It’s that time of year again, when the days get darker, colder, and your customers just want to hole up at home next to a warm fire and do their shopping online. How can you actively reach out and make the most of these customers?

If you trade out of a bricks and mortar store now is the time for you to be scrutinizing your online presence, checking the usabilityxz of your website and planning your winter social media strategies to make the most of those at home shoppers.

Go over your website with a fine tooth comb, make sure the content is current and check for errors and broken links. Send through a test transaction to check everything is flowing properly. After you are done, get a friend or associate to double check it for you. Set aside time every week to cast an eye over your website to head off any issues and update content, nothing is more off putting to a potential customer than a badly maintained website.

You should be crafting a great social media presence all year round, but winter is a fantastic time to dedicate yourself to creating a strong network of fans and followers. Frequently post engaging content, while the bulk of your posts will be about products and services your offer it does not have to be all business. In fact your customers are even more likely to appreciate and engage with you if you post appropriate fun pictures or link to other interesting non business information. You could even simply post about a great event in your day or happenings about town to foster a sense of community. Drive customers by linking to your website where suitable.
The key is to post frequently, people who post sporadically always wonder why social media doesn’t work for their business and give up. Set aside specific time every day to devote yourself to update your social media sites, respond to messages and create new content. If you find it difficult to come up with new content every day, make time weekly to pre plan the next seven days in advance.

By creating a strong social media presence during winter, not only are you driving sales to support you during the slower season, you are actively developing a loyal customer base who will stay with you during the summer and beyond.

There you have it, two simple achievable ways to create momentum for your business while your customers are staying cozy inside their own homes this season. What are you waiting for?