Managing Social Media during the Holidays

December 05, 2013 by Allison Carter

The holidays are a busy time for everyone, particularly businesses.  As you are pulled in many directions you may be tempted to give up social media for the holiday season. Don’t! 

Clients, members, and customers (especially potential ones) need you more than ever during this time.  This is your chance to connect and build long-lasting relationships that will carry you in to 2014.

But you can make social media easier on yourself.  Here are 7 Tips for Managing Your Social Media during the Holidays:

1. Plan Ahead.
Do not get up in the morning with the intention to write a blog post, tweet, announce a Facebook contest, and up your LinkedIn presence by 5 pm.  It won’t work. Plan ahead around themes, product releases, special sales, and other items you want to promote.  Write in advance and have your social media ready to auto-publish.

2. Use Auto-Publish Programs.
You do not have to manually enter all of your tweets, Facebook posts, and LinkedIn messages in real time.  We proudly offer our clients a content management system that provides this service built in, easy to use.  But you may also sign up for HootSuite (which offers a free version), HubSpot, or Sprout Social.  With these tools you can manage, and schedule, posts on numerous social media platforms with one dashboard.  You can now send out a tweet and a Facebook post while you are watching your niece perform The Nutcracker.

3. Be Responsive.
The holidays are your chance to showcase your superior customer service skills and to build lasting relationships with clients.  When followers send you a message this holiday season using social media, respond quickly and effectively.  As your customers are also trying to manage an overwhelming to-do list this season, stand out for them by being helpful.

4. Going Dark? Let People Know.
Scheduling downtime is important and certainly necessary.  When you take a break, though, plan it and let customers know.  Make public announcements about your hours and availability so clients are not frustrated trying to reach you during times you are not around.

5. Less is More – Be Intentional.
Do not plan to inundate your social media platforms during the holiday season.  Consumers are already hit from all sides with ads, sales, and specials.  Instead, be intentional.  Using the schedule you set, publish important and useful tips, tricks, and deals.  Give followers what they want, don’t just crowd their social media space.

6. Follow Up With Contacts.
Did you meet a new potential client during a holiday networking event?  Did someone reach out to ask you a question then disappear? Use social media to encourage potential customers such as these to stay engaged.  Send them a message, address their concerns, and ask them questions.  Use social media wisely to this holiday season to spark growth in 2014.

7. Get Help.
Know when to call in reinforcements.  Do not give up, and do not sweep social media under a rug during this time.  Invest in these very popular and ever-growing platforms.  Hire a professional, get part-time help, or bring in a freelance social media specialist to help you this holiday season if you simply don’t have the time.  Yet keep your presence on the Internet alive, dynamic, and helpful.

Use these tips to stay committed to social media during the holiday time. Consider it an investment in your business and use this busy season as a springboard to a huge new year.

Allison Carter is a Senior Content Strategist with BP Studios.  She loves writing blogs, Tweeting, Facebooking (which she still thinks should be a verb), and helping companies get their message out. - See more at: http://www.bpstudios.com/Blog/November-2013/Internet-Summit-2013-Content-is-King#sthash.sf47QwTr.dpuf
About the Author
Allison Carter is a Senior Content Strategist with BP Studios.  She loves writing blogs, tweeting, Facebooking (which she still thinks should be a verb), and helping companies get their message out.

Allison Carter is a Senior Content Strategist with BP Studios.  She loves writing blogs, Tweeting, Facebooking (which she still thinks should be a verb), and helping companies get their message out. - See more at: http://www.bpstudios.com/Blog/November-2013/Internet-Summit-2013-Content-is-King#sthash.sf47QwTr.dpuf


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