5 Tips to Get the Most from Your Holiday Marketing
The holidays are approaching, offering savvy marketers a wealth of opportunities to drive sales with the right strategies. Traditional retailers and big brands are legendary for leveraging the holiday season to attract customers and boost revenue before the end of the year. Smaller companies or businesses that have little in common with big retailers can still benefit from the buzz around the holidays with some smart marketing tactics. From holiday promotions to personalized email and festive video, companies of all sizes and industries can use these tactics over the next few months.
1. Offer Holiday Promotions
Tis the season for deals and promotions—which can seem counterintuitive but is in fact a great tool for marketers. October through December is a huge selling time for companies and offering discounts can initially seem like throwing money away. However, over one-third of customers said that they were influenced into making a purchase because of a promotional offer. In 2018, Thanksgiving was earlier than usual, creating a longer selling time between Black Friday and Christmas. That gap can often lead to a decline in sales, which can be combatted through sustaining momentum. Promotions are an effective way to keep sales up.
Promotions can come in a variety of forms and it’s important to find what fits with your company and customers. Many companies offer free shipping during the holidays or discounts for bundling products or services. Defining your customer demographics can help you offer effective and appropriate promotions—brick and mortar customers would prefer an in-store discount rather than free shipping.
2. Personalize It
Personalization is key no matter the time of year, but during the holidays, integrating personalization is especially important. Personalizing holiday emails, ads, and other content helps drive goodwill during the holidays and makes your customers feel like your company cares. Authenticity is a priority for today’s consumers and is particularly important during the holidays. Personalized marketing helps customers see that there are real people behind a product or service year-round.
Segmenting your database will help your holiday marketing be even more effective in running targeted promotions. Consider dividing your database into different categories such as recent shoppers, frequent shoppers, and your most loyal customers. Offer promotions that are specific to these segments to see real results and drive sales.
3. Create a Gift Guide
One of the most popular search terms during the holidays is “gift guides.” Gift guides typically feature a variety of products targeted to a demographic or interest. Gift guides are one of the top searches for online shoppers during the holidays and the ROI for being featured in a gift guide is usually quite high.
Gift guides that are targeted based on your customers feel much more personal and thoughtful than a mass email that may or may not apply to them. You can get your product featured in an existing gift guide in a reputable publication or you can create your own guides that reflect your buyer personas. These guides can be particularly effective for niche or unusual projects and can help uncertain or indecisive customers make a purchase. Creating a gift guide helps drive organic traffic to your site from search engines.
4. Optimize for Search & Mobile
Holiday shoppers begin searching for the perfect gift earlier and earlier each year. Consumers, particularly the younger demographics, want to be able to research gifts ideas and make informed decisions before purchasing. 8 in 10 shoppers were influenced into making a purchase by the internet and optimizing holiday content for search is key to finding new, targeted customers.
Holiday shoppers typically have a high purchase intent, so effective SEO is particularly important during this time of year. Use seasonal keywords to boost your SEO presence—and start earlier rather than later to see real results. Research popular holiday keywords and search terms. Select terms that are relevant to your product or service and don’t just add in overused holiday-related tags.
In 2017, over 40% of all sales made in November and December were from mobile phones, and that number is likely to increase. Optimizing your content, site, and/or app for mobile is incredibly important during the holidays. Make the mobile purchase process as seamless as possible to ensure that the user experience is positive for consumers.
5. Have Fun With Advertising
Video marketing should be part of your advertising arsenal year-round, but the holidays provide additional opportunities to integrate video into your marketing tactics. Holiday videos give companies a chance to have more fun, to show a more personal side, and to appeal to customer’s emotions. It’s also an opportunity for brands to differentiate themselves and stand out from their competitors. Appealing to consumers’ positive emotions during the holidays through video can be done in a variety of ways.
Promotional videos serve a clear purpose—to inform potential customers about a deal or promotion and to encourage them to take advantage. These promo videos are especially effective when they provide a sense of urgency for limited time offers. Instead of making just one video, brands can create a video campaign to build anticipation and create buzz throughout the holiday season. This can be an effective way to get customers excited about a sale, promotion, or big announcement.
A year in review video is a great way to showcase how a company has grown or changed over the course of a year. It also provides an opportunity for brands to get personal and highlight their leadership and employees. Companies can also put together a holiday message to send good wishes to their current customers and loyal members. Year-round, make sure your video is shareable and optimized for mobile and SEO.
Taking advantage of the holiday season means more than just piggybacking off overused hashtags or faking holiday cheer. By employing effective tactics, marketers can leverage the holidays to boost awareness and drive sales for the end of the year. Get personal with emails and curated gift guides. Offer customers a deal they can’t refuse with effective promotions and sales. Drive interest and show your fun and festive side with an exciting holiday video campaign or holiday message from the company.
Want an exciting holiday video of your own? Sparksight has you covered!
