The holidays are a time for friends, family, and increased sales. The sheer volume of commerce taking place from early November to late December allows businesses to make up lost revenue earlier in the year, while potentially even getting ahead on next year’s budget. Maximizing this hypercompetitive period on the calendar requires marketing that dares to go outside the traditional strategies and take risks to stand out from others in your industry.
This article reveals what you need to do to create an advertising blitz that drives real results at a time when everyone is vying for consumers’ attentions.
1. Offer Incentives That Are Hard to Pass Up
Selling a product with a complimentary “add-on” as a way to entice customers isn’t a groundbreaking concept, but it still has a significant value – especially at a time when many are experiencing a less-than-ideal financial year. You’re much more likely to drive a conversion if a customer feels like they’re getting their money’s worth and then some.
Traditional options like BOGO (buy one, get one), extra discounts when you make a purchase, or even a free bonus item that complements a more expensive product can be an effective ways to get your customers to act.
2. Have a Plan and Stick to It
“I can’t believe it’s already [insert holiday]!” While you’re mother-in-law might say this at the family party, marketers should never experience this feeling. Planning your strategy several months in advance is the only way to avoid getting derailed when the inevitable holiday chaos arrives.
Although it might feel like the season sneaks up on all of us, the reality is that it happens at the same time every year. There’s simply no excuse for feeling caught off guard when it’s time to execute holiday ad campaigns that
3. Explain the Specific Benefit You Provide
The holidays should be about having fun with the ones you love, and this should translate in your advertising strategies! Instead of “selling” your products, encourage potential customers to consider how your brand can help enhance their enjoyment of the season.
Whether your brand offers physical products that may serve as gifts or provides services that frees up customers’ time to relax and spend time with friends and family, present your offer in the context of the holidays. Make sure all creative has relevance to the specific time of year and you’ll add a sense of urgency.
4. Don’t Forget About Remarketing
Remarketing is one of the most powerful digital advertising strategies available. If you’re not familiar, remarketing (also called retargeting) involves serving ads to audiences who have previously interacted with your brand in some digital capacity. For example, it may be users who have visited your website or opened an email marketing message you sent in the past.
In order to remarket effectively, it’s important to have your website equipped with site trackers such as the Facebook Pixel or Google Tag Manager. Once these are installed, you’ll be able to create targeting parameters that include these valuable audiences who are already aware of your company and thus more likely to convert.
5. Automate Your Strategy to Free Up Your Time For Optimizations
One of the many benefits of digital marketing is that you can set up campaigns in advance, which allows you to make dynamic decisions as data starts coming in. It’s important to mention that you don’t want to fall into the trap of making adjustments too early, as machine learning systems do undergo a learning period in which they’re working to determine the ideal audience. However, if it’s apparent that your ads aren’t going to perform up to your or your client’s standards, begin optimizing.
If there aren’t any clear targeting criteria that need altered, your creative may be the culprit of your campaign’s sub-par performance. Executing an A/B test (sometimes called a split-test) allows your audience to answer creative questions for you. Experiment with minor changes. For example, a different CTA button color or subtle text change may make all the difference.
Wrapping Up
Before you can convert customers this holiday season, you need to make sure your brand is being seen! We’ve helped businesses of all sizes and industries expand their reach in local markets while capturing an audience they never knew they could have. It starts with a tailored digital marketing game plan that’s customized with your specific business goals in mind. Get in touch today to see how we can help take your brand to the next level through digital campaign execution and better brand strategies.