Inspirational Holiday Marketing Strategies

The holidays are around the corner. This means that most eCommerce businesses should expect a big wave of sales and revenue gains. Has your marketing department planned anything for the upcoming holidays? Check out our holiday marketing tips and strategies to maximize your sales at the end of the year.

Holiday Marketing Strategies

Make the best of these holiday marketing strategies. Remember: you have to understand your clients before planning out this strategy.

Plan early

Did you know that the holiday season really stretches over two months? The holiday season has gone way beyond Christmas and Hanukkah. There are so many holidays from many cultures that are celebrated at the end of the year. It’s a lot to plan for. But it’s also an extended period during which your marketing campaigns could – and should – reach more customers, boosting your sales.

Of course, a large part of your target audience starts thinking about holiday purchases and shopping well before December hits. That means you should start early with your holiday marketing — right around Thanksgiving, at least. But if you’re planning more elaborate marketing strategies, start earlier, like in August or September. It is not too early!

So just how exactly are you going to unwrap your holiday marketing? Here are some helpful points to consider.

Create fresh content

Using content to reach more customers is always a great idea. The point of creating and sharing content is to deliver something free and useful to your audience.

For example, you could create industry-specific holiday gift-giving guides and break them down based on budget, type of relationship, interests, age, hobbies, etc.

Then, put them in your blog or create a landing page where users can download them for free. Share this content on your social channels and through emails.

This content brings value to your audience by sharing it directly with them and adds value to your website. Great content is the foundation of effective SEO. It will help drive organic traffic to your website and, potentially, more clients.

Videos are an increasingly important outlet for content marketing. A short professionally-made video that tells a story evokes emotion and creates a connection with your audience can impact their purchasing decisions.

Create a sense of real urgency

Often, customers are undecided regarding which gifts to purchase. Help them decide by creating a sense of urgency. You can add a timer to your holiday-only promotions and offers.

A common way to show your limited-time-only promotions is to include them in a call to action. This is the time to get creative with copywriting and design. Once you’ve crafted the perfect CTA, add it to your homepage, landing pages, and emails.

Remember: always be truthful about your offers. Your “holiday” discounts should be specific to the holidays only. Otherwise, customers will sense it from a mile away. The holiday season isn’t just about creating revenue — it’s also about connecting with potential customers who may return to purchase again in the off-season.

Diversify your offers

As mentioned above, discounts are one of the main ways to attract more customers during the holidays (and beyond). But, try this, as well: sell multiple products as bundle offers. Offer three to five products as a package at a nice discount. During the holiday season, combo promotions can be highly effective, as people often look for the best value for their money.

Another way to incentivize building relationships (and increasing purchases) is to offer referral or loyalty programs. Try offering a discount for every customer who refers a friend. In addition, you can also offer gift cards or certificates, which are always attractive.

Personalize your CTAs and visuals

Holidays have specific visual themes, whether Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Hanukkah, Christmas or New Year’s Eve. To get into the holiday spirit, your visuals should also be appropriately holiday-themed. Millions of designs have been done before, but millions have yet to be invented. Remember that your copywriting is also a key part of the design.

If you’re planning to create new CTAs, do it with the holiday theme in mind. Posting on social media, too? Infuse that refreshing holiday spirit in your posts, as well. Many retailers also personalize their homepages with holiday-themed offers.

Promote your content

Once you have your holiday content and offers planned, it’s time to promote them! One of the best outlets for eCommerce businesses is still email. Start pushing your promotional emails two weeks before the holiday, but don’t flood your prospects’ inboxes! To further leverage email marketing without being a pest, consider sending a holiday-themed newsletter to your list of subscribers.

Social media is always a great way to share holiday offers via links, videos, or graphics. Study your competitor’s previous campaigns, determine how many posts you need to create, and figure out how much holiday ad money to allocate.

To improve your social presence, use an influencer strategy. Sponsor influencers to create non-promotional-looking content that highlights your products or services in the context of the holiday.

For holiday marketing planning and implementation, call Bright Pink Agency!

Before you know it, this year’s holidays will be a beautiful memory in social media albums. Don’t miss out on the many opportunities the holidays provide to make and strengthen connections, create brand awareness, and possibly increase those Q4 profits.

If you need help with your marketing efforts, reach out to us today. We’ll work with you to find the best and most effective social media and content strategies to boost your business results and profits.