For everyday consumers, we know that the holiday season is probably one of the last things on their minds at this point in time – we’ve barely begun to enjoy the transition from summer to fall! But, for businesses, the holidays are a particular time of year that must be thought of and planned for well in advance. Have you gotten started yet?

If you have yet to strategize how you will take full advantage of the digital media landscape over the next few months, no worries, we’re here to help! As your digital marketing expert, we’ve put together our tips on how to maximize your social media efforts this holiday season below:

Find your platform: With so many businesses competing for consumers’ attention, you’ll first need to figure out which social media platform(s) is utilized most by your target audience. While having a presence on every social channel under the sun will certainly increase your visibility, keep in mind that it won’t do you any good if your consumers aren’t actually looking for your product or service in those areas. Not sure where your business belongs? Check out our expert tips to find out!

Focus on the content: It’s not enough to just post that you’re offering special sales or promotions this holiday season – at this point, anyone can do that. Instead, you must take the time to put together a cohesive plan that includes engaging and captivating content surrounding the message you’re trying to send. For example, create a catch phrase or hashtag, run a contest and/or design custom graphics for each post – originality and the willingness to engage with your audience is key. And speaking of graphics, you’ll most definitely want to update your cover photos and profile pictures to reflect the season and again, the message you want consumers to understand.

Create a schedule: Once you have an idea of the content you’d like to share, it’s time to create a schedule for when you’ll post it (without going overboard, of course). To determine this, first take a look at some social media analytical tools, such as Facebook Insights, and figure out when most of your fans are online. Additionally, take the time to research your ideal customer and think about when they are most likely to be found surfing the web. As soon as you have a clear understanding of your audience, you can then strategically plan for which days of the week you should post on and how often – depending on your business, you may find that only once or twice a day is necessary. (Don’t forget to take advantage of social media management tools for scheduling if you have access to them too!)

That all being said, if you’re a business owner, we know that time is something you may not have a lot of, especially during the holiday season – that’s why we’re here to help with all of your social media marketing efforts! To get started on a social media campaign with the Ferocious Media team, click here.