BLOG | Digital Marketing How to Create an Effective Holiday Marketing Strategy

The holidays are on their way. Is your business ready?

While the holiday season is generally a fun time, for business owners, it means more competition than usual. However, it also provides you with several opportunities to gain more customers.

If you want your business to do well this season, then you need to make sure that you have a foolproof holiday marketing strategy. How do you get started on this? Well, these tips can help you out:

15 Holiday Marketing Strategy Examples to Keep Your Business Thriving

Up your game this holiday season with these tried-and-tested marketing strategies that will get your target audience’s attention.

1. Plan Your Campaign Early

   A lot of businesses leave their holiday marketing strategy until the last minute. You do not want to be in the same boat as them. Therefore, the earlier you begin plotting out your campaign, the better.

   Remember, while several individuals buy their gifts at the last minute, there are others who buy ahead. You can gain this particular audience’s attention by posting holiday ads and seasonal offers before the competition.

2. Identify the Kind of Discounts You Want to Offer

   Your target audience is a smart bunch. They know that during the holiday season, all kinds of businesses are vying for customers. So, it is safe to assume that they are eagerly keeping an eye out for sales and discounts. This would be a great opportunity to come up with a way to use their excitement to your benefit.

   You could, for example, offer a sitewide discount to entice bargain lovers. Or, you could plot out a series of weekly promotions that will give customers a reason to keep coming back.

3. Provide an Excellent Customer Experience

   Typically, the holidays are known as one of the happiest times of the year. But, they’re also infamous for the stress they bring, particularly with gift shopping. Your business can clear your customers’ stress by offering certain tips or tricks to give them a great experience.

   Now, as a business owner, you should concentrate on creating content that is related to your products or services—and consumers’ needs. Always keep this in mind before you develop any holiday-themed content.

4. Share Your Gratitude

   When it comes to the holidays, consumers may spend a considerable amount of time thinking about what and where they want to spend their money. Therefore, there may be a chance that even your most loyal customers will buy elsewhere during this period.

   Do you want that to happen? Of course not.

   So, how can you gain new customers and keep your old ones? The answer is to remain top-of-mind. Now, one effective holiday marketing strategy that can promote your customers’ loyalty is showing your gratitude.

   Your goal is to show them that they are important to your business. There are different ways you can show gratitude, but one specific example is a “Thank You” email. It is heartwarming and can motivate them to do their holiday shopping with you.

5. Don’t Overcomplicate Things

   With all of the activities the holiday season brings, it is easy to get caught up in everything. But, if your business is still new, then it is better to make your holiday campaign smaller. This will help you avoid feeling overwhelmed.

   The secret to a simple yet effective holiday campaign is to focus on one idea, one benefit, and one emotion in every message you send. The idea is a result your product or service can provide. On the other hand, the benefit is what the buyer gains. Lastly, the emotion is what drags them in and makes them remember you.

   If you would like to try a new voice to your customers, the holidays will not be a good time to do so. Why? It is because you will be putting too much at risk. However, if you really want to try out a different approach, then you could do an A/B test.

6. Take Advantage of Email Marketing

   The holiday season, as you know, is a busy period. That means shoppers will not have the time for phone calls or snail mail. It is a different story, though, when it comes to checking their email.

   Obviously, during the holidays, businesses send their customers all kinds of offers. Hence, that is why many of them keep looking at their inbox. They know that these emails they receive will help them enjoy good deals.

   Therefore, you should take advantage of email marketing at this time of the year. Remember why you have that contact list to begin with. Engage them by sending emails promoting your deals, sales, or limited-edition products. With a short but sweet email, you can gain the shoppers’ attention and persuade them to buy. It is a win for them and a win for you.

7. Create Special Hashtags

   These days, most people have social media accounts. So, you should use this opportunity to reach more individuals and engage with your current audience through these platforms. But, if your business is already no stranger to social media marketing, then you want to ensure that it is ready for the holidays.

   Now, how can you make social media part of your holiday marketing strategy? The answer is simple—use hashtags. These are particularly useful on platforms such as Twitter and Instagram.

   You can use hashtags to tell everyone about your deals and promotions. Plus, it stimulates user-generated content. For instance, you can create a special hashtag for your followers to use when they post a status or photo of your product.

   Another benefit of hashtags? They are memorable—when done right. These help potential customers remember your name better. Furthermore, hashtags can also help shoppers find you when they want to buy the perfect gift.

