Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way… It’s holiday time! Well, not quite yet but soon it will be. This time of the year is the busiest of all and it requires marketing planning. Have you thought up your Successful Holiday Campaigns yet?
If you haven’t, no need to worry! It’s tight but there’s still time to think it through and put it into practice. Your strategy should approach different sides of marketing, such as inbound marketing, benchmarketing, as well as others.
Here you will come across valuable tips to follow the latest trends and build a strong holiday campaign.
What makes Successful Holiday Campaigns?
Holidays are all about magic. It is the time to give and receive. People are receptive and want to buy gifts for their loved ones. There is something about this time of the year that makes everything that little bit more special.
It can be overwhelming, but don’t worry. Get back to marketing basics and add a holiday spice to it.
- Prepare your inventory before starting a promotion
- Adopt effective strategies to boost engagement and results
- The sale does not end on the holiday. Consider actions after the holiday season
Re-read previous campaigns
You can also review and get inspired by your old campaigns. There is another marketing strategy called benchmarking. Essentially it is evaluating key business metrics and practices by making comparisons.
In addition to being inspired by others, you can also find ways to adapt strategies that work for your brand.
Trends to Achieve Successful Holiday Campaigns
Now that you’ve done the basics of marketing, it’s time to stay on top of the main trends and choose which ones fit your brand. Here you will see 7 of them below.
1. Sell online and in-store
This is (G)old. The idea that you need to invest in online marketing to achieve successful holiday campaigns is nothing new. But it’s the main trend you should follow to optimize your Christmas actions. Be aware and don’t forget to focus on your online presence. Remember to include in your to-do list:
- Updating landing pages
- Building brand awareness
- Attracting new customers
Remember that online shopping has gained popularity among users. Research from Oberlo estimates that 266.7 million US shoppers purchased goods and services online last year alone.
And your digital presence has to impact on your physical store. Never forget this. Decorate your store. Make customers feel the joyous and loving atmosphere that comes with this season.
2. Adapt your site to holiday mode
Projections suggest that online retail sales on a global scale are expected to surpass the US$7 trillion mark by the year 2025, according to information from Insider Intelligence. Your marketplace has to work and scream holiday to make your customers feel happy to buy with you.
3. Get a content marketing strategy
But you can’t only focus on your marketplace. You also have to improve your inbound marketing and content strategy. After all 63% of purchases start online. Even if the purchase is not made in an online store, consumers usually search for a store or product using a search engine first.
So you need to think about your SEO Strategy to increase your website ranking utilizing Google search (and others). This plan is drawn up from several foundational pillars, including:
- technical SEO
- content strategy
- on-page SEO
- backlinks
- user experience
- trust
4. Email is not dead
Another trend is email marketing. Research shows that email marketing return on investment (ROI) is – wait for it – 4,200%. Shocking, right?
The use of emails reaches 4.26 billion people – more than half the global population. Projections indicate that this number will increase to 4.6 billion by 2025, consolidating email as one of the most crucial channels for digital marketing.
Email marketing demonstrates a significant ROI, especially in the retail, e-commerce and consumer goods industries, generating $42 for every dollar invested and motivating 60% of consumers to make a purchase.
Here’s a tip:
To get into email marketing, the first step is to build an email list. Use email registration tools to develop registration forms and manage email communication.
5. Use social media to benefit your campaign
People of today have an additional body part: their cell phones. A survey by App Annie via Forbes states that every human being spends a third of their time staring down at their screen.
So your client is probably on social media with this influencing their decision-making power. No wonder 90% of marketers say that social data helps them get ahead of their competitors.
Using social media to your advantage is a way to increase your company’s reputation and even reach other customers. This is where your brand’s positioning should be expressed.
People don’t buy just out of necessity. They want to see themselves as part of the brand. They wanna believe what you believe. At least that’s what a Stackla survey shows, in which 88% of consumers decide to support brands if they consider them authentic.
You can also use social media as a brand thermometer. Here you get the real opinion of your potential customer, and are therefore able to take advantage of the easy access to this information to adapt and correct errors.
6. Bet on videos
Online videos are already the main marketing strategy and should not be overlooked in holiday campaigns. About 91% of consumers see videos from brands.
Take this opportunity to show what your company is all about.
- get emotional
- support a cause
- be authentic
- get creative
It’s almost as if people were waiting for the Super Bowl commercials to comment on the brilliant campaigns. But all year round.
7. Influencer Marketing
Last but not least. Influencer Marketing is a trend that sticks. It is celebrity marketing 2.0. This strategy will help you to build trust and loyalty with your customers.
Here are 7 tips to do it right:
- Offer discounts through influencers
- Hold a holiday giveaway
- Start a countdown
- Bet on influencers who have similar values to those of your brand
- Let influencers put their spin on the campaign
- Don’t interfere with the influencer’s authenticity and allow them to give real feedback – even if it’s not that good
- Invite customers to join your brand community
Enjoy the Holidays
Also, don’t forget to have fun and connect with your customers. Have fun. Get in the Christmas spirit. If you are feeling it your customers will feel it too and you will have successful holiday campaigns.
