The Christmas holidays are right around the corner, and it’s shaping up to be a jolly time of year for both shoppers and businesses. Christmas retail sales are forecast to grow to about 680.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2017. That’s a 3.8 percent increase from last year. One way to make sure you don’t miss out on those sales is to put a digital marketing strategy in place for your Christmas campaigns. Content creation, email marketing, targeted ads and social media – a comprehensive plan will boost your chance of success this Christmas season.
Content Marketing
Content is king, as they say. At no time is that more true – or more easily accomplished – than at Christmas. Put simply, content marketing is anything from pictures and videos to infographics or blog posts. Basically, if it’s “shareable” then it’s content. The goal of content marketing is to increase your brand awareness and reputation as the “expert” in your industry or niche. It also helps to drive traffic to your website and boost your followers on social media.
Ideally, you want to offer meaningful information (i.e., content) to your readers. Think about what it is they’re looking for this Christmas season and incorporate that into your content strategy. Make the most of the increased online presence of folks searching for interesting gift ideas. Put a holiday twist on the products or services that you offer, and tap into your inner child and play around with imaginative Christmas content.
The next step is sharing it.
Social Media
You can create the most amazing content in the online world, but if your customers don’t see it, then it’s useless. Sharing on social media is one of the quickest and most cost-efficient ways for promoting your Christmas campaigns. It also provides an opportunity to interact with your customers and make yourself more approachable, more personal.
Small easy changes – like swapping your profile picture to something “Christmas-y” and creating a cover photo image that includes your special holiday promos – will go a long way to getting your Christmas campaign message to your fans. You can post the shareable and relatable content you’ve created, but you can also use this time of year to hold a contest or giveaway that would encourage engagement on your social pages.
Another thing to consider is using the holidays to spread good cheer through charitable activities and encourage your fans to do the same. Show your holiday spirit and help others to do the same.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is important in both lead generation and keeping your current customers informed. There are a few tips and tricks to use that will help your email marketing make a big impact on your Christmas campaign.
Don’t overdo the Christmas theme. A festive feel should be sprinkled throughout your emails to make them feel seasonal and relevant, but keep in mind that not everyone on your email list will celebrate the season.
Sales and discount offers are great, but you can also hold competitions and use your email marketing to tie in to what you’re doing on your social media pages. This brings elements of your marketing together into one cohesive campaign.
Customize your email lists to different individuals. Think about prior purchases a customer has made and create email campaigns around those items. These small touches can make big changes. 96% of businesses believe that personalization helps advance customer relationships. The Christmas season creates a lot of opportunity for thoughtful and personalized holiday email campaigns that can result in high engagement and effective lead generation.
Targeted Paid Ads
And last, but certainly not least, are the targeted paid ads. At Christmas time, people head online to search for gift ideas for family and friends, holiday community events, restaurant or venue deals. Take advantage of this spike in traffic to get your paid advertising in front of the most people possible.
Using tools like Google Adwords, Facebook ads, Twitter advertising, and Instagram ads, you can pinpoint your target market and get your ads in front of your ideal customers. A paid digital advertising campaign at Christmas can highlight your seasonal offers all over the web.
Using these tips, you can create a complete and cohesive digital marketing strategy that will make this year’s Christmas campaign a success. If you’d like assistance developing your campaign, we’re here to help. Contact us today.
