COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the business landscape – and no one has had to pivot harder than small businesses. As consumers stay home and log on, technology has become essential to how we connected with education, jobs, families and our communities. For small businesses, this means their lifeline is now online. In fact, according to Facebook’s final State of Small Business 2020 Report, more than a quarter of small businesses globally showed an increase in their proportion of digital sales during the pandemic in order to meet consumers’ new online demand.
In the final weeks heading into the 2020 holiday season, there is still time for small businesses to capitalize on this offline to online trend. Here are my five tips to make the most of this time:
Tip #1: Shoot Your Holiday Products at Home
Refreshing your small businesses’ content for the holidays with an emphasis on giftable items is the first step. Shooting your own products can be intimidating at first, but it really is easy to do! You only need your mobile device, good lighting and a few props you can find around your house to make content worthy of an Instagram influencer. Check out how to make a quick DIY studio here. You can also easily refresh photos you already have by incorporating your brand’s color, changing the photo’s background or combining multiple photos to get a fresh look.
Tip #2: Add Holiday Flare to Your Content
Adding some holiday flare to your content is a great way to make your website, emails, social media or online advertising pop. If you’re making new content, pick a consistent visual style using fun, seasonal props like pinecones, ornaments or bows. If you’re repurposing existing content, consider adding stickers and filters in Instagram This is an easy way to add some holiday magic to your content for free.
Tip #3: Assemble an Easy to Shop Gift Guide
Now that you have some holiday creative ready to go, package it into a gift guide or a gift box. Make sure you have a variety of price points and an audience in mind. For example, you might want to do things like “gifts for her,” “gifts for him,” “gifts for kids” “gifts for mom,” or “gifts under $50,” depending on what it is you sell. Draw inspiration from the people in your life — who are you shopping for this holiday season? Remember, self-gifting is a huge trend too!
Jerina Vincent from JNJ Craftworks in Verona, Wisconsin, has seen a ton of success this year by bundling some of her products up into lovely, creatively themed gift boxes: there’s a Baker’s Gift Box, the Cozy Gift Box, the Virtual Hug Gift Box and much more. All her content is shot on a piece of paper with a marble print and holiday props from around her house!
Tip #4: Reach Your Customers with Advertising
The best place to start advertising is by connecting with customers you’ve already got. On Facebook and Instagram you can use Custom Audiences to target your holiday ad sales campaigns to loyalty lists or email lists you’ve already got. Consider adding on Look Alike Audiences to expand your targeting to similar demographics as a quick way to drive scale and impact for your business. If you’re just getting started with Facebook advertising – you can get up to speed quickly here.
Tip #5: Take Advantage of Q5
Finally – don’t forget about “the fifth quarter of the year”! The post-Christmas period into mid-January may seem like a slow time, but consumers are active online, returning gifts and spending gift cards and holiday cash. And, this year they’re likely to still be staying close to home and doing sales things online versus going in-person. Think about a post-holiday push and how you can keep using your holiday creative with new messaging through early January.
If you’re a small business who has always been online or is using online as a life line during COVID this holiday season, it’s not too late to make a big impact with these simple tips and other online resources.
Kaitlyn Wilkins is the Global Director of Small Business Sales & Growth at Facebook.
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