How to get consumers to recommend your holiday messages - SmartBrief

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How to get consumers to recommend your holiday messages

3 min read

Brands & Campaigns

Holiday marketers, your traditional plans are already rolling out, but as we speak, 64.8% of your consumers are still turning to social media for gift ideas. So why not give your holiday marketing an extra boost? It’s never too late to partner with your consumers and inspire them to engage in some last minute social sharing.

According to Nielsen, 92% of consumers say they trust earned media, such as recommendations from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising. Here are three quick ways to encourage consumers to make last minute holiday recommendations that will help increase sales:

Take a real-time pulse on your consumers and give them something you know they’ll share

Before you rush to knock out a last minute piece of content, gather some real-time insights to ensure the content you create is something your fans and followers will appreciate and share. Leverage a platform like Crowdtap to receive instant feedback from your consumers on their current pain points. Who is the toughest person to buy for this year? What deals do they wish they’d see more of? Once you understand their pain points, provide them with the content they’re most likely to share. No access to real-time research? Use our holiday shopping infographic, which shows that 67.2% of holiday shoppers prefer to share content that helps their friends and family save.

Invite consumers to participate — then show off their work

Consumers trust content from their peers over brand content, so turn your blog and social channels into a hub for consumer participation and recognition. Social marketers recommend sharing four pieces of consumer-created content for every six pieces of content pushed out to social channels.  Last year, Dunkin’ Donuts hosted the Top of the WorlDD Photo and Video Contest to inspire Facebook fans to submit photos/videos of themselves wishing their loved ones a happy New Year. The winners were showcased on a massive billboard in Times Square on New Year’s Eve — talk about showing off your consumers’ work! Additionally, Dunkin’ Donuts was able to drive peer influence by sharing out a huge collection of authentic UGC across social media.

Provide Pinspiration

When it comes to gift inspiration, Pinterest takes the lead with 47.7% of consumers reporting that they turn to Pinterest for holiday gift ideas. According to a study by RichRelevance, Pinterest shoppers, on average, spend nearly $170 per session (compared to Facebook at $95 per session and Twitter at $70). With a rapidly growing member base of 70 million users (according to Semiocast), Pinterest is the mecca of holiday shopping.

It’s not too late to start pinning — holiday shoppers are still scrambling to find the perfect gift or throw the perfect event. Here’s a tip: Try to pin images that showcase the lifestyle of your brand by asking yourself, “How can my brand visually fit into someone’s life?” For example, Target is partnering with event planner David Stark to provide how-to demonstrations and product recommendations on Pinterest — helping consumers recreate the Target lifestyle at their own holiday parties.

‘Tis the season for last-minute recommendations across social media.  Follow these tips, and your consumers won’t be able to resist sharing away. Happy sharing!

Anna Kassoway is the chief marketing officer and Ana Méndez-Villamil is marketing coordinator at Crowdtap. Contact them today to learn more about how Crowdtap’s Social Influence Marketing Platform makes it easy for marketers to collaborate with and inspire consumers to create authentic content, generate unmatched social activity and provide valuable insights. For more of the latest holiday shopping trends and statistics, download this Crowdtap infographic.