Cyber Monday falls on 2^nd December and marks the busiest online shopping day of the year. With millions of shoppers armed with their credit cards and primed to buy, making sure you are ready in time to take advantage of the day, and indeed the whole festive shopping period, is critical.

A new report by the British Retail Consortium suggests that sales volumes are showing an upward trend and are already up by 0.8% this year. In addition, industry group IMRG and consultants Capgemini are predicting that this year, consumer spending in December will exceed £10bn for the first time. With this in mind, Christmas 2013 looks set to be a bumper trading period for online retailers.

Millions of shoppers are primed and ready to purchase, and website owners will need to take steps in order to capture their attention. As online shoppers become ever more savvy, and big brands increasingly dominate the search results, finding ways in which to stand out out presents an ever bigger challenge.

There are a range of tactics that can be used that will help you to differentiate and stand out, allowing you to attract shoppers to your website, and convert them into buying customers.

The following steps will help you to maximise your sales not just on Cyber Monday, but throughout the Christmas period.

1. Preparation and hype are key, so plan ahead.

Don’t leave promotions until the last minute. If you are launching deals or a promotion on Cyber Monday, make sure you have decided how long to keep them running for,  ensure you have any relevant terms and conditions already written up and make sure your developer, social media manager and/or marketing agency have been fully briefed.

Once you’ve decided on what you are going to do, make sure you hype up the promotion or deals days in advance so shoppers are primed. If you are planning a short term flash sale, make sure you market the promotion sufficiently ahead of the launch to achieve maximum reach.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure that you use cross channel promotion to market the promotion to the widest possible audience.

2. Stand out visually with a Christmas makeover.

You’ll be hard pressed to find any major retailers who don’t give their website a festive makeover. A festive visual style helps put people in a feel good festive mood and signifys that you’ve got new and interesting content for them to look at.

Any major change to the homepage of your website will have an impact on engagement and even the smallest change can have a significant impact on dwell times, bounce rate and click through rates.

Consider giving your homepage a festive feel by adding a large Christmassy hero image, banner, featured products and/or background skin. All of these things will grab shoppers attention once they land on your website.

3. Use email marketing to draw customers back to you.

Email marketing is still one of the most powerful marketing tactics available to website owners. Send out an eye catching, festively designed eshot to your customers telling them about your Christmas range, seasonal opening hours or use the email to distribute a voucher code (read more about that below). This gives people a great reason to open, read and click through to your website.

Email marketing helps put your business/brand firmly in the minds of your customers, making them more likely to consider purchasing from you. Even none ecommerce websites can benefit from festive email marketing, a Christmas ecard sent to your customers and/or suppliers can be just as effective at stimulating demand.

See more Christmas email marketing ideas here.

4. Launch a Christmas promotion.

A well executed Christmas promotion can achieve outstanding results, stimulating sales and even increasing average order values. Provide customers with a free delivery voucher code, free gift wrapping or a discount voucher that they can use in the new year. Alternatively, launch a Christmas competition, which is a great way of grabbing peoples attention and keeping your business/brand in their minds.

These types of promotion can be executed and publicised across multiple channels and is a really versatile way of putting the spotlight on you. Don’t just Tweet an offer once, you could also create a blog article, website landing page, send out an email, put a physical voucher in with peoples orders or create a Facebook page app.

5. Provide helpful, seasonal content that has value.

A Christmas gift guide or stocking filler ideas are the ideal way of grabbing shoppers attention, giving you the opportunity to market a selection of Christmas relevant products to them. Helping people out by saving them time so they don’t have to search for suitable gifts, is a great way adding value, which will result in more sales for you.

Christmas gift guides work really well as standalone Christmas landing pages, which also have value from an SEO point of view. Add a new link to the main navigation of your website and add a nice seasonal banner or hero image to your homepage too. Make sure that once the landing page goes live, that you do a good job of publicising it and ensuring it is search engine friendly so you will also benefit from new, organically referred visitors.

B2B marketing is always challenging, but even more so when you are in a crowded market space filled with tough competitors. There are ways to stand out from the crowd, such as having a strong and differentiated product and precise targeting of the potential audience. But one of the most neglected weapons in the B2B marketing arsenal is an offer that gains attention and drives action.

