The holiday season is right around the corner and is a crucial financial juncture.
Holiday sales tallied a massive $777 billion in 2020 and holiday sales in November and December have averaged approximately 19 percent of annual retail sales over the last five years, according to the National Retail Federation,
Having a strong holiday campaign is an essential tool for companies looking to maximize profits during an important quarter. Sending the right message and telling the right story to consumers can help take a business to a potentially higher level this holiday season.
Here are some tips for your upcoming holiday campaign to ensure a successful holiday
season.
REMEMBER THE SEASON
The holiday season is the perfect time to make changes to your website that help remind people that it’s the most wonderful time of the year. It may sound simple, but make sure your business has a holiday-themed site that invokes certain emotions. A consumer is going to enjoy shopping on a holiday-themed page compared to a static website that fails to differentiate itself.
Get creative with your messaging -- while staying clear and concise -- and have fun brainstorming clever and innovative strategies! Take some chances that perhaps tug at people’s hearts. A strong emotional connection can entice consumers to do business with your brand.
Just make sure your website/app has the bandwidth to handle a potential uptick in consumers! The last thing you want is to have a website that can’t handle an increase in traffic.
Video marketing is a strong asset to consider since there are ways to hit certain emotional chords. Videos have powerful swaying properties, with a 2017 report from animoto.com stating 64% of consumers said a Facebook video influenced a purchase in the last month. Tap into that potential during a time when people are especially looking to spend money!
If you have a bigger budget, utilizing a television or radio ad campaign can do wonders since it broadens your outreach and strengthens your brand nationally.
BE AUTHENTIC
User-generated content is often successful since it showcases authenticity and allows for customers to relate more with a brand. People like legitimate emotions and reactions!
User-generated content helps build trust, and a 2019 Trustpilot report stated 98 percent of people said there is at least one trust symbol -- a validation of the product -- that makes them more likely to purchase goods, and 66 percent of customers said a social proof makes them more likely to buy. So if your company has user-generated content that extols your product’s value, the odds are in your favor that the positive news will galvanize others to follow.
You can utilize various social mediums to inspire people to share that authentic content. It’s also recommended that your company run paid ad campaigns on those social platforms.
REWARD THE REGULARS AND FIND NEWCOMERS
Your company is likely to see a surge during the holiday season, so make sure to take care of the loyal customers. They will stick with your company even after the holiday season passes, and it’s important to make them feel valued during this important time.
Providing early access to subscribers or potentially offering certain discounts only for those VIP customers builds a strong rapport and shows how you value them. It also is a solid way to potentially accumulate earlier sales leading into the bigger days later in the season.
Your company will also be looking to add potential future subscribers and one good way to do so is using holiday giveaways that can create social media buzz.
Those newcomers could be VIP customers in 2022!
CREATIVE WAYS TO MARKET YOUR PRODUCT
The holiday season provides the perfect opportunity for creative marketing opportunities.
Offering free gifts with purchases can be an enticing tool since shoppers are always looking to get more bang for their buck, especially if they are already spending a sizable amount. Those free gifts can also be marketed as rare or limited editions, which heightens their value. Consider marketing the bonus gift as a mystery item to heighten the suspense and entice buyers.
A flash sale can also lead to an uptick since customers will be chasing deals and word of mouth can help spread news of your flash deal across various platforms.
A product bundle provides more value for consumers at a discounted rate. This could lead to an increase in sales and average order value, an important metric for e-commerce businesses.
Be sure to promote these different and exciting packages across your social media channels! Maybe include free shipping or extend your holiday campaign to show your customers you care.
An easy and cost-efficient way to inform the world of your spontaneous deals and discounts is via emails. Not only does it go right to the customer, but they can easily share with family and friends! You can also send multiple emails highlighting the different deals and deadlines.
PHONE IT IN
People are always on their phones.
While traditional media plays an important role during the holiday season, be sure to emphasize your mobile marketing strategy. A 2018 report from martech.org stated that mobile spending accounted for roughly 33 percent of sales during the holiday season.
Your company needs to invest in a mobile marketing campaign in order to be with people as they are on the move, and there are opportunities to be bold and aggressive. Make sure to hook someone in the first few seconds and consider mobile-only sales.
One tip: Mobile CTAs are a better option than forms due to simplicity.
THE RIGHT PARTNER
Finding the right social media influencer could be a boon for your business during the holiday season since influencers have grand outreach. Companies are relying more than ever on influencers with 17 percent spending more than half of their marketing budget on influencers and 65 percent increasing their influencer budget in 2020, according to bigcommerce.com.
The right influencer can expose your brand to an even broader audience, including those that are not in your target demographics. It can also help further target your specific demographics.
Don’t be afraid to boost your budget to find an influencer who will help expand your audience!
Want to talk to an expert? Get In touch.
Digicom is a boutique digital marketing agency based in New York City. We are a team of versatile growth marketers with the ability to turn early-stage companies into household names. We act as a high-touch agency, managing the growth of our clients' marketing channels and advising across all aspects of their customer acquisition programs.