It’s that time of year again, the holidays are upon us and traffic in stores and online is ramping up. Shoppers are interested in finding the best sales and uncovering the perfect gift for the difficult ones on their list! (Let’s face it, everybody has at least one!)

Whether you’re an e-commerce site, own a local business or just want to market yourself more efficiently, there are ways for you to increase your presence this season. If you are a bit behind on the task at hand, it’s not too late! There is still time for you to implement a few simple tactics to make this season your best one yet! Here are a few simple tips to helping your business thrive this season!

1. Tailor your website:

Take some time to spruce up your site for the holidays. You don’t have to do a complete redesign; the changes can be fairly simple!

• Add a holiday themed banner or photo on your home page.
• If you have a special promotion make sure you have a link or new tab consumers can click.
• If your business will have special hours over the holidays, be sure to clearly display this information. As well if you are planning to be closed, inform your consumers.
• Don’t forget to post information about holiday shipping prices and expected delivery dates.

2. Plan your holiday marketing:

If your goal is to bring more traffic to your website and increase sales this season, you will need to develop a marketing plan! Decide which social media platforms you plan on using and what you want your main marketing message and promotion to be. You can prepare these posts in advance and schedule to release them on specific dates. Choose your top 3-5 products and promotions and begin to strategize content, here are a few ideas:

• Offer a free giveaway or host a contest
• Create some unique seasonal hashtags for your brand and use them consistently in all your posts
• Send out a seasonal email to your most valuable customers offering a coupon or promotion
• Ask consumers to upload and share photos of themselves using the product, make sure they know to use the campaign hashtag when posting
• Offer a gift with purchase
• Create blog posts that add value to your customers lives this time of year, like a new holiday-related recipe or beauty trend!

3. Offer incentives for the New Year:

The Holiday season is the perfect time to acquire year around customers. Be sure to provide incentives and promotions during December that will offer continued interest in the new year:

• Include coupons and promotional material for the new year in outgoing packages during December
• Keep content consistent after all the holiday buzz has died down
• If possible gear posts to ‘New Year’ emotions ie: fresh start, resolutions, new beginnings
• Generate excitement and start thinking about new upcoming holidays like Valentine’s day
• Start a consumer loyalty program, reach out to all the new customers you acquired over the holidays

Remember once you have this planning in place and your schedule made, you can use this format again and again. Next year, just swap out promotions and products based on your current marketing campaigns!