If you think it is too early to kick off your holiday campaigns, think again! Savvy marketers and business owners have already rolled out the first phase of their holiday campaigns. Don’t believe us? Search for Macy’s or Best Buy and you will find that organic results for Macy’s lists links announcing the giant retailer will be open on Thanksgiving this year and Best Buy has already launched their Black Friday deals site.
Why all this now? This year’s holiday forecast is higher than the average 10 year forecast. The National Retail Federation expects holiday sales to reach over $640 billion, an 11% increase from 2012. Marketers, large and small, all across the country, are under pressure to deliver. E-commerce and m-commerce sales will see the highest levels of growth, with m-commerce gaining the larger share at 16%, while e-commerce is expected to grow by 14%.
Incorporate these 5 essential tips to ensure a successful holiday season:
Budgeting for a Big Bang
Holiday campaign budgets will continue to trend upward in accordance with consumer spending. The biggest mistake that marketers make, regardless of the amount, is treating their holiday budget the same as their everyday budget. Don’t fall into this trap. Budget for the ebbs and flows of holiday spending (Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday, etc.). Set aside money for teaser campaigns, social, search and mobile. We also suggest trying something new: allocate 5% to 10% of your budget to experimental campaigns like launching a video campaign on Instagram.
Campaign Diversification Drives Interest
A successful holiday campaign requires platform diversifications and messaging variations. Write down all variations of your messaging for different promotions you’ll be running according to the various platforms these campaigns will run on (social, mobile, search, print, etc).
Need a little creative inspiration? Check out these ideas: countdown clock to Cyber Monday or Black Friday, Monday Steals (to get people in the habit of coming to your site on Monday’s before it’s too crazy), Gift Guides featuring your products and more!
Search: Don’t Be a Pusher. Give your Consumers Something of Value
Search should include a two-fold strategy: organic and paid.
Organic: Create content that is valuable to your consumers and post it on your site. Or consider securing a URL that you’ll use year over year and post your content to this site to help build up link equity. What type of content should you create? Think about what your consumers will search for and what information you can provide that will be helpful. For example: A guide to planning holiday dinner (if you’re a food advertisers, photo gift guides (for him, her and the kids.), deals of the day page, tips for holiday shopping and more! Here’s how a few leading retailers are doing it now: Best Buy and Amazon.
Paid Search: Messaging and positioning matter. 94% of consumers click on organic links to access the content they want, bypassing search ads. It’s crucial that your ads are placed alongside the content that consumers are engaged with. So allocate a higher percent of your budget to platforms that position you accordingly. Tweak your messaging to get a higher click through by giving your consumers something special: Free Shipping, Free Gift with Purchase, Bonus Offer, etc.
Add a Little Spice to your Social Campaigns
Social is an effective way to drive sales. More than 81% of retailers’ use Facebook to alert shoppers about holiday deals. Coupons, sweepstakes and giveaways are a great way to drive sales. Whichever you choose keep your campaigns simple, easy to share and easy to follow by using hashtags.
Helpful hints for coupons: Over 102.5 million adults in the U.S. will use digital coupons for their holiday shopping this year. Be creative by making consumers feel that their coupon is exclusive to them, create unique codes and messages for each campaign you launch. This social media coupon example from Kohl’s gives users access to 15% off, online and in-store.
Think outside of the box: Create campaigns that go beyond pushing products. Instead, find ways to relate to your consumers that encourage engagement with your brand. Last year Gap ran a “Pin to Win” campaign on Pinterest that encouraged users to pin what they wanted for the holidays. Throughout the campaign random consumers were selected and rewarded with GAP gift cards!
Make Magic Happen on Mobile
Over the past year mobile commerce sales have shot up by 81%! Consumers are making purchase decisions via their smart devices more than ever before. A mobile campaign strategy is a must!
All campaigns should have a mobile extension:
Remember that holiday shoppers are savvy; they expect more from retailers, they are mobile and social. Engage your audience early to capitalize on consumer spending.
For more insights download our Step-by-Step Holiday Guide and read into 6 Tips to a Successful Holiday Campaign.
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October 2013 | 5 Tips that will Set You Up for Holiday Success
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