.
USE LOYALTY OF EXISTING CUSTOMERS WITH A SURPRISE SALE
Give your existing customers a surprise sale for your products or service to drive sales. This doesn’t only make them feel special and exclusive, but it’s also a great way to drive sales for you with customers that have already purchased from you! Give them access to early bird pricing first, or give them a special discount code that only they know. The secret to more sales is always through your current customers, as there is so much power in social proof, word of mouth and reviews, as our favourite Sales Expert & Coach, Sarah Buckland, always says.
USER GENERATED CONTENT IS YOUR BEST FRIEND
User-generated content or UGC is content created and published on social media by your customers, influences or team. It’s the most powerful seller - just look at how TikTok has transformed consumers behaviour and the commerce space. Think about it... what's a better way to sell than having other people create & publish content in your brand's name?
Here are different forms of generated content as a product based business:
hiring a UGC creator or influencer
creating UGC yourself or asking your team, by showcasing how your product is used during your day-to-day
collecting customer reviews & pairing it with product pictures, Reels or tutorials
when customers order from you, ask them to post & tag you
Here are different forms of generated content as a service based business:
collect reviews from existing and previous clients now
repost IG Stories where clients rave about you
sending welcome gifts is a great way to generate user generated content
CREATE GIFT GUIDES
Creating gift guides is a way of literally telling your audience exactly what to buy from you. Here are a few ideas…
Use Instagram Guides to create holiday gift guides with your products, just like
Make a TikTok video sharing 5 gift ideas for your loved ones with your products
Make a Pin on Pinterest with a holiday gift guide, tagging your products, just like Glow Recipe did here
A RECAP
Create an holiday social media marketing action plan using the principles outlined in this blog, which we’ll recap below.
set up Instagram & TikTok Shop, as well as Pinterest Catalogues
start planning Black Friday & Cyber Monday now and use one of the ideas listed above as your Black Friday/ Cyber Monday offer
use the loyalty you have with your current customers by giving them dibs, discount codes and surprise sales
use UGC now more than ever (create it or hire influencer & UGC creators)
create gift guides featuring your products
The rule of thumb is to plan out your offers and exactly what you want to sell, then plan your social media content around that. Good luck and happy holidays!
