Crystal Media

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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).

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5 Dos and Don’ts to Website Pop-ups

If you frequently surf the web, you’ve definitely encountered a website pop-up before. And, if you have your own website, there’s a good chance you have one built-in as well. So why are they so common? Well, pop-ups are a great lead generation tool and can have great conversion rates for your website when used appropriately. Keywords: used appropriately. Nothing can be more annoying and cause a bad customer experience than an unwarranted pop-up.

How can you ensure that your website pop-ups aren’t driving customers away? Check out these 5 Dos and Don’ts:

Do: Serve Your Pop-up at the right time.

Timing is everything. When someone lands on a page of your website and seconds later a pop-up appears it can greatly interrupt their experience. You want to give them sufficient time to explore the contents of your website before asking them to join your email list or to receive a discount on their purchase.

✅ Pro-tip: Getting the timing right ultimately leads to more sign-ups, so start by looking at the average time spent on your site. Then, have your pop-up trigger shortly before that time and see if your conversion increases.

Don’t: Have More than One Call to Action

Keep it simple. You want your pop-up to have a single, crystal clear Call to Action (CTA). The last thing you want to do is create confusion by giving them too many options because it can lead them to not take any action at all.

Do: Personalize Your Pop-ups

Personalization can make your pop-ups feel more friendly and less intrusive since their messaging can be targeted at specific audiences. The best way to do this is to base the pop-up on the referral source. A referral source could be your other social media accounts or a blog you were featured in.

Don’t: Make the Pop-Up Hard to Close

If your pop-up is difficult to exit out of you’re creating a bad user experience that can steer people to leave your site altogether. Make sure your closing element is prominent on the page and not too close to the edge of the screen giving viewers a clear exit path especially on mobile devices.

Do: Test!

Testing is the only way you’re going to find out if something is working or not. Play around with different types of lead magnets, offers you give, and the design of the pop-up. Try out different timing strategies like when they’ve scrolled 50% down the page or right before they exit your site. By doing this you’re going to figure out what works best for you and allows you to grow your leads and increase your conversions.

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4 Ways to Encourage More User-Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) can be a powerful marketing tool, with so many benefits to incorporating it into your marketing strategy. It can help save time, take the guesswork out of creating content on your own, increase engagement and brand loyalty, and broaden your overall reach. (Phew- that’s a lot!)

So how can you leverage UGC for your business? All you have to do is ask! Check out these 4 ways to encourage your audience to share their content with you:

  1. Engage with your audience regularly. By simply responding to comments/feedback, answering questions, and participating in discussions, you humanize your brand and give your audience a reason to relate to you. This builds trust and opens the door for them to share more with you. 
  2. Offer an incentive or reward. The reward or incentive doesn’t have to be monetary. You can feature customers in a newsletter, share their images on your website/social media, or even use them in a blog post.
  3. Create your own branded hashtags. These can be a strategic way to promote new products, describe your business, or refer to your community of followers. When promoted correctly, they can help motivate your audience to start including them in their own posts.
  4. Allow for a photo-op in-store. Showcase a cute decal on your dressing room mirrors or have a fun photo booth/space set up along one of your walls. People go out of their way to find creative photo-op spots to share on their feeds, so use this as an opportunity to drive them to your store.

And one more note: Before starting to share your followers’ images, videos, testimonials, etc., it’s important to make clear that if an individual shares this content with you that he/she is consenting to it being used/posted by you. The last thing you want is someone to deem you untrustworthy for taking their content without permission.