The holiday season is close, and if you’re a business owner, there are many things that you can be thankful for. As you say your gratitude, you should also start preparing your holiday marketing strategy to get that sweet sales uptick you need during the holiday season.
There are many ways to boost your strategy, whether you learn from restaurant veterans who know the ins and outs of holiday marketing or try it yourself. If you’re unsure where to start, here are x steps to plan your holiday marketing strategy.
1. Start With The Creative Holiday Concept
During the holidays, one thing is consistent: people will look for deals, discounts, and creative ways to spend their money. You want to find a way to maximize people’s spending through creative holiday concepts that set your products and services in a “holiday” mood. Once your plan is in place, it’s time to work on the creative side.
If you’re looking for a way to boost your marketing campaign, you should work on getting a creative concept. The more creative, the better. Find a unique way to market your business and make that your focus.
The concept should not be something slipshod enough that it feels derivative. You want it to work with the holiday you’re celebrating while having it work with your products and services.
For example, if you own a restaurant, having a Christmas-inspired dinner party is perfect for the holiday season. You can decorate the place with decorations, give every customer a holiday shake or free cookie, and tie in new items and menu items that revolve around the holiday.
Your theme should make sense to your branding, whatever type of company, and it should be something your customers can relate to.
2. Define Your Target Audience
Many business owners mistake not defining their target audience during the holidays. For a successful campaign, you not only need to know who you are communicating with but who those people are.
Take the time to define who your ideal customer is. It doesn’t matter if you are an online or brick-and-mortar business. Even though you may be looking for all types of consumers, you won’t market to all of them in the same way.
Focus on the age, gender, and occupation of your potential customer. Know where they are located, what they like, and how they react to advertising. This will make a big difference in how you structure your marketing campaigns.
Every demographic reacts differently during the holidays, depending on the period. For example, Christmas has more prevalent spending habits in children and working adults. Knowing which demographic is more active during the holiday can give you a good idea of how to market to them.
3. Personalize Your Holiday Marketing Campaigns
Another way to get customers to spend money during the holidays is by personalizing your marketing efforts. Today, more and more customers are looking toward the businesses they support online and in person. They want to see a brand that they love and understand.
No matter where you are in your marketing journey, you should develop a connection with customers. You can do this through ads, social media posts, emails, and more.
For instance, you can personalize email marketing by knowing your buyer persona and creating content that speaks to them and their needs. You should also tailor content to fit the situation you’re in.
If your competitors give deep discounts on their products, you can take the opposite route and give some value add-ons that aren’t as tangible. There are plenty of ways to offer a special deal or promo code without drastically slashing your prices.
Think about the service or product you want to give your customers and figure out how to appeal to them based on that. Don’t always focus on the bottom line.
4. Create An Offer And Landing Page
Create an offer that will get recipients excited about your products. It doesn’t have to be product-focused. You can offer a gift with purchase, free shipping, additional items, or a coupon on a small item you sell.
You can also create a landing page that offers visitors something special. You can use a freebie as an incentive to capture a lead. You can also use a giveaway to get subscribers from your email database.
You can promote your best offers, a combination of your top two, or even your most popular products. Once you have your hook, get it out to your customers via your channel of choice.
One of the best ways to create a landing page is by creating an opt-in page that offers freebies, such as a discount or coupon, in exchange for an email. You can also use a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaign to drive traffic to your landing pages. Either way, creating a targeted offer increases your likelihood of getting conversions.
5. Make The Most Of Social Media
Remember that America has gone digital. Today, everyone spends time on social media. They also love to receive updates, special offers, and fresh content from their favorite brands. That’s why you need to take advantage of social media.
Start creating social media campaigns that will help your business throughout the season. You don’t need to be on every platform. Instead, choose the ones that your customers frequently visit. Experiment on various platforms and see which one gives the most positive results.
First, take a look at what your most successful posts of the past year were. Take those into account, and either do a re-enactment or build on that success.
Next, ask yourself what your goals are with your social media. Are you looking to build brand awareness, gain trust, find new customers, or improve your ROI? Your goals should drive your execution.
Third, consider your audience. What types of things would they like to see? What would interest them? What are their pain points? What is their demographic? What do they like to do in their free time? Understanding your target audience should shape your social approach.
Remember to interact with your followers when it’s all said and done. While having an organic approach to your social media marketing is essential, interacting with your fans and followers is important.
The Bottom Line
During the holiday season, you can expect an increase in profits. However, the competition will be fierce. To stand out, you need to do more than discount your product. You must create engaging marketing and advertising approaches combining video, imagery, and copy.
If you take the time to develop catchy and creative campaigns and know who your audience is, you’ll likely find the holiday season a bountiful period for your business.
