Crystal Media

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Use FB Live For Game-Changing Small Business Saturday Results

Launched less than 10 years ago, Small Business Saturday is now a full-blown movement. It encourages people to shop locally, gives a boost to holiday sales, and connects your community. As you and your business prepare for the big day, make sure social media is an integral part of your strategy. I want to pass along one easy tip to take your SBS social to the next level: Facebook LIVE!

Going live increases Reach and Engagement, and produces great content that lives on after it is live. It’s an easy way to connect directly with your Followers and share what is happening in your business and at your store. We know it can be intimidating to go Live, but we promise it’s worth it. All you need is your phone (and decent lighting!). Here are some good times to hit that little red button:

👉 The Night Before: Walk through the store showing new products, products part of a special SBS promo or sale, or Event activities (food? drinks? giveaways?).

👉 During: Broadcast throughout the day highlighting must-have products, engaged customers, or fun Event happenings. 

👉 After: Hop on Live to say thanks to everyone who attended and what SBS means to you and your business.

Just as you connect with your physical community on SBS, take the opportunity to extend that connection to your social following as well.

**Pro Tip: You can pre-schedule some of the “Lives” (such as the Before video), using Facebook Premiere. After you upload your video and add pertinent info, choose Premiere instead of Publish Now!

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Use Facebook’s Automated Responses to Up Your Customer Service

I don’t know about you, but I have extremely HIGH customer service expectations.  Maybe it’s because I’ve worked in a variety of customer service jobs or maybe I just expect the best. 🤷🏻‍♀️ The team can vouch to this any time I’m describing a business I visited. I will start by either saying what great service they had or how I feel the service was lacking. My minimum expectation with any business is that I’m cheerfully greeted, engaged in conversation and all my questions are answered. The list can grow from there depending on whether I’m a regular, or the level of service the business claims to have.

I get it. There are times when it’s hard to offer great service to every customer that is walking in, calling you, or contacting you. But I have a tip that can make it much easier:  Use the Facebook Automated Responses to answer FAQs so your customers aren’t waiting hours for a response when you’re slammed. That’s it. Set it and forget it. Another great thing about Automated Responses is that you’re able to manage customer expectations by giving them a realistic time frame for how long it will take to receive a response.

Here is some of the info I would include and, of course, this will vary by business. 

  • Holiday hours
  • Any specials, promotions or events that are happening or coming up
  • Your return policy 
  • A link to your website if you sell online
  • How long it will take for you to respond

Take the time now to update this by going to your Facebook page —> Inbox —> Automated Responses —> Instant Reply. You may just save yourself having to deal with a lot of customer frustration later.

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5 Simple Ways to Share Gift Guides on Social

Finding the perfect gift can be a challenge, especially during the holidays. That’s why creating gift guides for your customers can be extremely helpful. It’ll take the guesswork off of them, and you’ll be their holiday hero.

Here are 5 simple ways to share gift guides on social this holiday season:

1. Create an album on Facebook. Group and upload all of your images by different categories i.e. gifts for her, gifts for him or gift for mom. Then add descriptions to each image including size, price, and availability. As items sell out make sure to update the album to reflect that. 

2. Create a flat lay and share on social. Flatlays are a great way to curate the items in your store. This works well to help give outfit inspiration or create the perfect self-care package using your products. As the name suggests you’ll want to lay the items against a nice clean background and arrange them face-up so you can see their details. 

3. Create a carousel post on Instagram. Similar to an album on Facebook, this allows you to share multiple photos at once (up to 10). Then, in your captions, you can include all of the product details.

4. Share your gift guides in Stories. You can do a series of images or videos showing off the items. Add stickers or GIFS to add some fun elements to them to catch viewers’ attention.

5. Go Live. Both Instagram and Facebook allow you to do a live video which is great for getting more engagement on social. You can do anything from a fashion show to a QVC-style sale. Have someone monitoring to see who’s interested in what item and offer to hold items for attendees until they can come shop in-store.

Remember, holidays can be stressful. Your customers are looking for ease and convenience when it comes to checking things off their lists. Use the strategies above to ensure they have a holly, jolly experience when shopping with you.

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Use In-Store Signage to Keep Customers Coming Back

It might sound funny coming from someone that will tell you if you don’t show up online you don’t exist, but the truth is, in-store signage (especially through the holidays) plays an integral role in your business as well.

Your store is about to be packed and (hopefully) have more customers than usual. Even better, NEW customers. I want you to leverage this time of year to help drive your business into 2020 and beyond.

If you’re reading this blog, you’re paying attention to your social media marketing- virtual high five for that! 🖐🏻 So get these new customers to follow you on social media while they’re in your store. You won’t have a better more captive audience than them!

It’s easy to create simple in-store signage with your social handles and place them in critical spots throughout your store (like at the register, in dressing rooms, or the restroom). You know as well as I do that, during busy, high-traffic times, it’s unrealistic to ask every customer to follow you on social media. So let the signs help! And, if you’re a CM Insider we have templates you can use by clicking on the Guides, Worksheets and Checklists icon on the Insider Dashboard. It’s one of our holiday gifts to you! 😉

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Get Discovered by More Holiday Shoppers with Hashtags

As we creep closer to the holidays (Thanksgiving is only 4 weeks away!), more people will be turning to social media to get inspired on everything ranging from the perfect gifts to the decorations on their Christmas trees. Which is why implementing a hashtag strategy can help you get discovered by more people across the Instagram platform.

Here’s a quick guide on how to target more people (and increase those sales!) through your Instagram posts this holiday season:

Use product-specific hashtags. Shoppers search product hashtags to find items and see what other people are saying about them. You can also include the names of the consumer-known brands you carry in-store (i.e. #verabradley, #alexandani, #pandora). Pro-Tip: Never tag the brand in your picture because it gives customers a way to purchase from them over you.

Use hashtags related to gifts people are looking for. Shoppers are always looking for help when it comes to finding the perfect gift for friends and family. Creating gift guides that include hashtags like #hostessgifts, #giftsforteacher or #giftsforcoffeelovers can be extremely helpful to potential customers.

Use location hashtags. Shoppers search local hashtags to find places to eat, spots to shop, and things to do in areas they’re visiting. This tried and true hashtag strategy helps you increase exposure and get in front of potential customers that might not know your area well (i.e. #carlsbad, #downtowncarlsbad, #northcountySD, #sandiego).