’Tis the Season to be Social

Six tips to drive Black Friday traffic

Back when print had more impact, big-box retailers like Walmart and Target maximized foot traffic on Black Friday by flooding Thanksgiving Day newspapers with door-buster deals. But with the rapid decline in newspaper circulation, and the proliferation of Americans using Facebook and Twitter, retailers need to add social media marketing to their retail strategy. Now that the holidays are right around the corner, here are six social media tips to guarantee that, like the song says, “it’s the most wonderful time of the year” – at least from a revenue-generating point of view.

1. Build your Facebook fan base now

According to Pew Research, more than half of all U.S. adults use social media. In 2011, Facebook jumped to the No. 1 spot online of time spent online, with over 1 trillion page views a month. As in real estate, the three keys for success in retail are location, location, location – so go where your customers are.

There are many successful techniques for building “likes” on your Facebook page, ranging from viral postings to paid engagement ads, but no matter which strategy you employ, it takes time to build an engaged and active community. Start now so that you’ll have a sizeable audience come the holidays. To give it a holiday spin, allow me to sing this piece of advice, with apologies to Nat King Cole: “So I'm offering this simple phrase, to reach kids from one to 92, although it’s been said many times, many ways, have Facebook users connect to you.”

2. Tweet your door-buster deals

To reference “The Christmas Song” again: Everyone knows a turkey and some mistletoe help to make the season bright – but really, it’s deep discounts that drive shoppers to camp outside your doors overnight. In holiday seasons past, you’ve no doubt worked hard with suppliers to offer the best door-buster promotions ever, only to have your plans leaked early because of newspaper printing deadlines (Target and Kohl’s have even gone to court over these leaks). Why not use Twitter to get out the word yourself, and encourage your best customers to spread the message? As with Facebook, build your Twitter following now, so that you have an audience before Jack Frost comes nipping at your toes.

3. There’s nothing more social than gifting 

Whether it’s two turtle doves or five golden rings, the social act of gift-giving is at the heart of the holidays, so you should translate this idea into the online world. Make wish lists social so that they can be posted and shared within social environments. Macy’s did a very simple but effective campaign last year by asking consumers, “What is at the top of your wish list this holiday season?” and provided the opportunity to use Facebook Connect to share wish lists. The result: 65% of consumers who engaged with the campaign made a list and then shared it with their friends.

4. Don’t miss out on the early season social media advertising upfronts 

In the movie in “Jingle All the Way,” Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad had to overpay and fight for the last toy on the shelf. The same thing will happen to retailers who fail to plan ahead: with all the growth in social media, you can expect scarcity when it comes to highly engaging advertising inventory. Interactive social media ads – such as engagements on social games such as Zynga’s Farmville or Cityville – aren’t as plentiful as display and banner ads. Major retailers such as Best Buy and toymakers like VTech have already secured their placements with social media upfronts for the holidays. To make cash registers jingle, plan ahead.

5. Check out (and reward) those that check in

Even when the weather outside is frightful, your best customers continue to check-in and be delightful – when it’s stormy outside, everyone’s inside and browsing online. You should value and reward your loyal social media followers. Special discounts, free wrapping and pre-sale hours are all easy and effective ways to reward customers who’ve been using Foursquare and Gowalla all year long to publically display their affection for your business.

6. Capture hearts through cause marketing

An activity not just limited to the holiday season, more than 30 million Americans per month use social media to donate time and money to charities. In fact, the number one non-gaming app on Facebook is Causes, and it offers many ways for brands to engage with their audience while empowering 11,000 non-profits to make the world a better place. If your cause marketing programs are sitting by the wayside while you focus on product advertising, build a social media presence for your charity campaigns and let everyone get into the holiday spirit.