05 Dec Four Good Reasons to Have Your Social Media Channels Covered on Holidays
Welcome to the most festive (and expensive) month of the year! From stocking stuffers to big purchases, Americans are out in full force this year with record numbers, especially when it comes to online shopping. This will trickle over to your social media pages in no time – especially when it comes to incoming mentions, questions, or complaints. That means it’s more important than ever to have a team on hand! Your customers are investing a lot of time and money this holiday season, so don’t leave them hanging during this key time. Read on for more info and tips for holiday coverage.
It demonstrates commitment to your customers.
Retailers often stock their stores with extra employees to help during the busy holiday season, so why should your social media channels be any different? From quick questions to major customer complaints, your team should be staffed and ready to handle the extra volume during these busy shopping days.
Your customers are accustomed to quick, helpful responses from their favorite brands on social media all throughout the year, so be sure to hold up that expectation during this time. Your bottom line certainly depends on it. According to Salesforce, studies have shown that when companies engage and respond to requests over social, those customers end up spending 20-40% more.
People are online during the holidays. A LOT.
You may think between presents, eggnog, and family that social media usage would be down during the holidays. Well … think again. We all need a little social media break from the in-laws and screaming kiddos, right? The data shows that users are on their phones. They’re scrolling, they’re posting, and they’re engaging with brands.
You’re advertising more, which means more engagement.
‘Tis the season for brands to spend big money on new holiday content! Social media alone is expected to see a huge increase this month in spend, which means you’re sure to see an increase in engagements and mentions. A comment can easily turn into a purchase, so be sure to pay close attention to the social engagement that’s coming in. Response rate shouldn’t dip during this important month.
You don’t want to miss out on post-Christmas shoppers.
Christmas season sure feels long, because it is long. You may be thinking that the hectic shopping season will end on December 25th, but there is actually data that shows it goes quite a bit longer than that. Bargain hunters are out in full force right after the holidays. According to Social Media Today, Facebook saw that people are 1.39x more likely to make online purchases on mobile devices the 3 days after Christmas than on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. That means a team should be on hand right after the holidays to post content, place ads, and engage with incoming comments.
Long story short, ‘tis the season for social media. So be sure to make a plan and have a team of elves available to cover that inbound social activity. If you owe your social team a day or two off, just give us a call – we have an expert team ready to tackle those holiday shifts.
