How to Boost Sales During the Holiday Season Using Social Media?

The holidays couldn’t be more fun when your family and friends are healthy and new customers come in regularly. Those holiday season sales notifications that pop up on the phone even when you’re away from work show that your social media marketing strategy is spot on.

Does selling through social media during the holiday season mean you have to work when others are having fun? Of course not. It won’t be fair to you and your loved ones.

What if I told you that you can boost your holiday season through social media without working?

Don’t get me wrong, selling through social media during the holiday season doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be active on social media to post content and track sales. Instead, if you’re educated on social media automation and building a social media content strategy, then you may not have to worry about it.

It’s a no-brainer that now social media management tools are available that help you send automated emails, track sales, generate reports, and much more. Therefore, increasing holiday season sales isn’t the same anymore.

Key Social Media Success Elements

Before we move on to the tactics of holiday season sales, here are three key social media success elements that often go unnoticed:

I. Value-driven content

You must have heard that content is king. What it means is that if you crack the content creation code, you’d fall in love with the strategy. No wonder loads of brands are doubling down on content marketing these days. Pay close attention to creating engaging content that helps the prospective audience in solving real-world problems.

II. Organic reach

Organic reach means how well social media platforms promote your content without playing cheap tricks or spending money on social media ads. However, social media ads are vital to a social media campaign, but organic reach plays a crucial role in building up your brand voice.

III. Social media engagement

Social media engagement refers to the interaction between a brand and its followers through comments, shares, DMs, and likes. All these communication activities on social media platforms signal the platforms about the popularity and effectiveness of the content. When content is being widely appreciated or hated, it usually goes viral on the internet.

Related Read: How to Go Viral On TikTok?

So these were social media success elements that you should keep in mind while trying to sell through social media.

Let’s head over to the cream of this article.

12 ways to boost your holiday season sales via social media

Let’s dive deep into simple yet meaningful tactics to sell more through social media during the holiday season:

1. Offer Limited-time Discount

The holiday season won’t be the same without lots of shopping, and discounts on your favorite products make it even better. Don’t you wait for the holiday season to buy stuff? I think we all do.

Conversely, we can leverage this time of the year to sell more through social media. I have seen dozens of companies that pay close attention to limited-time discounts during the holiday season.

2. Giveaway & contests

You may or may not agree with me, but giveaways and contests get so much attention. People don’t want to let go of the free stuff, making it easier for companies to give away a few products or subscriptions and get many website visitors or social media followers. You’ll find many companies that offer limited-time discounts during the holiday season.

3. Spreading the word

Don’t just sit back and wait for the magic to happen. Be ready to work your butt off to sell more through social media. Besides optimizing your social media profiles which include updating covers, bio, and display pictures, you should also be active on social media.

The best way to spread the word about your product or services on social media is by:

I. Participating in the discussions
II. Answering queries
III. Leaving useful comments
IV. Starting conversations

Selling through social media doesn’t work only if you have an advertising budget, but instead, you can leverage helpful content, organic reach, and engagement tactics to get the attention of the prospects.

🌟 Get ready! 🎁 Aranet4 Christmas sale is going live on 2nd December! #Aranet4 #ChristmasGift #ChristmasSale #SpecialOffer #Aranet4u #Aranet4Friends pic.twitter.com/XNqmTtJ6gc

— Aranet Home (@aranet_home) November 29, 2021

4. Social media advertising

It’ll be unfair to completely write off the paid social media advertising for selling more during the holiday season. When it comes to social media marketing, some choose the viral content route and never look beyond putting out content, while others test out both organic reach and paid social media ads.

When it comes to selling during the holiday season, it’s hard to dominate when competitors might also be offering discounts and trying to capture as much attention as possible. Therefore, besides making attractive discount offers, it’s also necessary to advertise through social media.

Some of you might think that you can pull this off without spending money on social media ads. Sometimes, it happens for business, but there is a slim chance it would happen to you.

Do you want to bet against the odds and let the competitors take away the business? If social media ads weren’t so important, then a lot of popular companies wouldn’t have been spending money on social media advertising.

