‘Tis the Season to Spruce Up Your Online Presence!

Why limit holiday decorating to your home?  As the mercury drops and the days grow short, why not dazzle customers with the digital equivalent of a string of twinkling lights?  Here are 10 easy ways to incorporate some festive flair into your digital presence this December.

1. “Winterize” Your Homepage.  As the digital face of your business, your homepage is the first impression customers have of you.  So make it a good one!  Seasonal touches like snowflakes in your header or a Santa hat atop your logo show personality and holiday cheer.  When backed up with prominently-placed markdowns and categories emphasizing affordable products (i.e., stocking stuffers, gifts under $30, etc.), your homepage can work as a sales tool to convert curious browsers into eager buyers.
2. Host a Holiday “Like” Campaign on Facebook.  Facebook offers a massive resource of untapped leads.  By offering users the chance to win a big-ticket item from your company’s product line in exchange for a “Like”, you can strengthen your Facebook presence and increase brand exposure and awareness.  Partnering with another company on a joint offer can make your giveaway extra-appealing AND give it the benefit of cross-promotion.
3. Get Hashtag-Happy.  Twitter users are actively searching for products, gift ideas, and coupons by using hashtags, so be sure to use them to your advantage.  Seasonal hashtags like #GiftIdea, #Hanukkah, #Christmas, and #Kwanzaa are a great starting point, but it’s also wise to determine the hashtags specific to your industry. Hashtags.org is a great place to start!
4. Create a Holiday-Themed Pinterest Board.  What’s key here is to make your board relevant to your industry.   Run a travel company?  Showcase pictures of holiday traditions around the world.  A restaurant?  Pin up holiday dishes and recipe ideas!  Not only is Pinterest a great tool for infusing your brand with personality, it is also a link-building goldmine (read: great for improving search engine rankings), so don’t forget to include a link to your website in each of your pins!
5. Send Out a Holiday e-Newsletter.  Offering existing customers access to exclusive deals, previews, or free shipping through an e-newsletter is a sure-fire way to generate repeat holiday business and make loyal customers feel special. Bonus points for using a catchy headline and a holiday-themed template!
6. Give Your SEO a Boost.  Given the number of people making purchases this month, it’s an especially important time of year to rank well in search engines.  Use Google’s keyword tool to determine the search phrases your potential customers are using and then be sure to use those keywords in the visible andMeta content of your website.
7. Further Improve Rankings with Paid Search. If you’re having trouble achieving that coveted first page Google ranking organically, it might be beneficial to experiment with a paid advertising campaign on Google AdWords or Microsoft AdCenter.  Given how much people shop at this time of year, the result may well be worth the extra spend!
8. Ensure Your Mobile Presence is Up to Snuff.  With 87% of consumers projected to make holiday purchases on mobile devices this year, it is absolutely crucial that your mobile website be as engaging and user-friendly as possible.  In addition to the website, consider creating a customized seasonal app or holiday-themed QR code, and sign up for mobile deal and location-based platforms like Groupon, Foursquare, and Yelp.
9. Deck The Blogs.  Your blog is a great way to engage customers and improve search engine rankings, so be sure to regularly post-holiday-themed content (peppered with the keywords you identified in #6, of course).  Gift guides, industry predictions for 2013, and fun ways to use your products or services this time of year all make for compelling (and sharable!) blog content.
10. Communicate Your Organization’s Charitable Work.  You can do this by putting out a press release or sharing news on Facebook or Twitter, highlighting your employees’ good works. Sharing the news will not only shed light on a good cause, but also generate publicity AND potential business opportunities down the road.

What marketing tips and tricks have you used to infuse your online presence with holiday cheer? Leave a comment below!

This guest post is courtesy Rebecca Rubin. She is a Digital Marketing and Social Media Specialist for award-winning full-service digital agency, Blue Water Media.  She can be contacted at [email protected] OR AT (301)389-0178. 

Image courtesy of anankkml / FreeDigitalPhotos.net