What do retail brands, eCommerce companies, and mobile marketers have in common? They all thrive during the holidays. Whether it’s Easter, July 4th, or Christmas, a well-timed seasonal campaign works wonders on a company’s bottom line, provided you can leverage the right message to a receptive audience. The trick is to be prepared, which is why we developed a marketing advice checklist that applies to any upcoming holiday in 2020.
Start planning early
The last thing a marketer wants is to organize a seasonal campaign the week before a major holiday. Not only will it be chaotically rushed, but media-buying options alone will also be far more expensive — one Shopify report noted the cost-per-click for Facebook ads on Black Friday are 140% higher than the annual average.
The earlier you put together a marketing plan, the sooner you can roll out promotions that customers will see. Approximately two months before the holiday, you should be ready to:
- Prepare your marketing and promotional timelines. Ideally, you should have a detailed schedule for each campaign event. While this timeline may vary by industry, you’ll want to have dates for:
- When sales begin and end
- When to make marketing promotions available on each channel
- When seasonal branding should appear on your website
- The last date to order any gifts in time for the holiday
- Assign responsibilities. Any successful campaign will create a simultaneous influx of sales and customer service requests. These early stages are the best time to assign team members to each element of the campaign, from creating content to monitoring social media channels.
- Review previous holiday campaigns. If you’ve managed seasonal marketing in the past, you probably have all kinds of performance data to work with this year. Find ways you can improve while adopting content wherever possible.
Focus on a seasonal audience
Once you’ve established the basics, it’s time to isolate the audiences most likely to appreciate a seasonal promotion. While this might seem easy for major holidays like Christmas, other significant calendar dates will require you to target more specialized audiences with focused marketing.
- Conduct market research. As with any product or service, it’s essential to know whom your seasonal campaign will reach. Back-to-school promotions, for example, will target students and parents — and brands should research these groups accordingly.
- Conduct competitive research. If you understand how a competitor’s campaign helps them stand out, it’s easier to find opportunity gaps that your brand can fill.
- Create seasonal messaging. What kind of message or theme will your campaign represent? Using the information gathered in previous steps, develop messaging that fits your current audience and branding goals.
Highlight your best offers
Your seasonal marketing campaign should resonate with an audience, but you’ll need a valuable product or service to close the deal. The exact benefits will vary depending on the season. While Black Friday is a great time for discounts, the Christmas season proper is primed for free shipping offers. When all else fails, it’s hard to go wrong with a well-timed holiday promo code.
- Incentivize your best holiday offer. Find out which of your products will be of primary interest to customers at this point in the season. Then, give them additional reasons to make a purchase — direct discounts, bundle deals, and coupons are great options.
- Create holiday-themed marketing content for highlighted deals. How are customers going to find out about holiday offers if you don’t promote them? Design promotional marketing content around your best deals for email, social media, or traditional advertising channels. Use engaging visuals through images or video footage wherever possible.
Double-check everything!
Once your campaign is ready, be sure to test everything before it goes live to the public. That way, you won’t need to scramble if emails fail to deliver or if your holiday website is buggy. Some common examples might include:
- Test-launch holiday web pages on desktop and mobile devices
- Make mock purchases in advance using new promotional codes
- Review your server load capacity for additional customers
- Verify current inventory
And finally, don’t forget to make sure your analytical tools are ready to collect the latest influx of consumer data. A successful seasonal campaign will show you what works so that you can optimize it for next year!
