The average American is estimated to spend close to $700 on holiday gifts and goodies this year according to the National Retail Federation. That’s more than $465 billion in total, which is a 4% increase from previous years. This is great news if you are a retailer but with so much competition in the marketplace today, it’s difficult to stand out. So how can you ensure your brand is the one consumers choose?

Here are some festive ideas to boost your bottom line this season:

1. Send Cards to Loyal Customers

Customer service is the most important part of any business and developing healthy client relationships are necessary for success. The holidays are a great opportunity to communicate your appreciation and strengthen this relationship.

2. Get Creative with Email

Mailboxes are flooded with spam this time of year so don’t just send promo emails and sales reminders (though some are necessary to get the word out). Instead, use festive titles and touches that will appeal to people in the holiday spirit. Include fun headers, tell stories – in short, be interesting! Click HERE for holiday email inspiration!

3. Encourage Sharing!

Sharing is caring and the holidays are all about sharing and social media is no exception. Create, post, and tweet interesting content that people would want to share. And although you may be the most clever at 2 am, remember to post at peak times to encourage sharing. Click HERE for the best times to post on social media during the holidays.

4. Run a Holiday Contest

One way to get and keep customers is to keep them engaged. There are so many fun and creative ways to interact with people on social media – especially during the holidays. Run an ugly Christmas sweater photo contest on Facebook; have people submit short anecdotes on what the holidays mean to them; throw a timeline competition to see who can get the most likes. Prizes definitely do incentivize participation, they don’t have to be large or expensive. Many people just want a platform to share their story.

5. Offer a Sale or a Free Giveaway

To keep people coming back to your brand, you can host a special sale or giveaway where people can get specific products or freebies during the twelve days leading up to Christmas.

6. Show Behind The Scenes Shot

Your brand has a unique story that should be shared. This could be done by posting photos of your office Christmas party, an employee’s blog about working the company charity event, or a message from a satisfied customer. Whether you share this story by posting on social media, publishing a blog, or sending an email blast, people like to feel included behind the scenes. Also, research shows using real photos are much more effective than stock photos to convert sales. (Can you tell which is used above?)

7. Use Social Media To Promote Your Holiday Specials

What good is a sale or a special if people don’t know about it? Posting your sale on social media is step one but organic posts only have so much reach. A simple ad campaign can get you traction even if you are on a tight budget. Click HERE for a simple tutorial on how to do this.

8. Remember, It Isn’t All About Christmas

While Christmas has become widely secular and it seems like the celebration is ubiquitous, remember, your customers come from a variety of different backgrounds and beliefs. You don’t want to close the door to potential sales because of close-mindedness.