How to Use Automation for a Stress-Free Holiday Season

How can you prepare your business for the upcoming holiday season?

Embrace automation!

Automation takes care of the busy work when your team is away, including marketing emails, social media, customer communications, moving data between applications, or pulling data from your website for analysis when you return.

Start by creating a plan for December and January.
Like everything, it’s best to map out precisely what needs to happen while your business is closed over the holidays. Plan to schedule social media content or to share blogs? Plan which scheduling app to use and create a list of the content to make. A solid plan can also help your team get back into the swing when they return to work.

Schedule social media posts automatically.
If you dont already use a scheduler – once you do, you’ll never turn back.
Social media scheduling platforms like Social Pilot and Hootsuite can help you stay active during your break. All you have to do is create the content, choose post times or use the auto-scheduling feature to allocate optimal times based on your audience. Most of the scheduling tools out there allow you to manage multiple social streams.

Nurture customers with emails.
First, having a relevant out-of-office auto-reply is essential when your business is closed. Be sure to include the exact dates of closure and how to reach you if it’s urgent and applies. Make your business hours clear to your customers and how long they can expect to wait for a response.
As for client EDMs – these targeted emails are a great way to entice existing customers to visit your website, view your content and keep connected and engaged with the business even if you’re on break.

Have customer support in place
Customer service has come a long way thanks to cloud-based technology. For example, it’s easier than ever for your team to respond to holiday queries with internet helpdesks. Most helpdesk software lets you create a customer self-service portal for your business – giving them an uncomplicated way to find the correct information and resolve issues quickly. Support tickets are great because they keep all your customer queries in one place, making it easier for your team to manage customer enquiries and promptly resolve issues.

Schedule blog posts
Scheduled blog posts are a great way to keep your business brand at the forefront of your audience’s minds, and you should always take advantage of every chance to engage your audience, even while on holiday. Blog posts are both valuable and super-easy to schedule in advance. So once your plan is in place, all you have to do is write and start stockpiling additional content or save time by re-purposing some old content with a Christmas / holiday theme.