Sending constant promotional emails about next week's big sale, tomorrow's preview days, and the next day's pre-sale sale can get a little annoying. As a consumer, it can get exhausting going through (and deleting) that endless flood of emails and social posts. Remember, you're not the only company your customers are following.
So how do you keep your brand top of mind during the holiday rush without going too far?
The #1 Tip? Keep a healthy mix of engagement and promotions. Don't bombard your followers with exclusively sales-focused messaging. It's the holidays! There are tons of festive things to post, questions to ask, and photos to share to keep your brand interesting, engaging, and personal.
A good rule of thumb is to maintain an 80-20 ration: 80% engagement-focused content, and only 20% promotional. This might sound extreme, but it's an ideal way to keep people interested in your brand. When you share fun and interesting content, customers remember you and look forward to your posts. They might even re-share your content to their own followers. Building brand awareness is a big win any time of year.
Tip #2: Consider your audience. More specifically, consider their personal preferences when it comes to holiday-themed messaging. Granted, Christmas cheer is everywhere, but it's wise to be cautious when posting content that is overtly religious. Be sure your posts appeal to a wide audience.
Obviously, Christmas is a religious holiday at its heart, but you don't want to alienate those followers who are not so into it. Keep it fun and casual. Focus more on the festive season and things we can all appreciate, like twinkling lights and hot chocolate on a snowy day. Unless your business is Christian in nature, save baby Jesus and the wise men for your personal social accounts.
Tip #3: Be thankful. A great way to engage with your customers without being overly promotional is to say thank you! Sending an email to all your customers or sharing a blog post with your social media followers is a thoughtful and authentic way to remind your audience of your brand, and your human side.
Write up a couple of paragraphs reflecting on the past year. You can marvel at how far your business has come, laugh at silly things that happened, and make predictions for what you hope will come next year. But most importantly, make it clear that you appreciate the support of each and every customer that has walked through your door, made a phone call, or clicked the "follow" button. Your customers are the reason your doors are still open. Let them know how grateful you are!
At the end of the day, the best strategy for your business this holiday season (and throughout the year) is to be genuine! Show your personal side, and remind customers of the people behind the brand. And don't forget to have a happy new year!
