You had a great holiday retail season — congrats! Soak it up. You worked so hard and deserve to feel proud about your accomplishments. But have you ever heard, “You’re only as good as your last sale?” How depressing is that?!
I’ll never forget my first sales manager telling me that. I get it! Just because a person bought from you over the holidays doesn’t mean they’ll remain a customer. There are also no guarantees they’ll keep engaging with your social media or even keep following your page at all.
It’s not all whomp whomp and dark clouds, however.
Remember, while people buy for others during the holidays, they buy for themselves regularly throughout the year. Whether you do the social media marketing for your business yourself, have someone in-house handling the role, or maybe even have (or are considering) an outsourced social media manager partner, you can stay relevant all year — and not just be a one-hit holiday wonder.
So, how do you keep your customers feeling connected regardless of the person crafting your social media content? Here are some unique content strategies and ideas you — or your social team — can use all year round.
Content Strategy #1 — You Got ‘Em. Now Let’s Keep ‘Em by Showing You Love ‘Em.
What better way to say you truly love your customers than by giving them more without asking for anything in return?
Share ideas for new and creative ways to leverage what you already sold your subscribers — which gives them more bang for their buck. Here are a few examples:
- Sell a baking box? Let customers know they can use leftover ingredients mixed with something else from the cupboard to make a snack or a topping for a later creation.
- Toy box for kids? Give extension activities parents can do using things around the house that take advantage of your items after they’ve been used for the original project (as a mom, I know there’s nothing that an empty paper towel roll can’t be combined with for more fun). It will make them feel like they are getting double the value AND it keeps them happily following since you are giving them useful and relevant content that costs them nothing.
Think like a resourceful coupon clipper who knows exactly how to mix and match store deals with coupons for maximum benefit.
Pro tip: you could occasionally throw in a promo code in the body of one of these posts but make it a ‘P.S.’ so you don’t dilute the value you just delivered.
Content Strategy #2 — Share on Social Media What YOU Hear From Other Customers
This is not just about sharing testimonials from happy customers about how great your subscription business is. Give current followers behind-the-scenes access to what you hear every day as the owner and member of the team.
It’s a great day if a customer says “Huh! I never thought of using that for this!”
Ding ding ding!
Remember, social media posts can even share something traditionally viewed as ‘negative’ as long as you have a positive solution.
For example, a social media post could say, ‘We heard from Jill in Colorado today that she loves our sub box but is looking to cancel because our packaging is not recyclable. Actually, it IS recyclable. Not only is it recyclable, it’s made from recycled material and we have a spot on our website that tracks how many tons of trees we’ve saved from our company’s and customers’ recycling efforts alone. We’re so happy you brought up this concern, Jill! Thanks for your business.”
Or when you hear that a customer used your snack subscription box as a one-time gift for a neighbor who just had a baby? Share that to inspire another customer.
You see how sharing a story from the ‘inside’ can give other customers more ideas and information about the benefits of your products without sounding overly promotional? It also subtly reaffirms they made the right purchasing decision and gives them reason to keep following your socials.
This kind of content can really help continually surprise and delight your current followers with all that you do without packaging the info in a traditional testimonial format.
Content Strategy #3 — Partner. Partner. Partner.
Collaborations with other complimentary (not competitive) brands and subscription boxes can be mutually beneficial — all year long.
Make sure it’s an authentic fit or your partnership might feel forced or confusing to customers. You could work with a micro-influencer in a meaningful way or do a giveaway or two. But if that feels laborious or inauthentic, then try hosting an Instagram Live session with another co-founder and have a conversation.
Followers stay connected with people, not brands, so a conversation shows the human side of your company. On social, try to tag other company products in your box if applicable as those are easy ways for them to introduce your brand with a quick share.
Friendly reminder: Just because you’ve done this once, twice or 3 times before doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. Try it again!
Content Strategy #4 — Keep it Simple
You know your subscription box inside and out and you may think your customers do too. But let’s face it: People are busy.
Consider going back to the basics and being crystal clear about explaining who you are, what you do, why and how people use your products. It could inspire a long-time customer to spend more with you because maybe they missed the memo when this info was shared before. Or this post could convert a new customer who was unsure about what you actually sold.
It can be really hard for a business owner and key marketing team members to keep it simple because you are just too close to the source and living and breathing the subscription box every day. Your social media followers are not, so keep content simple for them.
“You never want to be in a conversation where the person you are talking to has no idea what you are talking about,” said New York Times Best-Selling Author Diana Kander. “Don’t worry about selling every bell and whistle. You’re just trying to earn a follow-up question by generating enough interest or curiosity to make your audience want to find out more.”
Leverage the Right Content Strategies on the Right Platforms
These are social media content strategies you can use to develop a year-long calendar to keep up your engagement and attract and retain followers. It’s up to you to decide what’s the best content format to get these messages across after the holiday sales rush. In other words, you may want to cover some of this info in Instagram posts or even get inspired by this for some new Reels topics.
For anything longer, a blog post might be the best medium (especially since it lives on your site longer). Looking to talk about these points on a podcast interview? Make sure to grab a clip for an audiogram to share on Instagram. If you have a social media manager, run this blog post by them — I’m optimistic it will spark an idea or two.
If all else fails when you want to use social media after the holidays to keep followers following, engaged and even buying more, evaluate your social media content strategies with this question: “Would this stop my scroll?” And if you are hesitating at all, then that content could be clearly missing the mark.
Go back to the points above and really dig deep for content topics, formats and community-building techniques that will keep your holiday followers following, engaged and buying more all year long.
Looking for more opportunities to market your business? Get professional advice on how to better your brand by attending SubSummit, the world’s largest subscription conference.
