Here are 11 ways you can use social media to increase sales in the New Year for your business.

2020 is here. And, if you are anything like other business owners or marketers or salespeople you are trying to figure out how to use social media to increase sales in the New Year.

You see, social media has over the years proven to be a cost-effective marketing channel for brands.

Don’t take my word for it: According to Buffer’s State of Social Report for 2019, 73% of marketers believe their marketing efforts on social media has been “somewhat effective” or “very effective” for their business.

With a fraction of traditional marketing budgets, companies and individuals can now reach their target customers. They can now more efficiently engage with their audience, and of course, drive revenue.

And, if you think this trend is slowing down anytime soon, you may want to think again.

A Zenith Media forecast predicted that social media ad spend will increase by 20% in 2019 to topple print media as the third most preferred advertising channel by marketers only behind TV spend (29%) and Search (17%).

Social media becomes number 3 in the advertising channel ranking preferred by brands only behind TV and Search.

Interestingly, the rise in social media ad spend is fueled in part by small businesses like you aiming to take advantage of the increasing time consumers spend on these platforms.

The increase in social media ad spend is fueled by small businesses.

According to GlobalWebIndex, social media users spend on average 2 hours and 22 minutes. During this time they are messaging their friends while 54% of users are researching brands and products.

Considering the data above, it is no wonder brands are falling over themselves to grab consumer attention on social media.

The question now is, how do you use social media to drive sales for your business in the New Year?

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11 Ways to Use Social Media to Increase Sales in The New Year

Use hashtags (#) to increase the reach of your content

Using hashtags is still as effective as it was when it was discovered years ago. Many other businesses will be promoting their products or services on social media platforms as well.

But if you want to be highly noticeable, don’t focus on and use only one hashtag. Make use of a variety of hashtags, including generic options like #hotsale, #holidaysale, etc. along with a highly unique hashtag that accurately describes the focus of your business.

Then, once you have been able to establish a happy medium in which you show up first in the hashtags you use, start using that combination across all your targeted social media platforms.

Send a New Year email

Many savvy marketers believe that sending an email to wish happiness to the people that you genuinely care about can do wonders. These people, of course, are your customers and sending them New Year greetings show that you care deeply for them.

The email, of course, should contain – besides the customary New Year greetings – the ways they can take advantage of the promos you are putting out on your social media pages.

You may like: Email Marketing Ideas to Increase Sales in The New Year

The best time to send emails is on New Year’s Eve as most people’s inboxes are usually flooded with lots of emails on New Year’s Day. This will also make your would-be customers sense that your brand holds them in high esteemed.

You may as well sweeten the deal by offering a discount to anyone who visits your social media pages via the email you sent to them.

Clear out old inventories with flash sales

One of the fastest ways to drive massive online sales, primarily through social media, is via flash sales. Flash sales have this power of creating a sense of urgency that is difficult to ignore.

So, get a product – or a bunch of them – and offer a special, one-off price for a limited period.

Let your followers know – via emails or on your business pages – your intention to have a flash sale. But do not mention the exact date such an event will occur.

This will keep your prospective and existing customers on their toes as they continuously check your news feed to find out when the flash sale is taking place.

But before then, make sure that your website can handle the deluge of traffic that is sure to come when you finally start the flash sales.

Usher in the New Year in a grand style on social media

The New Year is an excellent period to get your brand noticed all over several social media platforms. So, usher in the New Year with stately online elegance and splendor.

Start by coming up with a new and highly customized, attention-getting avatar for your brand. Your followers should catch sight of this avatar, and this could boost your brand awareness no end.

Welcoming the New Year this way will also put your brand at the top of your potential customers’ minds at the right time.

Aggressively promote free shipping

The holiday season is the period when many individuals make most of their purchases online. Many companies who use social media to sell their products make lots of profit on shipping costs.

Now, you should be different; instead of adding shipping costs to products purchased via your online business page, you should offer free shipping.

You can do it by offering free shipping to only the individuals who click a link from your Twitter, Instagram or Facebook account.

Not only will your followers, “Likes,” and mentions blossom astronomically, but your sales from this type of promotion will likely triple or even quadruple.

Just make sure that you have well-stocked products that will cater to the needs of your shoppers before rolling out your offer of free shipping to any destination.

And of course, you should secretly add the costs of shipping to your products.

Ensure your retail site is mobile-friendly

If your website is not mobile-friendly, now’s the time to get in touch with your developer.

Everywhere you go today, people are nearly always buried in their mobile gadgets as they check the goings-on around the world.

Most people also access their social media accounts through their mobile devices.

So, it makes sense to presume that any sales promotion that you put out on Facebook or other social media platforms will be accessed via a smartphone or tablet.

Of course, the last thing you’d want to do is to annoy your prospective and existing customers with a non-mobile-friendly site that is slower than a snail.

Buying items on such a website can be a hassle and a huge turn-off. So, get your developer – or a mobile commerce provider – to work to build you a customer-friendly or mobile-friendly website.

Use giveaways to generate quality leads for your business

Have you considered generating new leads via the social media platforms you use? The perfect time to do so is now, thanks to the holidays.

Start by promoting giveaways which will require those interested in giving up their contact details on your sign-up page.

You may even include a checkbox which indicates the option for them to receive additional incentives via newsletters.

Interested parties will not only win great gifts – or a discount off a new product as the case may be – but will also be more attentive to your newsletters.

Giveaways are perfect ways to generate leads while gaining massive recognition for the brand.

It will also boost social engagement, which is something that Facebook loves passionately and promotes on your behalf.

So, make sure that every individual who wants to participate in the giveaway promo “likes” your Facebook page or “follows” you on Instagram or Twitter.

Link to your website from your social media profiles to increase epxosure

It is assumed that your website has lots of eye-catching buttons that link all your social media accounts on your site. This is a great way of getting your readers or visitors to share valuable content online.

But what about your email signature? Have you ever considered adding a link to your email signature or include them in your newsletters or blog posts? If you haven’t, now’s the best time to do so.

Leverage social media advertising to drive sales

Facebook, the #1 social media platform in the world today has more than 1 billion users. Your target audience is in there somewhere, but you may not be able to get to them via ordinary posts.

However, if you want to make significant, bank-breaking sales, you should invest heavily in social media by creating targeted ads.

Targeted ads will always ensure high visibility for your brand, and this can significantly improve your chances of driving massive sales through social media.

You can create targeted ads for Facebook and Instagram on one ad platform, thereby making it easier to reach hundreds of thousands of your potential customers.

Hire social media influencers to boost reach and engagement

Influencer marketing has continually been on the rise as it has become a highly popular marketing tool.

According to Annalect and Twitter, nearly 40 percent of Twitter users say they make purchasing decisions after seeing the tweet of an influencer.

Therefore, start utilizing the power of influencers by getting them to feature your products in their videos or photos strategically.

You can also get them to tell an engaging story about your brand. Get them to promote unique discount codes and watch your sales skyrocket.

Do you support any newsworthy cause? share it on social media

If you are looking for a super-quick way to generate positive publicity on social media, you should involve your brand in an important cause.

This could be anything from sponsoring a local non-governmental organization or running a charity event to sponsor a children’s workshop.

Just make sure you do something that puts your brand in a positive spotlight. The thing is, according to this report on Forbes 87% of customers are far more likely to purchase products from brands that support a good cause. So, ride on this fact, and see your sales soar.

Wrapping up…

Now that you know 11 ways you can use social media to your advantage when it comes to increasing sales on New Year’s Day, get to work right away if you want to see astounding results!