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Most organisations look forward to the holiday season every year because of the big business the season comes brings. During the season, other organisations in your trade are preparing themselves to stand out when the purchasing spree of the holiday season starts. You do not want your business to be left out when this time comes. The time to start looking at holiday marketing ideas you could use this season, is now.
We have complied a list of 7 ideas you could incorporate into your holiday marketing campaign. Dive in –
1. Start your marketing campaign early
A study published in 2021 revealed that eCommerce sales increased 15.8 percent during the holiday season, and mobile sales alone increased by 35 percent. The number makes it evident that big business awaits your as soon as the holiday season kicks off.
You do not want to wait until the holiday season to start pushing your holiday marketing campaigns. This can cost you a lot of potential revenue. Craft your holiday marketing campaigns early and publicise them early soyour target market plan their holiday shopping keepingyour business in mind.
Source: Localiq.com
2. Make eMarketing your primary holiday marketing platform
The Covid-19 pandemic has confined many people in their homes, forcing them to adaptto a new normal. The new normal is online. Including shopping! Surveys done indicate that 75 percent of consumers in the US are likely to do their shopping online this holiday season. This means that you have to invest in online marketing strategies a little bit more this year.
Apart from consistency of advertising messages, offer your customers the best experience when they visit your website or social media pages. Take a holistic approach to holiday season marketing campaigns. Consider what must be going through your customer’s head as the holiday season approaches. Festive seasons often come with anxiety and stress of not knowing the right gift to buy or the best dish to cook for Christmas brunch with family. You can offer suggestions to your customers by providing useful tips and tricks to make their holiday experience better.
For instance, a food store can publish on its website and social media pages, recipes and menus for different holiday season events. Not only would this content provide helpful information to customers, but it would also motivate them to purchase more food from your supermarket.
Create moving content and get your customers engaging with your business especial on social media pages. Make use of vibrant colourful visuals as you create content to post on your social media pages. Remember that other businesses in your trade are also doing the same so you will want to stand out to catch the customer’s attention.
3. Retarget customers
While it’s true that a significantly large number of consumers are now doing their shopping online, an astonishing 96 percent of customers will leave a website without making a purchase. This means that, unfortunately, only four out of every 100 people who visit your website will buy your product or services. This can change if you employ other creative holiday marketing ideas and use clever SEO services.
Make use of a remarketing ad campaign and email marketing. For instance, when a consumer provides their email but does not complete the purchase, send them follow-up email reminding them that their cart still has groceries in it. This can encourage them to complete their purchase. You can also email them on a regular basis to alert them of new promotions. But do not overwhelm them with information to the point where it gets annoying.
No matter what kind of business you run, it is important for your organisation to get feedback from people who visit your website. Try to find out what made a user leave your site. In some cases, a user would have liked to buy your product, but your website made the process almost impossible. When you get this feedback, fix what needs to be fixed immediately and continue to give your customers the best holiday shopping experience.
Source: Localiq.com
4. Spice Up Your SEO
Search Engine Optimisation is a very crucial part of e-marketing and you should definitely include it on your list of holiday season marketing ideas. Common search queries often change around the holidays, and your business should follow suit by incorporating seasonal terms and phrases like “holiday sale” or “free shipping” into your keyword strategy. Depending on your industry you might want to get even more specific, such as “holiday turkey sale” for a grocery store.
You should make these same changes in your blog posts, on-page SEO and backlinks to keep your SEO strategy consistent. Pay attention to which keywords are currently driving the most traffic to your website, and nurture seasonal versions of those terms. The holidays provide a valuable opportunity to increase your web traffic, so make this step one of your top priorities if you want to broaden your audience.
Also, make use of local search engine optimisation. A recently conducted study revealed that 66 percent of consumers are planning to shop more at local businesses this holiday season. You do not want to miss out on this opportunity to maximise profits.
5. Collaborate with influencers
The list of holiday season marketing ideas cannot be complete without mentioning of influencers! Festive seasons are the best time to partner with influencers that have an established and engaged community. Data shows that 8 out of 10 consumers made a purchase after it was recommended by an influencer. This explains why for every $1 you spend on influencer marketing; you can expect an average of $18 of Return on Investment.
The best part about using influencers is that you will continue to reap rewards way after the festive season has passed. This is a holiday marketing strategy that allows you to tap into new customer territories. But in order for it to work, make sure that the influencers you use have the knowledge and show real enthusiasm for your product, brand, or the industry. They should engage their followers on a regular basis. Pay attention to how they respond to comments on their posts of your product. Ensure that they give feedback and useful information when answering questions asked in the comments to the post. Observe other metrics such as post shares and saves. Before you choose an influencer, analyse the performance of their past sponsored posts. Conduct aresearch first on your prospective influence to be sure you are not partnering with a person whose services are also being employed by your competitor. Be careful not to use influencers who are controversial. Ensure that the influencers you use stick to the holiday theme.
Source: Creativeclickmedia.com
6. Run a free delivery campaign
Offering free delivery is undoubtedly a strategy which will enhance your revenue this holiday season. A recently-conducted study established that 79 percent of consumers admitted they would be more likely to shop online if free shipping was available. 24 percent said they would purchase more to hit the required price point needed to reach the free shipping threshold. Having free shipping offers available throughout your holiday marketing campaign not only encourages customers to purchase more, but it also provides your business with the opportunity to increase sells.
7. Re-use past effective holiday season marketing strategies
If it’s not broken, why fix it, right? If there are any creative holiday season marketing campaigns you have used that in the past and they produced great results, there is no reason why you should not use them again. But be careful not to over-do it. While the best starting point for your holiday marketing is holidays past; doing things exactly the same way over and over again can turn out to be monotonous and boring. So re-use an idea, but do not execute it in exactly the same manner as previous years. Take a look at the marketing strategy you employed this time last year, and evaluate what worked, what did not and which elements you could improve this year.
Conclusion
With timely planning, and the tips given above, you can come up with the best holiday season marketing campaign that will boost revenue for your business this year! The most important step is to start the planning before it is too late!
Planning to launch your own campaign for the Holiday Season 2021?
