Top three social marketing tips for the holidays

How can brands take advantage of increased online sales this holiday season? By engaging with consumers who are spending an increasing amount of time in one place: the social space. I recently had the chance to chat with SocialCode CEO Laura O'Shaughnessy about trends in the social space; you can read Part I of my interview here. Today, Laura shares her top three tips for social commerce.

First, understand and deploy a viral accelerant. "Don't bet that your campaign will go viral," said O'Shaughnessy, "rather facilitate the action of sharing. Have content users want to share with others and make it really easy for them to do so."

Second, find the right users. Yes, that means target, target, target. "Take advantage of targeting via advertising on Facebook to connect with the exact right audience for your brand," she said. "Whether it is exercise enthusiasts, small business owners or influential moms who love cookies, Facebook is an amazing place to find the exact audience that is valuable to your brand."

Third, take advantage of the power of social suggestions. "Brands must think about ways to encourage social sharing during the holiday," advises O'Shaughnessy. "Choosing the right ad units to perpetuate sharing is one way to do this. For example, a brand may want to build fans, and by using social context is ads, targeting audiences may see something like: 'Laura O'Shaughnessy and 26 other people are fans'. This is powers - if I know one of my friends like it, I'm more apt to check it out and like it, too, especially if it looks like it could be a good holiday gift."

Tags: Laura O'Shaughnessy, social content, social marketing, social marketing tips, social trends, SocialCode