10 Effective Strategies for Holiday Marketing

As you begin planning marketing strategies for the holidays, it’s important to do what you can to create the perfect experience for prospects and customers. To help you develop the best holiday marketing campaign, consider the following strategies to connect with audiences.

 

1. Get a Head Start on Your Campaigns

Many businesses tend to wait too long to get started on their holiday marketing campaigns. If you want to develop an effective campaign, you should start as early as you can to keep you prepared. Starting as early as September or October can make sure that your campaigns are ready to launch by November and December. Starting early also gives you a chance to test certain campaigns to determine what works and what doesn’t before committing to a strategy.

 

Keep in mind that while many consumers procrastinate gift-buying, there are also many shoppers who start early. If you begin your campaigns during the fall, you’ll be able to appeal to these early shoppers and encourage them to buy from you over your competitors.

 

2. Give Thanks to Your Customers

A lot of consumers look for the best deals during the holiday season, which means that even the most loyal customers could wind up shopping at competitors’ stores. To keep your customers on your side and entice them to keep buying from you throughout the holidays, show that you appreciate their business.

 

One way you can keep your business on customers’ minds during the holiday season is to create a holiday-themed video. The video could feature staff members giving thanks to customers for their support, with an overall message of gratitude that comes through clearly.

 

3. Create an Unparalleled Customer Experience

Holidays can be just as anxiety-inducing as they are joyful, as people stress out about shopping for friends and family. To help ease people’s stress, try to focus on creating a great customer experience that makes your store a comforting place for shoppers.

 

For instance, you could publish and share blog posts that help customers find what they’re looking for, with quick gift ideas that include your products or services. In turn, you’ll come across as a source of comfort while encouraging shoppers to buy from you, especially while in a rush.

 

4. Launch Strong Holiday Email Campaigns

Throughout the holidays, prospects and customers may not have the time to deal with direct mail, offline ads, or other types of marketing. If you want to attract more people during the holidays and keep them consistently engaged, email marketing is a potentially invaluable asset.

 

People normally continue to check their email inbox during the holiday season, which gives you the opportunity to appear before them with various marketing materials. From product promotions, discounts, and other offers to helpful guides that help your customers find the right gifts for friends and family, there are many ways to use email to your advantage.

 

5. Offer Free Products or Other Gifts

During the holidays, people like the sensation of receiving as much as giving. To encourage people to buy your products or services instead of competitors’, consider offering free gifts to customers as a reward for buying from you.

 

You may offer free products with orders over a certain amount, or you could offer free shipping. Regardless of the type of reward you choose, people will be more likely to buy from you instead of shopping at another store that doesn’t offer anything in return for their business.

 

Make sure you regularly promote any sales, giveaways, and other offers that remind people to come back to you throughout the holidays.

 

6. Create Holiday-themed Ads

In addition to video ads that contribute a festive touch to your advertising, you can also create holiday-themed pay-per-click (PPC) ads. You can use imagery and text combinations that evoke that joyful vibe that people want to encounter during the holidays.

 

You can then use these ads in conjunction with a holiday-themed content campaign that features social media posts or blog posts centered on the holiday season.

 

7. Use Retargeting to Connect with Customers Who Visit Your Website

A lot of people visit a website and consider making a purchase, only to leave without actually buying anything. If you want to bring those people back when they desperately need a gift or suddenly remember what they wanted to buy in the first place, a retargeting campaign can be the key to making those sales.

 

If people visit a product page, you can use a pixel to track them as they visit other websites, pushing relevant ads that keep you in their mind as they browse other content. Another retargeting strategy could entail sending follow-up emails to people who submit their emails but have abandoned their shopping carts.

 

You can also try to determine why people neglected to make a purchase beyond simply forgetting. For example, there could be a development issue on your website that makes it literally impossible to make a purchase.

 

8. Start Conversations Around the Holidays

You can also work to begin discussions regarding the holidays, further engaging customers and prospects. Using blog posts, social media, or other platforms, you can launch topics that encourage people to interact with your brand.

 

One method you can use is to launch a Facebook post that asks people what they plan to do during the holidays. People can then leave comments, and you can respond to those comments. In the process, your business shows that it cares about people’s opinions beyond simply selling to them.

 

9. Create a Video Marketing Campaign

Apart from content and PPC ads, you should also create entertaining videos that drive more sales and put people in that “festive” mood. You can launch video campaigns that work together with emails, blog posts, or social media posts that engage viewers while informing people about your company and offerings.

 

Video campaigns can go a long way in increasing brand recognition and driving sales.

 

10. Capture the Emotions of the Holidays

Regardless of the types of marketing strategies you use throughout the holiday season, try to appeal to people’s emotions during this time of year as much as possible. Try to create campaigns that charm your audience and make you stand out with your ability to capture the essence of the holidays.

 

Maximizing your appeal during the holidays will encourage more people to turn to you and further increase sales.

 

All of these strategies can help you make the most of the holidays as you develop marketing campaigns. Taking the time to prepare your marketing for the holidays will help ensure you serve as a leading hub for shoppers during this time of year.