Holiday Marketing Guide
It’s that time of year again. The air is crisp, the last leaves begin to fall, and we come together with our families (for better or worse). For many, things are finally winding down after a long year. For us marketers, we’re gearing up for another wonderful holiday marketing season.
The holiday season is a time to fall behind or get ahead as marketers. Black Friday marks the official-unofficial beginning of holiday spending, a time where businesses rake up as much revenue as possible to close out the fourth quarter. We can either take advantage of increased consumer spending or fall victim to it.
Ideally, you should have begun planning and implementing holiday marketing campaigns a few weeks, or even months, in advance. If you didn’t, don’t worry. We put together this list of 7 holiday marketing tips to remember this season.
Contents:
- Stay active on social media
- Appeal to emotions
- Don’t forget about email marketing
- Offer promotions that consumers actually care about
- Update your PPC campaigns
- Optimize your website for mobile
- Partner with a digital marketing agency
Holiday Marketing Tip #1: Stay Active on Social Media
Like we said, you either fall behind or get ahead during the holiday season. Don’t let the holidays affect your social media presence.
This time of year, consumers spend more time inside (and on their phones) than any other time of the year. The brands that remain active on social media will be more visible and more likely to win the business of a consumer.
Staying active doesn’t mean you have to ignore family and holiday plans. Maintaining a content calendar throughout the year is a great way to be proactive. Then use tools like Hootsuite to create and schedule posts ahead of time. That way, all you have to do is monitor engagement and KPIs.
Whether you’re in E-commerce or want to attract foot traffic to a brick-and-mortar, social media is a great way to reach consumers this season and every season.
Holiday Marketing Tip #2: Appeal to Emotions
A broad but always useful tip, especially during this season. People are already emotional this time of year. Families come together from far and wide, gifts and love are exchanged, we celebrate traditions. Why not tap into this and contribute to the holiday spirit?
While you shouldn’t change your entire brand and messaging, your consumers will find it refreshing and welcoming to celebrate the holidays with them.
Consider emotions such as nostalgia, love, and excitement. Incorporating these into your holiday campaigns is a great way to increase engagement.
Holiday Marketing Tip #3: Don’t Forget About Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the best ways to reach your customers directly. During the holidays it can be even more impactful.
The holidays can often feel fast-paced, but one thing you can count on is people checking emails constantly. Whether it's to wrap up projects at work or contact family about plans, the presence is there.
More importantly, however, is that consumers will be more likely to check their inboxes for promotions and holiday sales from their favorite brands. Be sure yours is present in their inbox.
Holiday shoppers are always looking for the best deals and the best products. Stay top of mind by routinely distributing emails to your customer base and other target audiences.
Holiday Marketing Tip #4: Offer Promotions That Consumers Actually Care About
Email marketing and social media are a great way to inform consumers about your offerings and remain present in their buyer journey. But remember that most of your competitors will be doing the exact same thing.
It’s important to stand out during this time of year. There are so many deals and promos that inundate consumers, you have to be different. But that doesn’t mean just offering the lowest price, or even the best products. It means you need to be interesting and engaging.
A few suggestions to consider are:
- A different promotion each day for the 12 days of Christmas
- Partner with a non-profit and donate a percent of proceeds to their cause with each purchase
- Add a surprise “gift from Santa” with each purchase over a certain amount
- Run social media contests offering products and discounts to increase engagement
These are just some examples, but you can see how a little creativity will connect more with consumers than just offering the same holiday discount as everyone.
Holiday Marketing Tip #5: Update Your PPC Campaigns
Each year, more purchasing is done online than ever before. Being able to buy and send gifts from the comfort of your home eases a lot of the stress and rush associated with this time of year.
A well-tailored and targeted pay-per-click advertising campaign will put your company in front of the right audiences.
Take time this year to update your messaging to be a little more festive. More importantly, take time to audit your campaigns and edit where necessary.
If a campaign isn’t working, give it a refresh and try something new this time of year when buying is at a high.
Something simple like targeting “best gifts for dad” can help align your products with the customers who are already searching for them is a great way to get a holiday ROAS boost and spread a little holiday cheer at the same time.
Holiday Marketing Tip #6: Optimize Your Website for Mobile
A highly optimized mobile website will help you accomplish more than a few things this holiday season (and beyond). Effective search engine optimization and conversion rate optimization for mobile devices is a great investment.
As we mentioned, consumers don’t want to leave their homes during the holidays if they can do all of their shopping from their couch. But a poor website isn’t going to earn you any business.
Updating your website to be more user-friendly on mobile devices will not only improve your keyword rankings and traffic, it will also improve your conversion rate as customers will be able to navigate your website more easily.
There are few things more off-putting to consumers than a broken or unappealing website. This holiday season, invest in SEO and it will pay for itself in no time. Even better, the results will last long after.
Holiday Marketing Tip #7: Partner with a Digital Marketing Agency
Why not take the stress and hustle out of the holiday marketing season by partnering with a top level digital marketing agency like Nxt Era Marketing? You deserve a present this year too.
With the help and guidance of an industry-leading agency, you don’t have to worry about checking engagement and measuring KPIs at the dinner table with family. You can focus on what matters most, like who’s going to get that last slice of pie.
This holiday season, give yourself the gift that keeps on giving and partner with Nxt Era Marketing. Schedule your free marketing consultation here!