   With that, use hashtags on your social media accounts strategically to generate buzz during one of the busiest times of the year.

8. Provide a Genuine Reason to Buy

   Creating a sense of false urgency is a huge no. While it makes sense to offer discounts during this time of the year, remember that you should also be providing your customers with value. This means giving early shoppers first access to deals and sharing different offers with last-minute shoppers.

   Why should you do this? The reason is that you want to establish a real relationship with your customers. You want them to buy from you again—and not just when it is the festive season. Thus, make customer retention one of your priorities when making any marketing decision for the holidays.

9. Don’t Forget About Your Old Customers

   Yes, you should make an effort to gain new customers. But, at the same time, you should not disregard your loyal customer base. After all, they make up a huge chunk of your sales. Suffice to say, it is worth your time to stay connected with them.

   To show your most loyal customers that you value them, offer an exclusive discount. You can also send them holiday cards through email to let them know you are thinking of them.

10. Customer Retargeting

    Did you know that a big percentage of people exit a site without buying anything? Yes, you read that right. You can change that, though, with a retargeting email.

    How does this work exactly? Well, for example, if a buyer gives their email address but does not check out their cart, you can nudge them with an email. This email hints that they left something behind, which may convince them to push through with buying.

    Another option is through a remarketing ad campaign. This campaign concentrates on users that went to your website. Since this can be a big group of individuals, you can segment your audience to a particular product page.

    When it comes to retargeting, you should never forget how crucial it is to know your audience’s motivations. Figure out what caused them to forego their purchase. It could have been because your website did not load fast enough—or that the checkout process involved too many steps.

11. Encourage Rapport

    You have several opportunities to keep your audience engaged. For instance, you got your website, your newsletter, and your social media accounts. Now, you should not only connect with your audience when it is the holidays. It is just as important to build a rapport with them throughout the year.

    As a suggestion, you can create a Facebook post asking your followers what they are looking forward to on the holidays. From there, you can reply to their comments with individualized responses.

12. Use Mobile to Its Full Potential

    In recent years, mobile marketing has made a major impact on e-commerce. This will only continue to rise in the years to come, as more individuals are making the shift to mobile.

    Therefore, you must see to it that your marketing campaigns are mobile-friendly. Your website should also be optimized for mobile devices.

13. Offer Free Shipping

    Do you run an e-commerce business? If you do, then it would be smart to offer free shipping during the holidays.

    It will help you gain a lot of sales—but you need to ensure that your audience knows about it. You can announce the good news in your marketing emails or add a nice banner on your website.

14. Use Video Marketing

    
    A video is worth a thousand words, which means that video marketing is an extremely valuable holiday marketing strategy. It is a powerful tool because it helps influence consumers into making a purchase.

    By putting up videos on your social media, emails, and website, you can spread your business’ message in a manner that encourages your audience to find out more about your brand and what you offer. Do not forget to make an account on YouTube, too. You can upload your videos there and share it across your social media platforms.

15. Channel the Holiday Spirit

    Your customers are not only looking to buy a couple of gifts. They also want to feel the holiday spirit. Let them get what they are looking for. You can embrace the festive season by updating your homepage or adding a holiday-themed landing page.

    If you own an online store, then you could also provide your customers with the option to get their orders gift wrapped. Or, you can come up with a special edition product that they can only get during this time of the year.

Wrapping Up

Through brainstorming, you can create a holiday marketing strategy that works for your business and boosts your sales. With the strategies we have listed above, you will definitely have enough choices to help you promote your products or services.

If you want your holiday marketing efforts to be successful, then begin planning now, consider your customers in every choice you make, and remember how crucial it is to establish value for your brand.

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Make Your Holiday Marketing Strategy a Success with Proweaver

Are you too busy running your business to plan your holiday marketing strategy on your own? Not to worry! Our talented team at Proweaver would be more than happy to assist you.

With over 10 years of digital marketing experience under our belts, we have helped thousands of clients reach their business objectives. Do yourself a favor and let us help you achieve success, too!

Our team can work together with you to take the hassle out of your holiday marketing. All you have to do is to tell us what your vision is and we will translate it into reality. Just leave it to us and focus on enjoying the holiday season. You definitely deserve it.

If you would like to learn more regarding this, then we invite you to call us at +1 (866) 777-8315. One of our friendly representatives will be in touch with you shortly. We cannot wait to start working with you!