While Black Friday and the holidays, in general, are a very competitive time period for retailers from coast to coast, this tends to fizzle heavily once Santa heads back to the North Pole. Not only do consumers have fewer reasons to get out, browse and shop, but the cold weather and snowy conditions certainly make it less appealing. When there's less foot traffic around and in your store, it may be more difficult to market your products, showcase upcoming sales and find other ways to intrigue shoppers to make purchases. However, there is one handy tool that can help you out tremendously when it seems like fewer people are out shopping in the snow: Social media.
When so many consumers already have their smartphones in the palms of their hands constantly, it only makes sense to use the platform to market your products and intrigue people to trudge through the cold to get to your store. Here are some quick and effective tips for social media marketing during the winter – and beyond.
Post content regularly
Relevancy is one of the most important factors to consider when using social media and keeping your brand at top of mind for customers. Consistency is key when it comes to publishing content, so make it a point to schedule posts on a regular basis. When followers see your brand name frequently on their feed, it sticks in their minds and gets them excited to view your content at a normal cadence.
Create a winter shopping guide
Posting frequently doesn't amount to anything if your content isn't encouraging your followers to learn more about your brand or explore your merchandise and products. If you want to get seasonal and intrigue consumers to stop by your boutique during the colder months, create a winter shopping guide and post it all over your socials. This would be most useful on a channel like Instagram, where you can showcase specific items that shoppers can find in your store with ease. This is a smart tip that you can carry over to any season as well and make it the highlight of each quarter for your followers.
Throw a themed contest
Who doesn't love a good contest? This concept is popping up all over social media and offers the ideal opportunity to create brand awareness and boost your follower count. Encourage your followers to share and tag friends in one of your social media posts for store credit or a certain special item that you have in stock. Not only does this get more people to check out your page, but it also gets people excited about items in your store and may encourage them to check them out in person.
Don't hit a post-holiday slump when Christmas and New Year's day pass. Utilize these social media marketing tips throughout the winter and devise a plan to let them transform with your brand as the seasons change!
