What Happens to My Online Engagement Over the Holidays?

As a business owner, you may notice a dip in your online engagement during the holiday season. Many small businesses experience lower engagement metrics over the holidays, and automotive repair shops are no different. 



Before you panic, keep in mind that you’re not powerless. The holiday season can be an excellent time to shine on social media and drive sales. Consumer spending will grow 7% this holiday season, with buyers allocating an average of $1,530 toward gifts, travel, and entertainment. Travel-related spending alone will increase by 12% over 2022.

So, don’t hide yourself away this holiday season. Consumer-facing businesses earn up to 50% of their annual revenue during the fourth quarter — and you can be one of them. You can tap into a market that's eager to find businesses like yours by bolstering your engagement activities. 

Let’s explore the factors that might cause a decrease in online engagement over the holidays and how you can flip the script to attract more holiday shoppers.

Why Does Engagement Go Down During the Holidays?

Here are the three main reasons why you might see a downtick in online engagement.

1. People Spend Their Time Elsewhere

Many people would rather spend time with loved ones during the holiday season than scroll through social media. They may travel, spend time outdoors, and disconnect from the online world. As a result, many service-based businesses see a downturn between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.

However, with the right social media content, you can get the type of engagement you need to survive and thrive over the holidays.

2. Your Content May Need Advertising Dollars

Compare your holiday posts with your content from previous months. Did you put money behind your earlier posts but then stop advertising over the holidays? If so, you’re missing out on potential customers.

Ad impressions typically increase by 50% over the holidays.

There’s also an uptick in click-through rates, direct traffic, average order value, and conversion rates. With increases across the board in online activities, small businesses need to spend more money on advertising to grab their share of traffic.

Many platforms are pay-to-play, meaning if you increase your ad spend through paid or boosted posts, you’ll see more engagement than with organic posting. If you stop putting money behind those posts, the platforms won’t push your content as much. 

3. Your Content Strategy May Need to Shift

Are you posting the right type of content? Many people don't realize that social media platforms change their algorithms around the holiday season to push the content users want to see. 

Now is not the time to push business posts featuring products or services that may be seen as unnecessary. People are busy enjoying their time with loved ones, and sales-oriented posts may come across as intrusive.

Instead, try shifting your posting strategy to appease the algorithm. This approach can help you increase your engagement online. 

Are You Comparing the Right Numbers?

When analyzing engagement numbers from your social media pages, it's crucial to focus on relevant metrics. Drawing comparisons between content performance in August and November, for example, may not provide accurate insights, as these months often involve distinct services and events. 

Furthermore, people have more free time to spend on social media during a summer month like August, while their schedules tend to be tighter in November as the holiday season begins. 

If you compare numbers, use insights from the same months to gauge how your content is performing year over year. These insights will tell you how your content is trending so you know what’s working and what needs tweaking.

What to Expect Over the Holidays

It’s not just your business that experiences holiday-related decreases. In our experience working with various automotive clients, we’ve seen the following factors come into play online over the holidays.

Engagement May Dip 

Despite your best efforts, online engagement may drop over the holidays. As people take time off to share the season with loved ones, they’ll spend less time on social media. 

Reach May Decline

With less engagement comes less reach — the total number of people who see your content. With social media algorithms changing around the holidays, you may notice changes in the effectiveness of your paid content, like your ads. 

Because so many businesses invest in paid ads during the holiday season, you may need to increase your ad spend to see the same results you’d see in a non-holiday month.

How to Increase Engagement During the Holiday Season

Changing your posting strategy during this time of year might boost your engagement over the holidays. Here are some content ideas to spark your creativity:

• Host a holiday contest.
• Share personal images of your shop and real photos of your team.
• Post about holiday celebrations.
• Offer gift certificates.
• Share behind-the-scenes videos of your work in action.
• Post photos of a charitable giving project you’re supporting over the holidays.

This type of content has an authentic, trustworthy feel that will resonate with your customers. For more ideas, check out our article, 4 Holiday Social Media Posts to Add to Your Social Media Strategy.

Don’t Let the Holidays Get You Down

We understand it can be scary as a business owner when you see your engagement drop during the holiday season. However, it’s essential to look at all the factors that go into online engagement before making assumptions about what’s going wrong with your campaigns. 

If you are a current client with Optimize Digital Marketing and you have questions about your campaign insights, reach out to your account consultant to learn more about how you can counteract the holiday lull online. If you want to learn more about how Optimize can help your marketing campaigns, schedule your free consultation today.