Social for the Holidays: Tempering Expectations || Mascola B2B Marketing

Social for the Holidays: Tempering Expectations

Social media is a relatively new channel in the world of B2B marketing, and some are still reluctant to make the leap into this new digital landscape. That’s all well and fine, but for those who are in the trenches day in and day-out tweeting, updating, posting, and measuring metrics, it’s been a learning experience filled with lots of trial and error. Add in the holiday season, and you are faced with a dilemma: wanting to remain active on your channels during these months, while also knowing the return may not be as rewarding.

Let’s dive deeper into this…

During the months of November-January, there is a noticeable slowdown in nearly every area of business: leads, sales, marketing, social media, you name it– it seems like it’s put on hold. Why is that? Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza all happen within a few short weeks of each other, and chances are your target audience is celebrating at least one of them. And with these celebrations come vacations. With vacations, come breaks from work emails, calls, meetings, and anything else that would require professional attention. Unfortunately, social media is no stranger to these breaks, so engagements, interactions, clicks, replies, and all other social metrics take a hit.

Here’s what you can do:

1 ) Prepare. If you had stellar growth or engagement the other 10 months out of the year, it’s okay to have one or two months that are slow. There is still success to be found during these times! The months of November and December (unless you are a B2C business), will be a change in pace, but only because attention is shifted to cooking meals, traveling, and buying gifts. Instead of trying to stand above the noise with new product offerings, launches, or updates, get in on the action. Integrate these holidays into your social calendars. Be sure to recognize them with their own social posts, wishing your followers a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or Happy Kwanzaa. It’ll add a personal touch that will go a long way with your follower base.

2 ) Switch up your short-term strategy. Instead of blasting your social feeds with product launches, spotlights, white paper download calls-to-action, or other important business-related information, try to post about fun things your office may be doing to celebrate. Having a holiday party? Post pictures! Exchanging gifts? Let your audience know! These types of posts will resonate with your audience, show a human side, and potentially create a stronger relationship between buyer and seller.

3) Set realistic goals. Unless you’re running multiple paid campaigns, seeing substantial follower growth, engagements, or impressions during the holiday months may be a struggle. Instead, focus on other goals like maintaining a presence during the season (don’t go dark on social), or getting your holiday-related posts out there via your employees. Encourage them to retweet or share your company posts. This will help things like impression count and engagements while keeping everyone around you involved.

4) Have fun! This might seem a little on-the-nose, but it’s important to remember that at the end of the day, you’re maintaining a social media account to help your business. Sometimes that means getting in the holiday spirit, being creative, and enjoying yourself.