‘Tis the Season
In an increasingly online winter shopping season, it’s going to take a little more than holiday cheer to set your company’s marketing apart. It may have seemed like pumpkin spice latte season just arrived, but corporations are already battening their digital hatches and preparing for a Black Friday geared more towards adding to a virtual cart than a physical one.
Despite the looming economic threat the pandemic still holds, experts are predicting a positive trajectory for the shopping season anyway: e-commerce sales in the US are forecasted to jump 35.8%, but brick and mortar sales are expected to fall by about 5%. Whether shipping out from a mom-and-pop shop or planning for a major holiday rollout, here are some of our insights on how to make your marketing float to the top in an especially competitive year.
Seasonal Social Media
Beyond theming social media for the holidays with cute graphics or catchy phrases, Q4 is also a perfect time to capture some new customers (not to mention the fact that Q4 is also the largest sector for e-commerce and retail). There are few things people love more than initiatives with the word “free” involved, and giveaways can be a great tool for getting new followers on social media, who can then be turned into paying customers. Get your team set on a clear goal: are you hoping to increase your follower account by a specific number? Are you hoping to maximize your brand awareness and create positive connotations through the most wonderful time of the year? Are you simply hoping to capture some of that Dickensian goodwill and leave a positive mark on your community? Whatever the answer may be, get a vision locked in and get to work.
It can be worth it to partner up with a peer brand, or even with a brand that has a hold on a niche or demographic you’re hoping to capture. A great partnership should be mutually beneficial, and a joint giveaway, when done right, can be the perfect crossover.
Holiday Ad Campaigns
Visions of sugarplums are already dancing in everyone’s heads, but leave some room for some creative ad copy, too. Once again, changing a font or graphic isn’t quite enough – create a sense of urgency with clear sales information and timelines. Language letting people know that a sale or product won’t last forever can be highly effective in getting that click. If you have access, take a look at your social media or ad insights and take note of engagement times. Run ads when your existing followers are most active and get the info you’re most excited about in front of the people that already interact with you the most. According to SaleCycle, the peak hour each day is between 8pm and 9pm, though sales volumes are consistently high from 3pm, only beginning to drop off after 10pm. Every brand or company is a little different – what are your peak times?
Don’t Forget Email
A few weeks ago, we talked about the importance of great email marketing, and this time of the year only heightens that significance. Maybe pull that perfect holiday quip you locked in for ad copy and retrofit it for an email heading not even a grinch could scroll past. Once again, make the info clear and distinguishable – among all of the holiday content in our inboxes, what’s it going to take for yours to stand out? Lastly, one of our most important tips for email marketing is refreshing a targeted list, which has proven to be one of the biggest connections to increasing revenue.
After all, what’s jollier than a really successful holiday season?