How To Use Twitter In Your Holiday Marketing

December 4, 2014 - 6 minutes read - Blog, Social Media

Let’s face it: “Black Friday” for many businesses is dead. Stores are opening up for “Black Friday” on Thursday now, and “Black Friday” sales are stretching on for the entire week. “Cyber Monday,” “Small Business Saturday” — these are all relics of the past. Instead, we are seeing a shift to a shopping season — one that lasts from September through December. So don’t fret if your Black Friday sales weren’t as you’d hoped. According to a study conducted by Exact Target, 54% of Twitter users say that promotions on the site motivate them to buy. So, there is still plenty of time to put together a last-minute Twitter promotion that gets you closer to your holiday sales goals.

Here are 8 ways to use Twitter in your holiday marketing.

1. Post content on Sundays and run special sales.

Many businesses close up social media shop on weekends, but that is when shoppers are most active. Over the holiday season, run your promotions and post your most helpful articles on Saturdays and Sundays. For instance, you can post comparisons of your products and services or with that of a competitor to help shoppers make decisions. You can offer “flash sales” in real time if store traffic seems slow. Be sure your content is optimized for mobile and try geo-targeting people in your call list who are nearby.

2. Make it more visual by throwing image tweets into the mix.

Photo tweets get twice as many replies and re-tweets as non-photo tweets. You don’t want to just push ads here. Post seasonal images that evoke emotion, quotes, humor, recipes, photos from your employees, and other share-worthy bits of content. Encourage your customers to share their own holiday-related photos or photos of themselves with your product, and use a dedicated hashtag to follow the conversation.

3. Use social media tools to follow the conversation about your business and respond to tweets.

Keep in mind: 62% of Twitter users tweet to share a positive experience and 39% tweet to share news of a purchase they’ve made. Find out who is talking by search for brand-related keywords with a social media tool like HootSuite or Sprout Social. Respond to followers using “@” followed by their Twitter name and show that you care about shoppers’ questions, concerns, and publicity. Set up searches for your product or service categories, your brand name, product names, and your @ username.

4. Give shoppers more than discounts.

Shoppers are also flooding social media channels for “the latest products” and unique gift ideas, so craft most of your posts to let them know. Plan your blogs based around helping consumers find the best gifts for their friends and family, as well as showing how your business can help people join in the holiday spirit. In addition to unique, campaign-specific hashtags, use some common holiday hashtags like:

– #giftideas

– #christmas2014

– #holidayshopping

– #christmasgifts

– #stockingstuffer, and

– #wishlist.

5. Use Twitter’s Small Business Planner.

This year, Twitter released a new app offering “tactical guidance just in time for the busy holiday season.” Using this tool, you can peruse a daily calendar, which recommends custom content, campaigns, events, and information portals to help you plan your marketing. It’s a convenient place to get ideas, set goals, add reminders, and track progress.

6. Access Sponsored Advertising Features.

Twitter’s “Buy” butt0n is just in its earliest stages now, so unless you’re one of a select few retailers to test drive it, you’ll have to make use of other methods for promotion. Sign up for a Twitter Advertising Account to take advantage of their Promoted Tweets and Promoted Trends features, which are about as good as it gets for now. Also, have a Twitter Lead Generation card completed to make it easier for consumers to communicate with your brand.

7. Show off your fun side with a six-second looping video.

The Vine app had people talking this year. It wasn’t long before Twitter got in on the action by offering their own version of the app for their followers. Create a quick loop of shots that show how your products can be used to celebrate the holidays or that show off your employees celebrating the holidays. Check out what Lowe’s has been doing with Vine for the holiday season for inspiration.

8. Delegate to cover more ground.

Mod Girl Marketing has a track record of boosting sales, conversations, and search engine prominence noticeably within the first month. We can quickly help you put together a unique marketing strategy and implement it to get more from the 2014 holiday season. You can delegate a number of tasks to us — social media, blogging, microsite creation, Google Adwords, and more.

Contact us today to receive a prompt response from our online marketing team.

Tags: holiday marketing, holiday promotions, holiday tweets, holiday twitter, twitter holiday