In simple terms, an offer is what you propose to give to the prospect, and what you are asking for in return. The offer is the “What’s in it for me?” part of the marketing equation. The offer wraps the product or service in with the delivery method, terms and pricing. It may be a one-step offer, where the purpose is to directly sell the product or service; a two-step process, where the purpose is to connect the prospect with a sales rep; or a 3+ step process, where the purpose is to put the prospect on a drip marketing list for later conversion.

Offers can range from “soft” to “hard.”  A soft B2B offer requires little from the prospect—for example, a free information download without requiring any contact information. By contrast, a hard B2B offer requires much more from the prospect, for example, a credit card payment for a direct sale or filling out a multi-question web form for a two-step lead generation campaign. Typically, soft offers will produce many more responses, but the average lead quality will be lower.

These are the criteria we look for in an effective B2B offer:

1. It compels action. Regardless of what you are asking the prospect to do, the offer fails if it does not achieve the intended results.
2. It reinforces your brand promise. Offers that are incompatible with the company’s values and positioning can sometimes generate short-term results, but are counterproductive in the long term. Resist the urge to go for the quick fix that damages your reputation.
3. It is interesting enough to cut through the marketplace clutter and your prospect’s preoccupation. Business people are exposed to a huge number of promotional messages and you will need offers that are strong enough to overcome this barrage.
4. It attracts the right audience. The point of the offer is to drive quality, not just quantity. Downstream conversion metrics can tell you whether your offer is targeted correctly.
5. It is timed correctly in sales cycle. For example, information offers are used for prospects that are in the data-gathering stage, and pricing/discount offers are used when prospects are in the purchasing phase.
6. It is powerful enough to compel immediate attention from the prospect. If possible, the offer should be tied to a strong call to action that shouts, “Take advantage of this offer right now!”

In my next blog post, I will share some B2B offers that consistently generate good results.

(b2b marketing tip / shutterstock)

Brands that attract fanatical devotion – what you might call “love brands” – often play by yet another set of rules. This was emphasized recently when Peter Stringer, head of the Boston Celtics social media, shared some of the team’s social media tactics at SMX Social. I was able to catch up with Stringer prior to his keynote, as well as hear his conversation onstage with Matt McGee.

The first thing that was emphasized is that basketball fans aren’t your average customers. While they love the brand, they can get pretty passionate when the team fails to deliver the goods. Even though the Celtics brought home 17 NBA championships, they sometimes lose. When that happens, you can see tweets taking the team to task.

Stringer said, “Anything I put out there on Twitter or social media is akin to a public statement. I’m not going to get into a dialogue with an individual fan because they’re upset we lost a game.”

With over seven million Facebook likes and over 1.2 million followers on Twitter, the franchise generates quite a bit of buzz on social media. The general flow of content goes like this: the Celtics social media team posts content and then the fans share it. While those fans often address their sentiments to the Celtics, Stringer said, “We almost never reply to our fans.”

At four people, the Celtics social media team is not large. While you might think that one of the most popular sports teams in basketball would call for more social media effort, Springer quipped that while the brand is a large global brand, the company is actually quite small. He added, “We spend millions of dollars on athletes, but not on marketing.”

Moving Merchandise

The Celtics seem to have the best results in social media when the social media team generates great content that fans can then share with their own networks. While quite a few fans share Celtics imagery on Pinterest, the official account has been focused on promotion of merchandise.

At nearly 9,000 Pinterest followers, Stringer doesn’t feel that the team’s performance on that platform is exciting. It’s possible the self-promotional content is less apt to be shared. The Dallas Cowboy’s havePinterest boards that are more general interest – the type of content that you would think would be more shareable – yet that organization has fewer than half as many followers as the Celtics.

The Synergy of Sports and Social Media

When you look closely at how the fans of large sports teams share and respond to content on social media, you can sympathize with Stringer when he said of sports and social media, “the synergy there is probably different than any other industry.”

It seems like it’s a natural extension of the whole ethos of sports and the aura of celebrity surrounding sports. In closing, Stringer shared some true wisdom: “I see other teams being snarky with each other on Twitter, being sarcastic, taking shots with their with their opponents. That’s not what we do, not what we’re about. If we wouldn’t do it in the arena, we aren’t going to do it on Twitter.”

