The holidays are coming, so now is a great time to analyze your marketing techniques. This is the best time of the year to attract new customers to your online or local business and to return old clients. You can do all these good things for your business through effective holiday marketing strategies, following our recommendations, strategies, and tips for success.
Best Holiday Marketing Recommendations, Strategies & Tips
As you build out your holiday marketing strategy, detail specific, clear goals and a road map to each. You need to know where you want to end up and how you want to get there. Knowing your goals for the season will help you stay focused on implementing your strategy.
Start Early and Plan Ahead
Why Early Planning Matters
Planning early allows you to secure advertising spots, develop engaging content, and fine-tune your strategy. Consumers begin holiday shopping as early as October, so having your campaigns ready can give you a competitive edge.
Actionable Tips:
- Create a Holiday Marketing Calendar: Outline key dates, promotional periods, and deadlines.
- Stock Up Inventory: Ensure you have enough stock to meet increased demand.
- Tease Promotions: Build anticipation by teasing upcoming deals and offers on social media and email newsletters.
Optimize Your Website for the Holiday Rush
Importance of Website Optimization
A seamless, fast, and user-friendly website can significantly impact your holiday sales. Slow load times and poor navigation can drive potential customers away.
Actionable Tips:
- Improve Load Times: Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to optimize images and scripts.
- Enhance Mobile Experience: Ensure your site is mobile-friendly, as a large percentage of holiday shopping happens on mobile devices.
- Streamline Checkout Process: Simplify the checkout process to reduce cart abandonment rates. Offer guest checkout options and multiple payment methods.
Implement Email Marketing Campaigns: Holiday Strategies Success
The Power of Email Marketing
Email marketing remains one of the most effective channels for holiday promotions. Personalized emails can lead to higher engagement and conversions.
Actionable Tips:
- Segment Your List: Tailor your messages to different segments of your audience. Use past purchase behavior to personalize recommendations.
- Create Compelling Subject Lines: Catchy and relevant subject lines can improve open rates. Highlight special offers and urgency.
- Send Holiday Greetings: Build customer loyalty by sending personalized holiday greetings and thank-you notes.
Create a Thanksgiving Day Marketing Strategy
Bummed you’ll be missing out on Black Friday this year? Don’t sweat it. In 2019, sales for Thanksgiving day totaled $4.2 billion, according to Adobe Analytics 14.5% year-over-year increase. It’s clear that Turkey Day bargain hunters are ready to shop just as much as their Black Friday-loving counterparts.
Social Media Usage: Holiday Marketing Strategies Success
Think you’re too late to start your holiday marketing on social? You’re not! There’s a reason the last Saturday before Christmas is the “Super Saturday.” From leveraging user-content to doling out gift guides in Messenger, there are many festive, creative social media campaigns you can run today to get those shopping carts piled higher than Santa’s sleigh this season.
Use Holiday Appeal Techniques
To appeal to your target audience this holiday season, create holiday appeal around your top-performing products. By presenting your products as festive, seasonal, and cheerful. So, you can attract holiday shoppers to your offer. You can create holiday marketing tips appeal by:
- Firstly, staging product images with holiday decor.
- Secondly, using seasonal or holiday-centric filters and graphics.
- Adding holiday music and filters to video content
- Using language in your copy that creates a nostalgic or seasonal vibe
- Finally, it offers to fit holiday-specific needs (gift giving or “treat yourself,” for example)
Raise a Cyber Monday Deal: Holiday Marketing Recommendations
Stores like Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, and Home Depot, already announced that their doors would be closed this year for Black Friday. However, most are going to run Black Friday deals online through to Cyber Monday and beyond. Between their online and brick-and-mortar stores, stores like Home Depot will run holiday deals for two months. Surely you can pull together a promotion during that post-Thanksgiving but pre-Christmas time period too?
Utilize Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising: Holiday Marketing
Driving Traffic with PPC
PPC advertising can help you reach a targeted audience quickly and effectively. It’s particularly useful for promoting time-sensitive offers.
Actionable Tips:
- Bid on Holiday Keywords: Identify and bid on holiday-specific keywords that potential customers are likely to search for.
- Retargeting Campaigns: Use retargeting to reach visitors who have previously interacted with your site.
- Monitor and Adjust: Continuously monitor your campaigns and adjust bids and budgets to maximize ROI.
