The holiday season is here—the busiest time of year for nearly all product businesses. With shoppers desperately searching for the perfect gift to give on Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and more, the opportunities for sales to spike are endless.

The question is: how can you maximize your chances for success by using social media to reach your customers in their natural habitat? We’ve got some thoughts:

Tactics for Social Media Marketing During the Holidays

Timing

For millions of Americans, holiday shopping begins the day after Thanksgiving. So, why not use this to your advantage? A great way to leverage your social media communities is to consolidate your Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. People will be online shopping this entire weekend so why not give them something to talk about? This is what many online users call “Cyber Week.”

Timing is everything when it comes to social media marketing. And while “Cyber Week” tends to be a popular time for holiday shoppers, do not underestimate the power of the first two weeks of December, as well. It’s important to remain consistent during this time so that your brand is top of mind for customers when they consider making holiday purchases.

Create valuable, shareable content

A year-round social media tactic that we highly suggest to all of our clients is creating valuable, shareable content. That said, the holiday season is no exception! In fact, according to Google Trends (see trend analysis below), the term “gift guide” receives one of the highest spikes in Google search traffic every year around the holidays.

So, how can you maximize? Blog posts, of course! Consider creating various gift guides that would attract your target customer. One method is to target certain demographics by writing pieces like “Best Holiday Gifts for Kids” or “The Holiday Gift Guide for Your Dad.” Another method would be targeting hobbyists by writing pieces like “10 Holiday Gifts for the Sports Fan in Your Life” or “2016 Holiday Gift Guide for Tech Geeks.” Not only will these attract your perfect customer, but they will also be highly shareable on social media for those within this demographic. If a die-hard sports fan is looking to give his or her family some ideas this holiday season, a passive share on Facebook is not out of the question!

Invest

Did you know that Facebook organically shares your content with less than 2% of your following? This means that if you have 100 Likes, only 2 of them will see your post. The same rule applies for major networks like Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. The best way to combat this dwindling organic reach percentage is to invest in social media advertising!

We’ve talked about ways you can complement your organic strategy with paid ads on Facebook in the past. However, we think the holiday season is one of the most crucial times to leverage this affordable, powerful tactic. Through Facebook advertising, you can customize your audience to determine exactly who sees your ads or Facebook offers, through keyword-rich targeting.

For example, let’s say you are a consumer electronics brand selling headphones. In order to grow your Facebook audience this season, you may want to run Facebook ads against users ages 25 and up, who own a smartphone, listen to Spotify and follow pop artists like Lady Gaga or Drake. This would ensure that your product is a relevant and applicable gift for all social media viewers. Catch our drift?

We’ve been thinking about Q4 for a while, now! It’s time you do, too. Before the big CES rush in January, we believe these tactics will help launch your brand into the new year in a big way.

What are some of your plans to utilize social media this holiday season? Be sure to share your own creative campaigns in the comments below!