Thinking of Shutting Down for the Holidays? You Might Want to Reconsider!

Some small businesses have a ramped-up holiday season and others are slowing down for the end of their season as they await next season's supply. Either way, keeping up with your social media is a must during the holidays!

You are probably ready for a break from constantly posting and keeping up with engagement. It can be taxing and with all your other holiday responsibilities it may seem like the best thing to drop from your to-do list. But, that would be a mistake!

Or you might be ready to take a week or two off and spend time with family for the holidays. 

But, shutting down for the holidays is one of the biggest mistakes a small business owner can make! Why? Let’s get into it…

Why the Holiday Season is Important for Small Businesses

If you ask anyone, they’d probably say they shop more in November and December than in all the other months combined. 

In the giving spirit of the holidays, some people choose to do their holiday shopping exclusively at small businesses. Giving back is a big part of celebrating these winter holidays, and a lot of people start by supporting their community’s local businesses.

What does this all mean? 

You should never shut down your shop during the winter months — if anything, you should focus on marketing and promoting your company even more than usual!

Brand Visibility

Posting consistently keeps up your brand visibility and helps fight the competition. Imagine a store closing and blacking out their windows. Wouldn’t you wonder what’s going on? Likewise, not posting on your social media accounts triggers the same question. In your absence, your competition has time to shine and since you are not around, your audience easily goes to your competition. 

So, what if you are out of inventory? Or you want to prioritize your family for a few days? After all you are your own boss, and can keep the hours you want. Here is my advice, stay present on social media. Offer holiday tips and sneak-peaks for what is to come all while engaging with your followers. Since social media goes with you this can be done in between holiday festivities with family. Better yet, schedule your posts ahead of time.

Audience Trust

Leaving your platforms unattended will leave your followers feeling disconnected and unsure if you are still in business. Engagement will wither as your audience loses trust in you. 

Trying to regain momentum when you get back is easier said than done. It’s much easier to keep your momentum going than it is to restart. Social media algorithms favor those who post consistently. 

Keeping Things Going and Increasing Holiday Sales

Now that you know how important it is to step your business up during the holidays, let’s talk about some ways you can increase your marketing efforts to ramp up holiday sales.

Remember that you should always keep going with what works — regular posts on social media, monthly newsletters, and consistent communication with your clients. 

But, if you want to break your sales goal before the end of the year, try adding one or more of these methods into your marketing strategy:

• Create gift guides

• Provide extra services (think gift wrapping and delivery)

• Offer holiday specials

  
  

How Do I Find the Time to Do All This?!

We’ve discussed how important it is to keep things on track with your business during the holiday season. But, now you’re probably wondering — how can I ramp up my business while still getting everything done that I need to during the holidays?

Luckily, there are a few ways you can streamline your business during the holidays — both online and in-person.

Streamlining Your Social Media

While you’re out shopping, wrapping presents, and decorating the house for the holidays, you’re probably not thinking about the last time you posted on your business page.

To avoid gaps in your posting set aside a few hours to create a holiday content calendar — decide when you’ll post and what you’ll post. Then, spend some time getting all your graphics, photos, videos, and captions ready. Once it’s all set, log onto Facebook’s Meta Business Suite to schedule all your content in advance!

When the time comes, each scheduled post will automatically publish itself to your Facebook business page, group, and Instagram. Then all you have to do is keep up with engagement. Take a few minutes every day to comment on others posts and be sure to answer any comments and messages you get promptly!

Streamlining Your In-Person Practices

Unfortunately, there’s no way to schedule out the in-person work you have to do for your business. But, even though this is a busy time of year, there are ways to set aside enough time to do everything you need to keep your business running smoothly!

Dedicate one day each week for deliveries — sort your packages into two groups: packages that will be sent in the mail, and packages to be delivered in person. 

Head to the post office first to mail everything out, then start making your in-person deliveries!

Although this will definitely take some time out of your holiday preparation, it’s essential to get your packages out in a timely and orderly fashion. Having dedicated time to do this will make it all feel a lot less stressful!

Tackling the Holiday Season to Meet Your Goals

With everything that goes into preparing for the holiday season, it would be easy to take a break from your business for just a couple of weeks. But, that’s not a move you want to make.

The holiday season is the biggest shopping time of the year, and pushing through could help you reach (or even exceed!) your sales goal. 

Planning is key to meeting your sales goals, building relationships with clients, and running the best small business you possibly can! 

And, if you need help getting everything done, book a consultation with Promote Creatively so you can start streamlining your business and focusing on what matters most — your clients!