Mafujibrahim

Tips on How to Prepare for the Holiday Marketing Season

Black Friday; Cyber Monday; Christmas, and Boxing Day are seasons you would rightly associate with winter. Not July. However, now is the time marketers should be preparing for the holiday season, despite it being every advertisers’ worst nightmare. Nevertheless, the holiday season can also be a time of great success, with ample opportunities for every PPC expert to make their mark in the industry. 

The holiday season is massively important for every business, as customers spend more on average than they do during the year. And even if we are living in uncertain socio-economic times, holiday spending is expected to rise again in 2023.

Preparing for the holidays should not be stressful. It should be a successful and, to some extent, relatively stress free time of year in which you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labour.

So, here are my tips on how best to prepare for the holiday season.

1. Discounts Aren’t Just for Christmas

Every year, your inbox is flooded with the same old discount codes for the likes of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day. And hey, I am not saying there is anything wrong with this approach – I would even go as far as to encourage it. However, what if you could stand out from the crowd in such a way that significantly increases your ROI, be it in February, March or even July and August? 

When looking at providing a discount, it is important to go beyond the traditional way one may think is standard best practice for preparing for the holidays. Indeed, one of the ways of thinking outside of the box is by planning a smart bidding strategy that includes promoting discount codes and sales on days that are not necessarily associated with sales and savings.

Whether it is creating a gift guide in the summer, building an impactful and memorable email marketing campaign in the depths of winter, or using your social media presence to spread the word throughout the entire year, indeed, when preparing for the holidays, think bigger than Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Boxing Day, and be sure to spark your customers’ interest 365 days a year. 

2. Social Media is Key to Holiday Marketing Success

Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Google, and TikTok are ideal platforms for building not only consistent brand awareness, but huge waves of anticipation ahead of the holiday season. One of the best ways to prepare for the holidays is to tease your content with countdowns and previews throughout the year. In doing so, you are more likely to capitalise on this brand awareness later in the year when leads and increased sales are key. In addition, paid social media marketing can also help qualify potential new customers by understanding what they engage with and react to the most way ahead of the holiday season, giving you more time to perfect what works. 

Social media is key for reaching out to your demographic who have taken the time to interact with you on the likes of LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. At this time of year, it is good to think of your audience as brand ambassadors when preparing for the holidays. In doing so, you should achieve your objectives when the festive season intensifies and you are able to mobilise your loyal band of supporters. 

3. Analyse the Results of Your Previous Holiday Campaign

To make the most of your marketing budget, there is no point in repeating your mistakes of the past. With that in mind, it is vital that you take the time to analyse the results of your previous holiday campaign in order to get a more comprehensive understanding of what worked and, most importantly, what did not. 

If you made some mistakes last year, with the amount of new data available, there is no need to repeat them. Analysing your previous strategies can help you put your past failings behind you and refocus for the year ahead. 

It is also recommended that you take some time to review your most recent customer data. Before creating a holiday specific campaign, it is important that you have a strong grasp of your audience and whether or not your objectives have changed. If so, there is still time to edit your key messages before launching this year’s campaign.

4. Optimise Your Campaign for Mobile

In this day and age, customers spend much more time on their mobile phones than on their desktops. So, if your ads or landing pages are not optimised for mobile, then your customers are more likely to spend their money with your competitors. 

With more and more people shopping on the go, eCommerce business owners saw mobile transactions account for 66% of their sales during the holiday season last year. Therefore, when preparing for the holiday season, be sure to keep in mind how you can improve your site navigation when viewed on a mobile. In addition, I would also suggest looking at ways in which you can provide your mobile-first customers with a one-click purchasing option. 

In short, if you do not have an accessible way for users to interact with your business on mobile, then you need to start looking at ways of updating your output on Apple and Android devices. 

5. Invest in Email Marketing Capabilities

The holiday season is always a great time to reach out to both old and new customers, helping to generate even more leads. 

Recent studies show consumers are extremely receptive to email marketing, making this an effective vehicle for increasing holiday ROI. With customers scrambling for the best deals, they typically have little time to research products and therefore, by providing them with an email they can quickly scan wherever they may be makes it easy for them to simply make a purchase and move on with their day. 

Also bear in mind, even if your business is not centred around the holidays, you can still keep it at the forefront of your customers’ mind by sending out a seasonal greeting, readying them for when you are most active in the market. 

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