Yes, it’s that time of the year again when marketers everywhere are starting to plan their social media marketing strategy for the holidays. With the evolution of social media marketing and the rise of social influencers, it’s always good to start brainstorming fresh ideas to get in front of your audience this holiday season.

Social media is great for posting and sharing information, but what’s even better is leveraging your networks to increase engagement with fans that drive sales and conversions. Here are five ways to make sure your brand resonates with consumers and delivers valuable results this holiday season.

If there’s one priority this holiday season, it’s should be making shopping as convenient as possible for your customers. This includes optimizing your website and checkout process for mobile.

Use your audience insights to target locally and specifically to those who already like your brand and product. Reach out to the people who are interacting and sharing your content and turn them into brand ambassadors. Equip them with media and information relative to your holiday campaigns that they can promote for you. This delivers positive results because consumers are much more likely to make purchases when they receive recommendations from family and friends.

Along with influencer marketing tactics, user-generated content is a clever way to not only create less work for your team, but to engage your fans. Launching campaigns or intentional outreach to users who you want to highlight will shed light on your brand in an authentic way. Fans are passionate about their favorite products and companies and it’s up to brands to build on that excitement.

Get creative this holiday season and do something a little different, fun and interactive. Live streaming and video are excellent ways to put a face to your brand. There are many different platforms and tools out there to make your brand standout. Facebook recently launched Facebook Live, a broadcast feature on their platform that anyone can use. It provides an easy way to connect with audiences, answer questions and give your brand a human touch.  Get your team together to come up with new ways to communicate your story using video and live demos.

Humans are social by nature so make sure you’re giving them something to do and share this holiday season. This is your chance to be creative and come up with new ways to connect with your fans that’ll bring new energy to your brand or product. Consider asking them for content, share how they use your product or ways they celebrate the holidays. The goal is to get people talking and spreading their passion for the brand to their networks.

Take this opportunity to answer customer inquiries and issues in a timely and attentive manner. Social media makes it easy to communicate quickly and help consumers in real-time. Make sure you’re properly staffed and ready for the rush. Being prepared for an influx of messages will not only make your brand look good, but will most likely lead to more sales and solve problems before they escalate.

It’s time to start preparing and planning so you’re ready to execute when the holidays roll around. If leveraged properly, social media has the ability to increase brand awareness, engagement and sales. Use these tips as a starting point to layout the framework for your strategy.