SOCIAL MEDIA SURVIVAL GUIDEA HOLIDAY-THEMED GUIDE for using social media to promote your local business.

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Get in the Social Media Spirit!‘Tis the season for using social media to direct holiday shoppers to your local business, and at Main Street Hub, we want to help you get in the holiday spirit and get more customers! In this guide, we will share valuable tips that will help you reach more customers during the most wonderful time of the year. Customers want to engage with your business on Facebook and Twitter. They are talking about your business on Yelp and Google+. Using social media in the right ways will be key to getting the most out of these sites during the holiday season.

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Your business can take advantage of all of the engaged social media users this holiday season. Customers are going to spend their money somewhere as they check off their holiday shopping lists and it should be with your business!

Post your photos, sales, deals, giveaways, specials and events. Show off your business and share interesting content. Spread the cheer!

52% of shoppers said they would use social media for holiday shopping in some way.

36% of shoppers plan on using social media to look for discounts.

32% of shoppers plan to use social media to research gift ideas.

Main Street Hub is the voice for more local businesses than any other company. Our full-service marketing platform combines social media, customer reviews, and email marketing to help local businesses get more customers and keep them coming back while saving them valuable time.

We put you in the driver’s seat while we engage with customers across multiple social channels, extend your customer service, and manage your online reputation.

Why Social Media Matters During the HolidaysMost consumers will be actively engaged with social media as they set out to do their holiday shopping. Just last year, 30% of shoppers made purchases as a direct result of engagement with social media.

And analysts expect to see a even more social media based shopping.

Experts say the use of social media for shopping research, consultation with friends and purchasing will only increase as platforms continue get more users and get easier to navigate, especially on mobile devices.

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Holiday Shopping Facts

Consumers are ready to shop:

Holidays are huge for businesses:

In-store and local is where it’s at:

74% of retailers said +20% of their annual

sales come during the holiday season.

The National Retail Federation predicts

that holiday sales will be up 3.7% compared

to last year.

Up to 30% of adults are planning on spending

locally this season

These numbers signify that if you’re not feeling the holiday rush yet, you will soon, and it’s important that you’re prepared! Regardless of what kind of small business you own, the holidays are a time where consumers are out and spending and the data shows that they’re more likely to be spending with you.

Get Your Online Presence Ready for the HolidaysWhether you run a restaurant, auto-repair shop, or salon, it’s important that you get involved with social media. By being present and engaged online, you’ll stand out as the business to use this winter, and you’ll influence customers past, present, and future to visit you over the holidays.

of respondents said they have bought a product because of something they saw on Twitter.

of consumers say Facebook has influenced them to buy a gift.39% 64%

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STUCK ON WHAT TO POST?

TOP TEN IDEAS FOR YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA

Holiday Posts

Photos of your product or service. People are ready to spend money, and posting great content about your business is more likely to influence them to use your business. It’s important let everyone know what you have to offer this holiday season!

Questions. What’s your favorite part about winter? What are you most hoping for under the tree this year? What are you thankful for? The holidays have so many aspects that are true for all of us, so it’s a great way to stay engaged and talk about something other than your business.

Photos of festive cheer. Has your business dressed up during the holidays? Show it off! Nothing makes people feel more in the spirit than a little bit of tinsel or twinkling lights, and fans of your business will love to see the festive facelift you have given your business.

Holiday countdowns. Nothing gets people motivated to go out and shop than the realization that certain holidays are just around the corner. You shouldn’t do this every day, but a simple reminder will get people excited and engaged.

Great reviews. If a customer has taken the time to write great things about you, publicly sharing their love is a wonderful way to thank them and highlight all the hard work you and your team have done.

Holiday specials or offers. Let people know what’s different about your business this season. Be sure to promote it on your social media pages to inform your audience and entice them your way! Do this sparingly, though -- you don’t want to inundate your followers with the same material.