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The Big Brand Theory is an exclusive column for Social Media Today written by Ric Dragon that explores the social media strategies of big brands, both B2B and B2C. Look for the next installment next week. Logos by Jesse Wells.

Are you reading this on your mobile device? The probability is likely, considering there are currently 6 billion (and growing!) active mobile devices in the world, and companies continue to tailor their marketing to the small screen of your iPhone. The simple concept of e-mail marketing is old school; connecting via mobile and through social media is the new way to reach your consumers and get results.

But who’s surprised? This is the most direct and immediate form of communication and the attachment we have to our smartphones is getting serious. These devices will always outnumber e-mail accounts for communication, convenience, and versatility. Even if your consumers prefer e-mails from their favorite brands, which is likely as marketing schemes are tiptoeing into still stigma-ed SMS marketing, this medium should be mobile-friendly and social media outlets should be at the forefront of your platform. If not, you could be losing current and potential customers. Looks like it’s time to adapt. Here are a few commonly overlooked points:

Resize your Facebook posts

If the majority of your likes are coming from users on mobile (this number can be found with Facebook Insights), make your photos fit perfectly on a mobile screen. A photo post should be sized no more than 620 pixels wide by 412 pixels high.

Consider utilizing Facebook’s unique option to pin certain posts to the top of your Facebook page. When users view your page from their mobile device, not all of your posts show. Only a select few posts are displayed; be sure viewers don’t go elsewhere by pinning an eye catching photo to the top of the page.

Also, keep the photo captions to less than 100 characters. Mobile users don’t want to scroll through a novel. Odds are if they are on their phone, they are out and about. Who has time to read a novel while they’re out with friends? Save the novels for a blog post.

Choose Facebook Ads wisely

Facebook Ads can add interested eyes to your Facebook page, but they also have their downsides – Sidebar Ads don’t show up on your followers’ mobile news feed. Make sure you implement the ones that do, like Page Post Ads and Sponsored Stories, or your money will be wasted. If your Facebook Insights says mobile users are in abundance, this becomes even more crucial. People spend more time on Facebook than any other US mobile platform; it’s worth it to invest.

Make it visual

Obvious? Maybe. But did you know 90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual? So it makes sense that photo updates are liked 2 times more than text updates. Even so, many brands still rely too much on text and not enough on photos and graphics in their posts. Keeping visuals as the focus is sure to drive more engagement. Your followers will be sure to slow down their scroll if you catch their eye with a brightly colored promotion or a striking model strutting your merch.

Turn up the content

Your brand’s posts should be of the moment and frequent; it’s one of the best ways to inspire sales. Feature campaigns and the latest news as often as possible to keep your followers in the know, so they feel like they’re getting exclusive access for being a fan. Post content daily to stay at the top of your followers’ news feeds and at the forefront of their minds – whether it’s a promotion, funny meme, or article about your industry, there’s always something to share.

Get smart about couponing

Did you know 48% of the time that consumers spend on ecommerce sites is spend on mobile devices? Offering web-based coupons and promotion codes is a great step towards gaining those leads; who doesn’t love a deal?

But are you ensuring that they are easily accessible? A lightweight action like becoming a fan should be the only requirement, that fan will now be able to know about future deals and can turn into a regular customer. Don’t forget to size the promo photo for mobiles! (See #1) Also, make sure your deal is also redeemable in person.

Take advantage of Twitter

Utilize Twitter’s new rich picture posting option (60% of Tweeters are mobile only!). Once again, humans are visual creatures; image tweets receive 91% more retweets and favorites. The now always-visible visuals provide a new way for brands connect to followers, so get creative.

Don’t forget about adding those complementary hashtags to give your images a voice to call for action, and asking for a RT, not a “retweet.” You’ll get more of them and look tech-savvy.

Upload to Instagram

If you aren’t already, Instagram photos and promos with a flattering filter. Instagram is one of the leading photo sharing apps and is exclusively mobile! Give followers a backstage pass to photo shoots, a sneak peek at next season’s merchandise, or recap your latest events. Utilize Instagram’s unique and engaging video capability to strike even more engagement. Learn more about the positive effects it can have on your business here.

