LAKE TAHOE — Black Friday. Cyber Monday. Do these ominous words strike fear into you as a local business owner?

At Out and About, we’re here to tell you that it doesn’t have to feel this way. Use social media to get ahead this holiday season.

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HOW TO WIN ON FACEBOOK

Start advertising: Advertising on Facebook still remains one of the most affordable and effective forms of online and social media advertising. It’s also the place where “92% of marketers plan to spend the majority of their social media marketing budget.” For a detailed rundown on Facebook advertising, I recommend checking out our article, “How To Make Facebook Ads Work for You and Generate Social Media ROI.”

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Brand well and be active: If you’re not already posting regularly on Facebook, now’s a good time to start this habit. Ask questions. Inspire your fans. Share your blog posts and talk about what’s happening in the area. Even with reports of news feed reach trending down as of late, it doesn’t mean that keeping up your Facebook page is a lost cause for marketing. Take a look at your page post insights and see what resonates with your fans—and start doing more of it. You can still reach hundreds of fans or more with each Facebook post (for free).

Reward your fans: Your loyal Facebook fans have supported you all year long—now’s the time to reward them with an exclusive offer or coupon. Limited time offers also create high-demand for your products and services, so make sure to add those into your campaign and advertising mix, as well.

More. Video. Now: Video is becoming increasingly important on Facebook, so much so, that video posts are even getting a boost in the news feed. Use this during the holiday season to your marketing advantage. Create a short video showcasing your in-store products, take us on a tour of your facilities, or talk about what’s featured in your special holiday package.

HOW TO WIN ON TWITTER

Promote your posts: If you haven’t been taking the time to build your audience and engagement on Twitter, you can still take advantage of Twitter’s advertising options. Promoted posts are a great place to showcase your holiday offer. The key is creating enticing copy and calls-to-action, while targeting the right customers by location, keywords, interests, and more.

Get in on the conversation: Search Twitter using hashtags relating to the #LakeTahoe and #Reno areas to start, or hashtags relating to local events and news. Start sharing about what’s happening locally as you follow fellow tweeters and gain influence by sharing relevant/helpful tweets. Take your Twitter engagement one step further and perform an advanced search with local parameters. Include keywords related to your business to find potential customers. Engage directly with an offer or tip, or even just a hello!

Melissa Sweat is a content marketer at Out & About Marketing, an Incline Village-based digital marketing and social media consulting firm. This article first appeared on http://www.outandaboutmarketing.com.