As the holiday season fast approaches, businesses need to be prepared not only at their location, but online as well. There are a number of simple tips and tricks that you can do as a business owner to make sure everything goes smoothly.
Holiday Hours:
If your business is opened for extended holiday hours or is closing early, it’s important to let your customers know! It is generally recommended that you make the change 2-3 days before the time change is to take into effect.Display your holiday hours not only on your website, but your Google+ profile, Yelp Profile, and any major listing site you can think of. You want to make sure as many different outlets are covered as there are many different options to find information about your business.
Pin an Important Post:
If your business is running a holiday giveaway or promotion on Google+, you may want to consider pinning your post. Pinning will continually highlight the post on your page making it visible for a specific allotted amount of time. To learn how to pin a post, click here.
Holiday Trends:
Take a look at Google Trends for your business and see over time how people have been searching to find items online. A simple search term like “Christmas gift ideas” can paint a picture of when your business should start promoting. Google Trends provides a number of crucial benefits including the topics you are looking for; Interest over time, regional interest, and related searches.
Plan for Restless Shoppers:
According to thinkwithGoogle, nearly 1/3 of the online shopping related purchases will occur between the hours of 10pm and 4am. If you have AdWords, you should adjust your budget accordingly in preparation for the increased traffic during this “peak time.”
Managing your Pages Correctly:
If you are a manager of your page, it is especially important during the holiday season to be continuously checking your Google My Business page, social media, and other pages to make updates and changes to your pages. If customers are writing reviews or leaving your messages, it’s important to answer them as quickly and thoroughly as possible.
Know Important Dates in December:
During the month of December, there are a number of non-official holidays in December that as a business owner you should be aware of. The first is December 8th, also known as “Green Monday.” This is generally the cut off point for most postal companies to get packages delivered before Christmas. Another unofficial holiday is on December 20th, known simply as “Super Saturday.” Super Saturday is the last Saturday before Christmas and is generally the last major shopping day before the holiday. The goal of Super Saturday is to target the last minute shoppers offering one-day sales to accrue last minute revenue.