It’s that time of year again, the time that often defines a business’s entire year; and digital marketing is a big part of that!
One-third of shoppers are doing their shopping even before Halloween hits (I happen to be one of “those people”). If you haven’t planned your digital marketing campaigns yet, you might miss out on your best season yet.
1. Prep your campaign – it’s all in the planning folks!
Start conceptualizing and building your campaigns before the wave of the holiday’s start rolling. Build your campaigns one at a time, with clear goals, key performance indicators (KPI’s) and enough time for your brand to resonate with your target audience for the biggest ROI.
WORK SMART. Start by planning with the end in mind. Be specific with your campaigns. Know what KPI’s you want to follow and know what outcomes you expect.
Make sure your promotions are measurable. The best thing about digital marketing is the ability to track, assess and revise as you go. Be realistic with your goals and make sure all your campaigns are achievable.
Relevance is key. All your efforts should be relevant to your business objectives, the season and the business goals. If you’re planning on your initiatives early enough then your projects should be within a good timeframe. Set specific dates to have creative and content done so your campaigns are ready to go when the time is right.
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2. Target new customers
Looking for new customers can be a challenge. Hopefully, you have a business plan and you know who your primary (and secondary etc.) target audience is. Knowing who your perfect customer is, where they are and what their interests are (just to name a few), is key.
Showing appreciation for your existing customers shouldn’t be dismissed, but finding new customers to do business with simply means growth. Digital marketing to your demographic doesn’t always mean just one medium. It usually means several so make sure you understand your options and what is going to work best for you.
Facebook advertising can be extremely effective because you can target your ideal customer through:
- age
- gender
- location
- interests
- behaviours
… for as little as $10/day if you’re in a smaller or very specific demographic. If you’re uber-late with your Christmas marketing, social media ads could be an easy and fast way to get your share of the holiday shopping.
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3. Know what’s trending
(updated November 2022) Shopping is 24/7 in this digital age and about 75% is done via mobile and consumers are preferring apps. Some shoppers spend many hours researching gift-giving ideas… Pinterest is the 14th largest social network in the world and its fastest growth is unexpectedly coming from GEN Z and MEN. Globally, both audiences grew 40% year over year in 2020, bringing a ton of new Pinners to the platform.
According to Stackla, 79% of people say that user-generated content on social media significantly impacts their purchasing decisions. According to Hubspot, consumers are 71% more likely to buy something based on social media referrals and according to Finances Online, 55% of consumers share their purchases on social media platforms with 42.6% of social media referral shares happening on Facebook in 2020.
According to the Washington Post, more Gen Z and millennials shoppers than ever are turning to TikTok, Instagram and other sites to find and buy gifts. It also says that 6 in 10 shoppers say they get “inspiration and ideas” from social media.
The holiday season is a big one for retailers, so make sure your campaign stands out. Make sure it’s professionally executed, targets your ideal customer and lands on the perfect landing page.
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4. What’s working and what’s not
It’s all about testing and your history will greatly influence your future. Every single time you do a campaign you should understand what worked and what didn’t. Sometimes this can be a bit difficult but that’s why there’s ‘split testing’. When you split test an ad, make sure your differences aren’t huge so you can really understand what’s working better. Don’t be afraid to split test creative only in one campaign, and then copy in another.
If it’s not creative or copy, look at your campaign objectively and ask yourself if the campaign really speaks to your target audience, or if it’s something your target audience is really interested in. It’s also important to ask yourself if you’ve used the right mediums to reach your audience.
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Bonus Pro Tips
Too often businesses neglect their digital presence and then panic to get things working at this time of the year.
Maintaining your creative and content schedule keeps your brand rolling all year-’round. When the fall ‘push’ comes, you’re already at the forefront of your audience’s mind. Executing some relevant campaigns is much easier, cost-effective and they usually perform better.
There is no marketing magic that works overnight. It’s about planning, consistency and maintaining a professional online presence.
Lastly … K.I.S.S. – Keep it simple silly. Overcomplicating a campaign can confuse a viewer’s perspective, your team’s efforts and even your KPIs.