Have you started thinking about your holiday marketing plan? You may be saying to yourself “no, it’s the summer,” but pretty soon we are going to be seeing Halloween decorations in stores. Holiday marketing seems to start earlier and earlier each year, and while consumers may complain about it, they are still starting to shop earlier and earlier each year. It’s important to have your plan in place before the fall so you’re not scrambling to capture customers.
When to Plan Your Holiday Marketing Campaigns
If your business has been around for at least a year, pull data from previous holiday seasons to see what was successful and what was not. This is a good starting point to start planning for the upcoming holidays.
The summertime should be when you start planning what kind of products/services, sales, displays, gift guides, etc, you will want to feature in your store and/or online. This way you can have all your campaign collateral ready to go to start marketing sales, new products, etc.
Holiday Marketing Tips
- Emphasize customer service and customer experience. This doesn’t really need an explanation! Make sure those interacting with your brand know how they can get in contact with questions, concerns, or compliments.
- Show past customers how much you value them. Don’t only focus on going after new customers. Make sure you are valuing your loyal customers as well. This can be as simple as sending them a thank you note or offering them a secret discount code.
- Focus on email marketing. Social media algorithms are constantly throttling organic reach, but your email list is yours. Don’t forget about it!
- Personalization. Consumers want to feel like you are talking directly to them, especially with emails.
- Mobile optimization. Make sure everything is optimized for mobile. This includes your website, emails, social posts, videos, ads, and any other content.
- Influencer marketing. We’ve talked a lot about influencer marketing here at AGC, and it’s definitely here to stay. Consider teaming up with some local influencers to do some campaigns. Smaller influencers may be willing to post in exchange for free products/services. Larger influencers may require a payment on top of the product.
These are just some tips to get you started with your holiday marketing. Keep checking back on our blog and social media as we will be sharing more tips! If you’re interested in buzzworthy marketing solutions, contact us to schedule a discovery call.
