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10 Facebook Status Updates that Will Increase Holiday Sales Page 1

The holiday season is just around the corner so now’s the time to start strategically

planning Facebook status updates with one goal in mind: Sales! Sales-y status updates,

as any Gary Vaynerchuk fan will know, are called “right hooks.”

In the coming months, businesses will be posting more right hooks to attract shoppers,

but some of those right hooks won’t pack a punch strong enough to result in sales.

Why? Crafting status updates that produce real ROI is tough – it’s more of an art than a

science.

When you’re selling on social your approach is everything. A well-crafted right hook

is not always one that’s in your face. Great right hooks are effective and catch people’s

attention for the right reasons, like using personable, concise copy and stand-out

imagery.

Here are ten tips that will help you craft the kinds of Facebook status updates that will

help you sell this holiday...

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When crafting sales-related posts, think about why people have become fans

of your business. For early access to sales? For access to monthly giveaways?

Whatever the reason, use status updates this holiday season to deliver special

offers that your fans have come to love and expect from you.

Kate Spade New York (KSNY) is the master of this. Kate Spade fans know the

brand frequently announces surprise sales on their Facebook Timeline. Fans

know to check the Facebook Page on a regular basis to learn about these

discounts. In the example to the right, take a look at how many people liked

the post and how many people shared it. Those numbers suggest these sales

are very popular.

GIVE YOUR FANS WHAT THEY EXPECT FROM YOUR BRANDTIP #1

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Bragging about yourself isn’t nearly as effective as letting someone else do it

for you. The headphone company Grado knows this well. Their Facebook Page

only has about 1,700 fans, yet their status updates (in which they often share

links to outsider reviews of their product) get consistently high engagement.

So how can sharing posts that link to reviews lead to sales? Well, according to

a survey conducted by Dimensional Research, 90 percent of respondents

who recalled reading online reviews claimed that positive online reviews

influenced their buying decisions. This statistic shouldn’t surprise anyone,

as many people turn to the internet to do research before they make large

purchases, like a pair of pricey headphones.

SHARE GOOD THINGS OTHER PEOPLE SAY ABOUT YOUR BRANDTIP #2

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Besides the enticing question and the mouthwatering photo, the small

downtown Reno, Nev. restaurant SoDo has done two other smart things with

their Facebook status update: They have a crystal clear call to action and also

share a link to a webpage where people can make a reservation.

The ”tempt, inspire and enable” formula works really well when used in a

Facebook post. It’s one of the most savvy ways to collect new leads.

SHARE A PHOTO THAT MOTIVATES SOMEONE TO TAKE ACTION TIP #3

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In marketing, the limited-time-offer has long been an effective tactic. Just

think about all those infomercials you’ve watched at 2:00 am; there’s often an

offer countdown timer in the upper right-hand corner of the screen ticking

away. Many people are motivated to pick up the phone before the two-for-one

deal expires.

Limited-time-only marketing doesn’t just work well in TV land, it works

exceptionally well on a platform where sharing can take place, like Facebook.

The Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, also in Reno, Nev. has a great example

of this kind of limited-time-only-offer post. They keep their copy concise,

yet playful, and their imagery bold. Notice the bright red text bars? The color

choice, red, is good for alerting users that a promotion is happening. What’s

more, look at the engagement numbers. More than half of the number of

people who liked the post also shared it.

MAKE YOUR OFFERS TIME SENSITIVETIP #4

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A recent LA Times story, “YouTube’s biggest stars are cashing in offline,”

contains a powerful quote from YouTube influencer Brittani Louise Taylor: “Any

company that has money is approaching YouTubers,” she said. And she’s right.

There’s a big reason brands are setting aside budgets for sponsorship and/or

partnership deals with influencers (people with large Instagram, Twitter, etc.

followings), bloggers and vloggers (video bloggers). These folks have massive

followings and their product recommendations drive sales, sometimes better

sales than traditional advertising.

Whatever industry you’re in, take the time to discover who the influencers are.

When you do, don’t be afraid to reach out – even if you’re a small business.

