The holidays are here, which means most people have already started their holiday shopping. This year is going to be especially big, especially considering how great the economy doing. People are making money and feeling comfortable in their jobs, and they feel comfortable spending a little more this holiday season.

Unfortunately for Brick and Mortar stores, much of this shopping will occur online. It’s no surprise that people are beginning to prefer online shopping over getting up and going to the store. Online shopping makes it easier to send gifts to friends and family who live far away, and it is easier to get all your shopping done in one place instead of having to go all over town to get just the right gifts. Here are 5 digital marketing tips you can use this holiday season.

1. Get AI Chatbot set up

With the holidays, there are a lot more people looking for gifts at the same time. With the huge increase in business, you’ll get many more calls, texts, and emails from customers asking questions about your store or products. Plus, you can also expect the few weeks after the holidays to be busy with people returning products or asking questions about them. Instead of hiring temp help who will cost a lot of money and not have enough time to get acquainted with your company enough to be very useful, set up your AI Chatbot. An artificial intelligence company can come in and get it started for you. Instead of talking to a live person, your customers will communicate with a computer that is able to interpret their questions and answer them. The program is also able to target marketing towards customers, to make sure you aren’t wasting their time and they aren’t wasting your time either.

2. Don’t underestimate Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Some companies figure they might as well not even participate in the Black Friday shopping event if they aren’t a huge company like Walmart or Target. The truth is, though, many people do a lot of their holiday shopping at that time knowing there are good deals. And even if they don’t need it as gifts for other people, many will be shopping for themselves that day just to score a deal. Even a small company with only a few small products can benefit from doing a Black Friday or Cyber Monday sale.

3. Optimize your website for mobile

Almost everyone has a smartphone these days, and online shopping has begun to dominate the way people shop. While it used to be most people would browse on their smartphones and make their actual purchases on computers, we are now to the point where most people are actually making their purchases on smartphones as well. By optimizing your site for mobile, you are making it easier for your customers to find the information they need on your site and increasing the likelihood they will make a purchase.

4. Focus on text marketing

The majority of phone owners will read a text within the first 3 minutes of receiving it. By sending a text advertisement, your business will reach customers almost instantaneously. Considering that and the fact that most people don’t have any idea what to get other people for Christmas (they just browse until they find a gift that works), your company has a good chance of using text marketing to get sales. Those on your texting list already know they like your product; they just need a reminder that it would make a good gift for someone else.

5. Use Influencers

Influencers on social media have made a huge impact on the way we market to customers. You no longer need to endorse a gold medal athlete or huge superstar in order to get new customer sales. Just endorse a few small-time stars who fit your market of product and have a big social media following. Customers tend to trust small influencer opinions more than big, flashy marketing campaigns, and it’s a very easy way to reach your specific customer base and get some sales.