Social media will make more buying decisions this year than ever before. In 2009, 27% of holiday shoppers began searching for gifts on social networks, and 59% used search engines as their first choice to search for gifts. If you think it’s too early to take this into account, keep in mind that 47 percent of consumers will start their holiday shopping by the end of October!
How can you, as a local retailer, attract social shoppers to generate revenue this holiday season? Let's start with a few low-cost and creative ideas you can create this week to start the holiday shopping season with a peak on social networks.
Seven ways to use social media to increase sales
- Start now. Creating a follow up on Facebook and Twitter or through some simple videos or blog posts can pay dividends when we get closer to the holiday season, especially when buyers are looking for local options at the last minute.
- Get an overview online. As signs in a retail store, customer reviews on Google and Facebook attract attention and help distinguish between similar retailers. More than 70 percent of consumers trust the recommendations of the reviewers and recent studies show that 83 percent of ALL holiday buyers this year will be influenced by customer feedback.
- Be helpful in holiday messages. Social networks really share useful information with your audience. Make their gift search easier by offering useful ideas and information, and you will be rewarded with increased loyalty, recognition, traffic storage and online word distribution. Think about the gift issues of your customers and talk to these needs with your Facebook messages or Twitter tweets.
- Use social networks with traditional marketing. If you distribute flyers, postcards, or advertisements of any kind, include your links in the media around the world where your customers see your name. Don't forget about apps in the store, where something as simple as sticking a “Follow us on Facebook” card in each shopping bag can help increase subscribers and word-of-mouth online marketing.
- Use photos and videos where possible. Studies show that people sell hand soap, jewelry or hunting pheasant tours, show that people react to messages with photos and videos much more profitable than simple text messages. Remember, you are trying to tell your story and any images that you can use to help tell the story that will bring more holiday business.
- Work with local web-lebrities. On Twitter, over 3,000 people are located in a larger area of Green Bay and Appleton. Many of them have thousands of followers for serving daily as producers of taste, but influencing dozens of others. Use Twellow.com to find the influential (most popular) and get to know their tastes to find possible partners for your business.
- Advertise on Facebook. Advertising on Facebook can be a targeted and reliable way to reach an accurate audience in our field. In fact, 120,880 people are on Facebook 120 km from Green Bay. Placing some targeted ads based on keywords and interests can lead you to the right people, in the right place at the right time.
The transition to social space will now help you compete and win this holiday season and for many seasons. Sitting on the sidelines is no longer an option for local retailers. Get it today to take advantage of cumulative effects that improve over time and increase your return on your investment every month.