Strike up a posting agreement with an influencer, i.e., s/he has to post about

your brand X times in exchange for X amount of money, or give him/her a

special promotion code you can track and they can share during a period of

time, like in the example to the right. (Make sure you adhere to

FTC regulations regarding these kinds of partnerships.)

TEAM UP WITH AN INFLUENCERTIP #5

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Bottom line: Offering free shipping increases sales. Not convinced? Here are

some things to consider:

• Three out of four customers said they’d pick a vendor based on free-

shipping alone, according to the New York Times.

• Forty-four percent of online shoppers abandon their carts because of

high shipping costs, according to a Forrester Study.

• So far, in 2014, 63 percent of Amazon Prime customers have joined the

service because of free shipping.

With this knowledge in hand, this holiday season it would be wise to start

mixing free-shipping offers into your Facebook posts to encourage sales.

OFFER FREE SHIPPINGTIP #6

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Ninety percent of online shoppers at a major retailer’s website said they find

video helpful in making shopping and buying decisions. Additionally, retailers

who provide online video to show off their products report that the products

with video sell a lot more than products with no video, according to Video

Brewery.

It’s easy to share videos via Facebook posts so start integrating them into your

posting strategy more frequently to help boost sales now. Need inspiration?

Take a look at this post by em cosmetics. Your goal should be to have your

viewers say “I need that!”

SHARE A TUTORIALTIP #7

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Most businesses understand which of their marketing efforts result in the

greatest return. If you don’t know which of yours is the most powerful, now’s

the time to do some research. Once you’ve determined your business’s

highest converting content, use Facebook posts to promote them.

Not all types of content convert at the same rate for some brands as they do

for others. Meaning, offering an eBook might work extremely well to convert

users for one brand, but a well-produced video might be a better converter

for another business. Adroll, a retargeting advertising agency, likely knows that

people who attend their webinars have a higher conversion rate than users

who do not. Knowing this, it makes sense for them put a good deal of effort

into promoting their webinars, especially on Facebook where they have over

23K fans.

PROMOTE THE CONTENT THAT CONVERTS BEST FOR YOUTIP #8

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Lots of businesses host giveaways and/or contests to quickly gather leads –

i.e., email addresses – and use masterfully crafted status updates to promote

their efforts. Take the sorority apparel company Krass & Co. By promoting their

“Sorority Print Contest,” which is hosted on a Facebook app they built using

ShortStack, they’re able to collect valuable data from their target audience:

sorority “girls.”

Once Krass & Co.’s Facebook contest has wrapped up, they have the data

they need to remarket to their excited contest entrants. If you use this tactic,

don’t forget to email all the non-winners with a special offer, too. It could be

something like, “Shucks, you didn’t win this time, but here’s a special 15% off

discount code on us!” This is a proven tactic for helping spike sales.

PROMOTE A CONTEST OR GIVEAWAYTIP #9

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Of course this list had to be rounded off with a right hook from the master

himself, Gary V. Gary knows his fans are zealous and will jump at the chance

of owning a tee with one of his most popular quotes on it. He uses a Facebook

post with a nice graphic to deliver a solid right hook.

The social media titan throws his right hooks as infrequently as possible –

they’re more effective for him that way. If Gary were always trying to “sell” on

his social platforms, he wouldn’t have the devout audience he has today, let

alone an audience of people who are willing and eager to buy a t-shirt with a

quote of his on it!

CATER TO YOUR AUDIENCE’S LIKES/INTERESTSTIP #10

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Socially Stacked.

The holiday season is special, it only comes once a year. Right hooks are

special, too. Don’t abuse them. Not sure what your right hook posting sweet

spot is? Here’s an analogy to keep in mind: Think about your Facebook Page

like a cake.

Informative, entertaining and/or inspirational content (that does not sell) is the

cake. Promotions and giveaways are the frosting – the sweet stuff fans love.

And your right hooks, well, they’re like the pinch of salt you add to your cake’s

mix. If you add too much salt, you’ll ruin your cake. But with just the right

amount, you’re able to maximize flavor. Or to be more specific, mixing a right

hook in once for every ten posts is a good place to start. So if you’re posting

3-6 times a day, that means you can plan to post about 1-3 hard-hitting right

hooks a week. Now, let the holiday season begin!

CONCLUSION