The holiday season is almost here, and it comes with numerous opportunities for online businesses to capitalise, especially if they have their digital marketing strategy in order.
From Black Friday to Boxing Day, individuals look to spend around this time of the year. As a business, you must align your website and digital marketing strategy for the holidays. You don’t need a complete overhaul of either, but there are little things you can do to make the most of the holiday season. Let’s look at what they are.
1. Start planning
If you haven’t formulated a strategy by now, you are already late! You need a well thought-out Christmas campaign. For those that think they can “wing it” at the last minute, think again. Your digital marketing Christmas campaign could get even better success if you plan it out instead.
A major part of planning is to analyze the data you have from previous years. Look at the analytics tools you employ to see what worked in previous years and what didn’t. Look for pages that generated traffic, which underperformed, the period in which your website attracted visitors, and so on. This should help you make a solid digital marketing strategy for this year.
2. Plan smartly
Many businesses don’t have a whole lot to spend on their digital marketing strategy and you don’t have to if you plan smartly. Use social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to get the most out of your digital marketing. Use Facebook’s Creative Hub tool to develop content that engages your customer base. Instagram stories are also great to keep customers up to date on sales. The best part is, you don’t have to spend a whole lot on social media, as long as the content you share is engaging.
3. Get in the Christmas spirit
Revamp your website to include Christmas-themed designs. That doesn’t mean you need a change a lot. But update banners and images to include a Christmas theme temporarily.
You also need to rework your content to include queries related to Christmas. This will help you rank better for such queries on search engines. Ultimately, directing more traffic to your website is the main goal of any digital marketing strategy.
4. Don’t wait until December
If you notice, a lot of online businesses transition to their Christmas-themed website mid-to-late November. You should too. Don’t waste time waiting for December because there are many opportunities such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday beforehand to maximize sales. Take advantage of each of these days when consumers typically start their Christmas shopping.
5. Offer your product as a gift
Picking up last-minute gifts is very common. To help your customers out, you can offer them gift-wrapping services. The additional service will make your business look more appealing come Christmas time over others that offer the same product without the service.
Furthermore, make it easier for visitors to find gifts for the individuals they are shopping for. Segment your products into different categories such as “Gifts for wife”, “Gifts for mother”, and so on. They will be able to find gifts for who they want much quicker, leaving a positive experience which may turn into more purchases later on.
6. Incorporate email marketing
Yes, we understand that come December everyone’s emails are flooded with offers. While you may think that people tend to overlook emails at such a time, you are wrong. Email engagement tends to go up around this time. People are in a festive mood, looking for gifts for their family and friends. So, if you get your product in front of them with a tempting offer, they are more likely to accept it.
Final thoughts on optimising your digital marketing strategy for Christmas
Christmas is one of the most festive times of the year. Smart businesses take advantage of that by pivoting their digital marketing strategy a bit for the season. They plan well ahead of time, have deals, and incorporate different mediums from social media to email to make the most of the holiday season. If you need any help with your digital marketing, talk to us at Luminate Digital to see how we can help you become more successful in the festive season and all year round!
Our tips will help your business head in the right direction, generating plenty of traffic this holiday season. It is then up to you to convert the traffic into sales. Happy Holidays!