You Better Watch Out

Don’t be surprised if you get a Facebook friend request from Santa Claus, Hanukkah Harry, the Holiday Armadillo, or whoever your favorite festive personality is this holiday season. That’s because more people will be using social media this year to help with their shopping than ever before, and even Kris Kringle knows to go where the people are.

A new study by Deloitte of more than 10,000 adults in the U.S. reveals that 17% of shoppers plan to use social media sites as a part of their holiday shopping. Of those using sites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, 60% say they will do so to seek out sales, discounts, and coupons; 53% intend to use the sites to research gift ideas; and 52% say they will use the sites to check the wish lists of friends and family.

No surprise: the highest number of potential social media users are in the 18-29 age group (52% said they will use social media to shop). But the numbers in other groups are also considerable: In the 30-44 age group, 33% said they will use social media as a shopping tool, and in the 45 to 60 age group, 10% plan to do so.

The message seems to be clear: If you’re not already spending time building a stronger presence on social media sites, now is the time to do so. In your email campaigns, tell your readers that they can also find you on Facebook or Twitter, or whatever site(s) you’ve chosen to use. Keep those sites active all season (and beyond) by sharing photos of your place of business in the festive spirit and by promoting site-specific discounts and sales. If you’re a nonprofit organization, you can use social media sites to promote your group’s good deeds and any successes you’ve seen this year, or to make additional appeals for funds.

And of course, show off your most desirable holiday gifts on the social media sites, so those ideas can be easily shared with your network's friends and family. It's much easier for your customers to show gift-givers what they want than it is for them to describe those gift ideas, and if customers have a direct link to your website (where they can either buy the gift or can find directions to your place of business), that makes things even easier for everyone.

Finally, email and social media feed off each other, so of course, don’t forget to mention that if customers are enjoying learning from you on the social media sites, they can also sign up for your email mailing list, where they’ll get additional insights. (Click here for more specific social media list-building tips.)

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Chrismukkah, or another holiday, it’s no fun to do it by yourself. Join the crowd by actively participating in social media activities this season and you may find yourself at the hottest party in town.