‘Namecheap’ has been running social media ads throughout the holiday season. Look at their Christmas ad on YouTube:

‘Alibaba’ is also trying to increase holiday season sales by running an ad campaign on Twitter. This Twitter ad was seen during the Christmas holidays and you can see the “Big Sale” text on the ad image:

‘Elo’ is a Pakistani garments e-store that is famous for selling export-quality clothing at affordable prices. Take a look at their Facebook ad as it states “Year-End Deals” right on the image:

You might stumble upon dozens of ads during this period that would be trying to cash in on the holiday season sales. It teaches us that it’s important to spend some money on social media ads to catapult the sales process through social media.

5. Influencer marketing

Social media ads aren’t paid advertising on social media. Brands keep on looking for underpriced marketing tactics to sell more. Therefore, influencer marketing has rapidly gained momentum in the digital marketing realm. Simply put, brands work with social media influencers to reach more audiences and improve their brand positioning.

You may have seen your favorite YouTubers talk about the companies they’re working with or products they have received from; that’s basically influencer marketing. You might wonder, does influencer marketing increase sales? The answer to that question is that if it doesn’t work for brands, they won’t be spending millions of dollars every year.

If you start following social media influencers on any social media platform, you might find these influencers closely work with brands. ‘Zoe Sugg’ is a British YouTuber; she has over 10 million subscribers on her main YouTube channel.

Take a look at Sugg‘s videos that contain paid advertorials:

There are influencer marketing platforms out there that work with different social media influencers across multiple social media platforms. Brands don’t always chase the numbers, but instead, they also look out for how much attention and engagement the influencers are getting.

It won’t hurt to try out influencer marketing in the bid to sell more through social media during the holiday season. Some of the popular influencer marketing platforms are Ifluenz, TapInfluence, Upfluence, and Gleam.

6. Social media content scheduling

If you have been figuring out social media, you may have already understood that social media is crowded, and when you put your message out, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’d reach the audience.

Since brands, individuals, and agencies continuously pump out content to keep up with the competition so much that sometimes it becomes overwhelming for the audience to consume.

What it does is that it often hurts the organic reach of the content. Therefore, influencers, social media experts, and pro-bloggers use social media management tools to schedule and repeat their social media posts for better reach and engagement.

As a result, more followers get to see their social media content, and new audiences get to discover their content. ContentStudio is my go-to social media scheduling tool. I have been using it for a while, and it has done wonders for me. Not only does it help in social media automation, but it also makes social media posting easier for multiple brands through the Workplaces feature.

A fantastic content automation tool comes in handy when you’re trying to sell through social media. Here’s how: if you post your offer on your social channels once a day, it might go unnoticed, and if you post twice a day, the followers might find it a bit salesy.

On the other hand, if you mix things up and create five engaging yet helpful social media posts every day and maybe keep two of them as your product offers, it could make a difference. So when you need to post multiple times a day, it may start to look like a lot of work, but then social media management tool like ContentStudio works like a charm.

Here are a few social media post ideas for more engagement during the holiday season:

I. Post an inspirational quote image.

II. Ask what book followers are reading.

III. Inquire your followers about their favorite Christmas gift.

IV. Tell your friends to tag a friend they’re hoping to meet during the holidays.

V. Publish your favorite holiday meal picture and ask everyone to share their favorite food in the comments.

This way, you’d be able to engage the audience, and the followers won’t get frustrated with your posts. Furthermore, you can share your holiday season sales offer every once in a while; I’m sure it won’t look salesy.

7. Leverage historical data of holiday sales

It is essential to review your historical data. Because no two businesses are alike, use your data to plan your marketing holiday strategy instead of relying on a one-size-fits-all marketing strategy.

You can use Google Analytics to determine your website traffic, understand your audience demographics, & measure the conversion rate.

The first type of data to examine is your holiday sales figures. Based on this historical data, consider the following questions:

• Which holidays are the most beneficial for your company?
• Which campaigns were successful for you?
• Which channels drive the most traffic?

Examine previous holiday data to determine which offers the best bang for your buck and which does not. After analyzing your holiday marketing statistics, you can set benchmarks for your business and identify areas for improvement.