Holiday pop culture. Jump into the holiday pop culture conversation! Mention holiday favorites like “Home Alone,” “Elf,” and “Miracle on 34th Street.” It will make your page both festive and relevant.

Tips and tricks. As the owner of a business, chances are you know a great deal about your industry, so share helpful tips with your followers -- they’ll love it. For example: cocktail ideas from bars and restaurants, fitness tips from gyms, or holiday hairdo inspiration from salons. The list goes on, and the engagement goes up!

Local love. The holidays are full to the brim with community events, and broadcasting those events will make your followers excited about the happenings in their neighborhoods. You can also use local, relevant hashtags to reach out to your community and join the conversation.

Seasons greetings. Nothing is easier or more well-received than wishing your friends, family, and fans a happy holidays. You can even take the time to thank them for their support throughout the year.

FOUR STEPS

Sources: American Express, CNN Money, NRF, The American Genius, Bloomberg, Marketing Adept, Marketing Land, Small Business, Survey, Crowdtap, Channel Advisor, Google

Update your business information.

Check to see that the basics have been covered on your social media pages: location, menu, contact information, booking information, and links to your website. That way, customers will have all the information they need at their fingertips.

Also, be sure that all of your holiday hours are updated and easy to access. If potential customers can’t figure out if and when you are open, they may go elsewhere.

Stay active.

Dealing with the holiday rush can take up a lot of your time, but it’s not the time to let your online presence slip. Try to create a content calendar, and dedicate a few minutes every day to ensuring you stick to it.

The holiday season is an important time for you and your business, and it can be incredibly profitable. By using social media in the right ways, you’re guaranteed to reap the rewards. Don’t underestimate the influential power social media has on spending habits!

Stay on top of review sites.

With so much extra business coming your way, it’s extra important that you’re taking the time to respond to the people giving you feedback. If 88% of buyers are reading reviews, they trust review sites as much as personal recommendations. Nearly 90% of all consumers make spending decisions based on these reviews.

Taking time to reach out to customers and thank them for their review or answering their complaints builds rapport and helps you stay at the forefront of their minds. It can even have the added benefit of negative reviewers updating their rating based on the personalized response they received.

Post relevant content.

The great thing about the holiday season is that people are already excited. You don’t need to spend a lot of time figuring out what to post because basic things about the season make for relevant, relatable content. Simply asking fans of your pages if they’re prepared for the holidays or wishing them season’s greetings can get people engaged!

Looking for great content? Consult Pinterest, Tumblr, or even Google holiday images. Posts with a photo are almost 51% more likely to get engagement than a post with just plain text.

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FOR SPREADING CHRISTMAS CHEER

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43% 61%

330%259%

more

LET US DO IT FOR YOUYou’re a local business owner -- we know you’re busy. You don’t have the time to both run your business and perfect your web presence this holiday season. But we can do it for you. At Main Street Hub, we provide a full service do-it-for-you marketing platform that engages with your current and potential customers across multiple platforms to save you valuable time.

WHAT WE’LL DO FOR YOU:

Grow your fanbase: We will grow your fanbase by optimizing your social media profiles and using targeted advertising to attract customers in your area, pulling them away from your competitors.

Engage and motivate your audience: We turn audience members into customers by creating original, engaging content and offers that drive traffic to your website and storefront.

Protect your reputation: We will maintain your business’ reputation and rapport with your customers by responding to all Yelp and Google+ reviews, starting conversations and building long-term relationships.

Track your results: We will monitor engagement and interaction with your business by providing a customized dashboard to track key metrics, indicating areas for improvement and opportunities for growth.

reputation exposurea better online more

customers

No long-term contract.

Call us: 888.900.0920Email us: sales@mainstreethub.com

Let’s Connect:

We partner with you for 90 days. After that, it’s month-to-month.

WHAT YOU’LL GET:

Increase in monthly Yelp traffic

Increase in Facebook fans

TYPICAL CUSTOM RESULTS AFTER 90 DAYS AFTER 180 DAYS

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