QUESTION: My business slows down during the winter, should I suspend or decrease my activity on social media?
Answer: NO! 🙂 There are several reasons for this that I will explain in this article as well as give examples of various industries.
The first and most important is page follower retention and how Facebook Algorithms Algorithm (disambiguation). work . Besides the obvious that if you do not share content people will stop visiting, Facebook Algorithms are set up so as that the more content engagement you have, (people liking, commenting or sharing) the more people will continue to see your posts and come up in search results for your niche market or business.
If you allow your page to stop producing content, basically and simply put, Facebook and your followers will shun your business page.
The result of this will be that, when you come back to your page again weeks or months later, you will effectively have a page that has a lot of likes, however when you post very few people will see it and you will have to start over again. This will mean massive amounts of time to message your followers one by one or pay to reach them via specialised ads, in either case you will have to prepare a lot of content for those that are wiling to return.You should be posting at least once per day on your page, minimum three times per week.
It is understandable that factors like, colder weather, higher power bills and some industries revenue dropping during the “off season” would make one think that, a slow down or pausing of social media efforts would be warranted and perhaps a good way to trim the fat until things pick up again.
However it can also send the message that, ok you are not all spending much so you do not deserve our so much of our brands content distribution. This can be a killer of your customer/client loyalty and thus effect future revenue streams. Try to remember that your social media presence is a extension of your business and in today’s world, the majority of your brand recognition and marketing is accomplished on social media via word of mouth and shares of your content, as the younger customers spend most of their time engaging with social media and each other on social media.
The other thing to consider is Christmas is in this season and people are spending more time indoors, thus your target audience will be on social media MORE not less. Also if you can provide quality content that is helpful and entertaining? You will become popular in the minds of your audience. During a season that generally sees peoples mood become not so cheerful, this can greatly help your brand or Niche build customer appreciation and loyalty.
Question: But I have a seasonal business, I have a food truck that only does really well in the non winter months. How can I create content when I am not operating?
Answer: You will use this time to provide buzz around your brand, you can post brainteasers and jokes, host competitions with vouchers to be used when you reopen to ensure new business in the spring. You will continue to build your reviews and page likes/ followers. You can post relevant information about your past season, your future plans, get followers input on business changes and additions. You will also have more time to communicate with your social media manager about new tactics and applications and plans for the following season. Thus you can experiment and see what works the best on your social media for the following season. A good and successful Facebook page takes 3 to 6 months to build and work out what approaches to implement. These months can be a perfect time to do this.
From a cash flow stand point a few, you can consider paying ahead for the winter months during your better months. Not very many outfits are willing to take less money during down times, although it is tough to do, we at https://www.facebook.com/socialmediaexcellencediscovered/ do believe in helping our clients weather the winter storms and do offer sliding rates that increase again the following year. We also offer minor business consulting to try and see where we can help you trim the fat. For example we suggest that your social media be more hands on and less to no paid ads during the winter if you are a seasonal business.
This time if you are seasonal, can also be used to learn more about what your social media manager does, so as that you are more informed when suggesting different tactics and courses of action.
At the end of the day the two main things to consider and keep in mind are the winter months are not a time to quit, it is a season that should be used to maximise your businesses social media efficiency and productivity. As well if you do stall your page you risk it becoming stagnant and losing all the progress you have gained during the course of the year.
If you are not sure about anything, we have a impeccable 5 star reputation for offering free advice and consultations. We very much enjoy helping existing businesses, however we openly admit we prefer to launch brand new social media presences and help small to new businesses evolve and expand into success, please feel at ease and consider reaching out if you are curious.
Facebook Business Pages During The Winter.