8. Adding a festive touch to your website

Making your website festive is a simple and effective holiday marketing strategy. I am not recommending that you redesign your entire website. Instead, you can tailor your store with a few festive additions, and marketing efforts will collectively enhance your holiday season sales. Create banners and hero images, for example, to promote your Black Friday or Christmas sales.

Don’t worry if you’re not a designer! Beautiful free stock images created with store owners in mind can be found on Pexel, Unsplash, and 

FreePik. Burst, surprisingly, integrates with your Shopify store, allowing you to quickly select holiday-themed photos to decorate your store for the holiday season.

Templates can also be used to create graphics and promote your holiday sale. For example, updating some elements on your online store to show that “it is the Holidays!” can increase your site visitors’ willingness to continue shopping and stay in the Holiday spirit. 

9. Holiday email marketing campaigns

Email marketing includes essential holiday marketing ideas. Every business should have a few marketing campaigns to entice customers to return to your online store and take advantage of your holiday sales.

Here are some holiday email marketing ideas to get you started:

• Announce holiday sales: You can send announcement emails to existing subscribers ahead of time to inform them about holiday sales details and reminder emails.
• Exclude sale offers: Sending a hot deal only available to email subscribers is one way to grab attention in a crowded inbox. One of the best Christmas marketing is to send conditional discounts.
• Greeting customers at holiday events: For example, sending out congratulatory emails on Christmas or New Year’s Eve will make subscribers feel extra special. Surprisingly, these emails also inform subscribers that you are contacting them not only to sell but also to care.
• The final reminder before the deals expire: A few days before the holiday sale, send out reminder emails with countdown timers to encourage customers to shop quickly.

During the holidays, your customers will be inundated with promotional emails from their favorite brands. As a result, making your emails stand out is critical for attracting customers.

10. Build partnerships & collaborations

Make use of collaborations by seeking businesses for mutually beneficial partnerships. Provide them with enticing benefits while gaining something in return, fostering growth for both parties.

During the holiday season, brand collaborations become incredibly potent, enabling entrepreneurs to expand their reach and connect with a broader audience. Many businesses rely on the festive period to boost annual revenue, so they are often open to collaboration opportunities.

11. Incorporate seasonal hashtags

Boost your brand awareness among potential customers by incorporating seasonal hashtags. Encourage social media users to join and use your designated seasonal hashtags for extra perks.

This expands your organic reach and provides an easy way to monitor your holiday marketing success. Develop a set of 1 to 5 hashtags for each festive occasion, including Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday/Cyber Monday, Christmas, and New Year.

Loyal customers enjoy using branded hashtags, contributing to your brand’s reputation and enhancing the visibility of your seasonal promotions.

Related Read: A Complete GuideOn Social Commerce for 2022

How Would You Sell Through Social Media During the Holiday Season?

We all know that social media isn’t the same as it was 10 years ago. Today, you got more competition, wider reach, and bigger opportunities to tap on. Does it mean you can’t dominate social media?

No, you can still do a lot better if you know how to do it. If you haven’t had a chance to sell through social media, then perhaps it’s time to make a change. The methods I shared are my favorite ways to sell more through social media, especially during the holiday season. However, these aren’t the only ways you could try out.

I’m curious about what you’d be doing to capitalize on the sales opportunities this time of year. I’ve shown you some examples of brands with strategies for every holiday season. Now it’s your turn to start crushing your social media sales.

FAQs

1. How can I increase holiday season sales?

Tips to Sell more during the Holidays

• Offer Limited-time Discount
• Social media advertising
• Spreading the word
• Influencer marketing
• Social media content scheduling
• Leverage Historical Data
• Adding a festive touch to your website
• Embrace Email Marketing Campaigns For Holidays

2. Do people use social media during the holiday season?

Social media traffic spikes by 73 percent during the holidays as everyone searches for the best deals and hottest brands. It is no secret that most social media professionals hesitate to take time off.

3. Should you post on social media on holidays?

In the marketing world, holiday social media posts are often seen as “fluff” – content that doesn’t mean anything but is easy to create and post. However, holiday Posts and newsbreaks during the holiday season can be some of your most valuable social media content.