Utilize Email Marketing

R.I.P. Email Marketing? Think again! Email marketing has been reborn again thanks to M-commerce, or mobile commerce. With 45% of decision makers reading their email from their mobile, putting together an email campaign, or altering an existing email campaign for mobile users will have a positive boost on sales.

Is your business in the apparel, accessories, computer hardware, video game or event ticket industry? Buckle up, because these spheres of business are top ranking in M-commerce purchases.

Every business owner knows the most important thing about business retention and growth –satisfy the needs and wants of the customer. One thing customers want is easily accessible information, so get rid of overlarge or too tiny graphics and skewed, wonky text, meaningless ads, and un-engaging posts and tweets that frustrate so many consumers enough to have them give up on your feeds. Do your followers and your business a favor – mobilize with impact.

Here is another great infographic from my good friends at Glow New Media based in Liverpool called The Evolution of Logo Design: How famous brand identities have developed. The infographic shows how some of the World’s most iconic logos began and have developed over the years into the recognisable brands we know today.

The infographic displays logo evolution for the following brands: Internet Explorer, IBM, Nokia, Ford, Apple, Pepsi, Microsoft, Cannon, BBC, Kodak, Atari, Volkswagen and British Airways.

Please let me know which is your favourite logo featured in the infographic by leaving a comment or by posting on Facebook, Twitter or Google plus. Here you go:

Running a contest on Facebook is one of the best ways to get and keep fans. Let’s face it – many people are fans based on what they can get out of it… and there is nothing wrong with that. What would be wrong is not responding to what your customers are demanding.

But here is the problem. Facebook terms are notoriously confusing and some businesses shy away from doing contests because of this confusion.

Others proceed ignorant of the rules and find their Business Page shut down by the powers that be. Don’t make either of these mistakes. So go ahead and run contests… just do it by the rules.

Here are a few things to keep in mind (although it is always recommended to check the latest Facebook Terms before running any contest – Facebook can, of course, revise them at any point).

1. If you use Facebook to communicate or administer a promotion (ex: acontest or sweepstakes), you are responsible for the lawful operationof that promotion, including:

a.   The official rules;

b.   Offer terms and eligibility requirements (ex: age and residency restrictions); and

c.   Compliance with applicable rules and regulations governing the promotion and all prizes offered (ex: registration and obtaining necessary regulatory approvals)

2. Promotions on Facebook must include the following:

a.   A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant.

b.   Acknowledgement that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

3. Promotions may be administered on Pages or within apps on Facebook. Personal Timelines must not be used to administer promotions (ex:“share on your Timeline to enter” or “share on your friend’s Timelineto get additional entries” is not permitted).

4. Facebook will not assist you in the administration of your promotion, andyou agree that if you use their service to administer your promotion,you do so at your own risk.

So basically, you can administer the contest using a 3^rd party application. In fact, Facebook insists on it if the contest is on their site. If you have staff with the necessary skills, you can bring our own application. You also need to post a release of Facebook basically stating that the contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or associated with Facebook.

Here is a key point that you can use as a bit of a loophole: you can put in pre-conditions to accessing the contest. For instance, you can give access to your 3^rd party application that administers the contest only to ‘Fans’. So while you can’t use the Facebook platform to actually enter people in the contest, you can require them to take an action to get access to the contest. This can drive up your Facebook community numbers while still staying on the right side of the regulations.

As you might imagine, a number of apps have evolved to help companies run Facebook contests. Simply google ‘apps to run facebook contests’ for an idea of what’s out there. If you decide to move forward with a 3^rd party application, do your due diligence and make sure they can show you examples of successful contests they have already run on Facebook.

Does all this sound too complicated? Or are you just not interested in hiring a 3^rd party? There is an alternative. You can simply promote your contest on your page with a link. You can also do it with Facebook Ads, on your profile, etc. The one hard and fast rule is to make sure you do not use any part of their platform or tools as part of the contest. For extra protection, make sure you post a disclaimer that the promotion has nothing to do with Facebook.

Only you can decide the right method for your business. But it would be a mistake to ignore this opportunity for deepening the connection with your fans. Don’t let a few rules keep you from trying it.