With the temperature starting to drop outside, this is a sure sign that the holidays are right around the corner. Therefore, businesses need to make sure they are putting themselves in a good position to take advantage of the upcoming holiday season. One of the most powerful marketing tools available to businesses during the holidays is social media. With hundreds of millions of people using social media on a regular basis, it is critical for businesses to make sure they are ready to take advantage of this massive market. One of the most important tools that businesses have at their disposal is a marketing calendar. It is important for businesses to understand what a social media calendar is, how to create one for a holiday season, and how to use this to maximize their revenue as people conduct their holiday shopping this year. There are a few important points that all business leaders and managers need to keep in mind.
What Is a Social Media Calendar?
Marketing has grown by leaps and bounds during the past few years. Therefore, it is important for everyone to make sure they are able to take advantage of everything that social media marketing has to offer. The goal of a holiday-based campaign is to increase your customer engagement, tap into their emotions to educate them as to why your product is the best fit for them, and produce a greater spike in revenue. In order to do this, it is critical for businesses to have a comprehensive plan when it comes to marketing this holiday season.
This is where a marketing calendar is important. A marketing calendar can help you plan and perform multiple tasks all at the same time. First, one of the most important roles of this calendar is to let businesses know when key dates are coming up during the holiday season. For example, Black Friday and Cyber Monday should absolutely be included on a marketing calendar. These are major landmarks during the shopping season, and it is absolutely vital for businesses to make sure they capitalize on these dates.
In addition, a social media calendar can also act as a publishing schedule. Businesses are going to have infographics, articles, and videos that they would like to publish during the holiday season as marketing tools. Therefore, it is important for everyone to understand when this content is going up. Businesses do not want to publish all of their content at the same time. On the other hand, they also do not want to leave long gaps between when they publish certain types of content. This calendar can help businesses stay on track when it comes to their overall publishing schedule.
Therefore, it is important for all digital marketing professionals to make sure that they develop a comprehensive social media marketing calendar that can guide them along the way. When it comes to putting together a marketing calendar, there are a few points that everyone should keep in mind.
How To Create a Holiday Calendar for Social Media
For businesses, creating a marketing calendar is very important for maximizing traffic. For those who would like to create a social media marketing calendar, there are a few points to keep in mind. First, it is important to think about the various platforms that are available for creating content. These include:
- Facebook: Facebook still carries the banner when it comes to social media. Many small businesses have already discovered the power of Facebook advertisements, and on Facebook, it is possible to publish different types of content. Importantly, the vast majority of Facebook users are now accessing the platform on their mobile devices. Therefore, Facebook is one of the most powerful networks when it comes to connecting with local consumers via mobile devices. This means that it is extremely important to think about this when constructing a social media calendar this season.
- Twitter: Twitter is another great platform that businesses can use to share helpful and promotional content with their consumers. Twitter is also a valuable platform for providing customer service. People love Twitter because it provides them with instant access to brands, allowing them to ask questions. By taking the time to monitor questions and feedback posted to the company using Twitter, it is possible to figure out exactly what consumers are looking for. Then, businesses are able to tailor their calendars and content to meet these needs.
- Pinterest: Pinterest is a platform on which most people tend to have a shopping mentality. Facebook and Twitter tend to focus more on engagement. Pinterest focuses on sales. It is possible for businesses to connect with users on Pinterest at a unique stage of their buying process, as scrolling through Pinterest most resembles a customer browsing a store for gift ideas. It is possible for companies to use Pinterest to highlight potential gift ideas, showcasing everything that the company has to offer during the holiday shopping season.
- Instagram: Of course, Instagram is all about the visuals. This is one of the top platforms that companies can use to create engaging content during the holiday season. This includes videos, images, and other graphics that potential consumers are going to love. It is also possible to take pictures of employees and staff members who are busy getting ready for the holiday shopping season.
Once the various platforms have been targeted, it is time to start laying out your publishing schedule. Some of the key information that should be included on a social media publishing calendar should include:
- Share links to your various pages in any emails that go out to potential and past customers
- Think about sharing images of staff members who are unpacking new holiday inventory that is going to go on sale
- Send out thank-you notes to customers who take the time to support the business by making a purchase, sharing a social media post, or providing feedback
- Publish images of happy customers that are shopping in the company store
- Share information on last-minute product deals to convince customers to make that final purchase
- Share information about updated store hours that might change during the shopping season
- Consider creating a board with a list of fun ideas that people can enjoy using the products and services from the company
- Send out information to remind customers of a sale that might be going on
- Share a video or photo of an essential plan that might be unfolding in the near future
- Publish polls regarding plans for the season on plans that customers have to increase engagement on platforms
Once your digital marketing professionals have come up with a list of ideas for important details they can publish on a calendar, it is important to think about the frequency with which these posts should be laid out. For example, some people might want to post on a platform multiple times per day. In other situations, people might want to publish on other platforms a few times per week. You will want to set a minimum and maximum when it comes to posting on these platforms. This will help your staff understand how often they should be posting on social pages.
Finally, it is also important for you to monitor the activity on your platforms as the season unfolds. Try to figure out which types of content are getting more interaction on various types of platforms. Then, by following these indicators, it might be possible to adjust the frequency with which someone might be publishing information on these platforms, driving engagement up as the holiday shopping season unfolds.
Remember that there are going to be specific days that are going to mean a lot during the holiday season. Some of the biggest holidays that people might want to mark down when it comes to social media marketing include: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and Boxing Day, as well as the final days leading up to the holidays. All of these days are going to have added significance during the holiday season, so it might be a good idea to publish something specific during these days.
Get Help from Social Media Gurus
These are a few of the most important points at all business leaders need to keep in mind when it comes to your calendar. When it comes to his social media marketing campaign, it is important for businesses to make sure they properly plan in advance. A marketing campaign cannot be launched in just a few minutes for the holiday season. Therefore, for those who are looking to get the most out of their marketing campaigns this holiday season, it is a good idea to rely on trained professionals. At BizIQ, we have a tremendous amount of experience when it comes to using social media marketing to help our clients. We would be happy to do the same for you as well. To learn more about our services, please contact us today!
