Make some noise
Social media has become the norm for all types of businesses and it?s a chance for entrepreneurs to participate in online social communities. It is an important tool as it allows business owners to have direct communication with customers and inspire them to engage with a brand. According to behavioural data, there are five different customer periods throughout Christmas: early shoppers, peak planners, Black Friday deal hunters, Christmas gifters and those that are sales-savvy. Use this data to put together a social media strategy, creating content for each ?customer phase? that?s relevant, timely and appropriate for your target market. Help customers get what they want, when they want, and how they want. Last year over one million people in Britain had completed their Christmas shopping by July, so schedule festive posts soon for the chance to boost Christmas sales because it?s not only businesses who are getting into the festive spirit early. Social platforms like Instagram and Tumblr are being used as places where people are going for inspiration about gifts too. Dubbed ?social shoppers?, nearly a third of online shoppers (31 per cent) say they are using brands? social pages for inspiration on what to buy. Facebook is the most popular network people are using (26 per cent), followed by Instagram (eight per cent) and Pinterest (six per cent). Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of all respondents follow brands to get gift ideas.Investing in your website
Businesses can be high-maintenance and even the most successful entrepreneurs often need help handling the ?so much to do, so little time? dilemma. Because of this many SMEs still remain surprisingly ?invisible? online. Creating a business presence online may initially take time away from other tasks, however it is essential for accessibility, brand building and reaching out to a wider audience. As the internet never sleeps, having an online presence means your business will have a virtual 24-hour showroom. In today?s digital age, many consumers prefer to buy goods and services online. In 2015, 76 per cent of UK adults bought products or services online, up from 53 per cent in 2008. It?s also very important for your website to be optimised for mobile phone usage too as the average Britain spends nearly two hours online each day using a smartphone, compared to just over an hour spent online by laptop and PC users. The two remaining guidelines that can be taken to boost Christmas sales can be found on the next page.Share this story
Pages: 1 2