End-of-year, pre-holiday season shopping sprees don’t just happen in brick-and-mortar stores. For many e-commerce businesses, the lead-up to Christmas is the busiest time of year, too. Whether you have a shopfront or your business is web-only, you need the right holiday marketing tips to help you stand out in the crowd.
The holiday season is the time you really see the strengths and weaknesses in your marketing strategy laid bare and when any hard work you’ve put in over the rest of the year starts to pay off. With the right strategy for holiday marketing success, you can reap the rewards of this profitable time of year.
So, how do you come up with the right holiday campaign ideas in light of the challenges you’re likely to face? That’s where Anchor Digital can help.
The Impact of the Commercialisation of the Holiday Season
Christmas has ancient origins. Santa Claus was inspired by Saint Nicholas, who lived from 270-343 AD and was renowned for his kindness and generosity. During the 19th century, the Victorians started to shift the celebration of Christmas from a time of boisterous celebrations to one of gift-giving. In the United States post World War II boom era, Christmas became an industry of its own.
Commercialisation has changed the perception of Christmas from a celebration of tradition to one of consumption. While this has had substantial economic benefits, it also makes Christmas a stressful time of year for many people as cost-of-living pressures continue to mount.
Christmas is also a particularly significant time of the year for marketers and brands. Although economic pressures subdued consumers’ spending habits in 2023, the country still spent $35.1 billion in December, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). With the right holiday advertising ideas and execution, a brand can still reap major rewards over the holiday season.
Challenges of Holiday Season Marketing
There are some challenges unique to the holiday season that you, as a brand or marketer, need to work around. These include:
Heightened competition
With so many different brands vying for attention, it’s tempting to resort to more complex and intricate marketing techniques in order to get noticed. However, this high-risk approach can backfire, and sticking with a simple and proven approach is often more effective.
Changing consumer behaviour
There are many factors driving consumer behaviour at the best of times, and this becomes even more pronounced during the holiday season. Factors like product availability and trends among children’s gifts add to the many variables that impact consumer choices. As always, it’s important to be flexible and adaptable with your strategy.
Information overload
The holiday season can be a stimulating time for both consumers and marketers. There’s a lot to take in, including on the data front. With so many purchases and conversions happening, keeping track of all the extra data keeps you busy at best. Likewise, consumers can feel overloaded and overwhelmed by the sheer variety of ads, promotions and special offers from all sides.
Budget constraints and return on investment (ROI)
During peak times of the year, ad rates on digital platforms like Google, Instagram, and Facebook can increase as the demand for space rises. Therefore, it becomes even more important to balance your budget so you can see digital advertising results without overspending.
Holiday Marketing Tips
Here are some holiday marketing tips to help you prepare for the Christmas and New Year period.
Plan early
Your marketing strategy should be an omnichannel approach that considers all customer touchpoints. It’s best to begin before peak shopping season kicks off. Starting your campaign three to four months before the holidays lets you take your time and ensure that you can approach your campaign thoughtfully without rushing anything.
Harness the power of nostalgia
These days, Christmas might be a hectic time for many of us, especially if we have families of our own. But most of us remember what it was like through the eyes of our childhood selves: the magic in the air, the sense of wonder and anticipation. Everything from the images you use to the fonts you select can be used to recapture that larger-than-life sense of wonder, when we’d be dazzled by decorations and delighted by stuffed stockings.
Focus on loyal customers
You may be eager to attract new customers while the opportunity exists but don’t forget about those who have been loyal to your brand for a long time. Acquiring new customers costs five to ten times more than selling to current ones while returning customers spend up to 67% more.
Use authentic user-generated content
During the holiday period, employing user-generated content on your socials feels like throwing a celebration that everyone’s invited to. You can invite users to share in the festivity by asking them to share photos of how they use your products during the holidays. User-generated content creates trustworthy, authentic content that other users are more inclined to share than ads.
Run themed giveaways and contests
With many consumers conscious of overspending this holiday season, a well-time contest or giveaway can be exactly the right strategy to boost brand awareness. You can shine a spotlight on the products or services you’re focusing on and have participants enter via comments, shares, etc.
Ramp up the customer care
Everyone gets busy in the retail world this year and you’re likely to see an increase in people reaching out wanting to know about your product. Quality customer service helps your brand appear more professional and makes you more likely to close a sale.
Stand out on social media
Choosing the right social media platform requires knowing where your audience will likely be. 84% of all consumers use Instagram, so it’s essential for your holiday marketing strategy. Having a Facebook presence is also important, as many of your customers will try to reach out to you there.
Prepare for competition
Towards the end of the year, there are many more promotions, and an increasing number of brands are getting in on the action. Email marketing is an important tool for drawing previous customers back to your e-commerce store.
Offer free shipping
Free shipping is a bonus many people appreciate all year round, but it’s essential if you want to keep your sales strong during the holiday season. To stand out, consider including free shipping with all your purchases and make sure you mention it in your marketing materials.
Stand Out In a Saturated Market with Anchor Digital
A full-service creative marketing agency based in Brisbane, Anchor Digital will help you enhance your marketing strategy and keep your sales strong over the holidays. With our pay-per-click advertising campaigns, you only pay for results. You set your budget based on how much you can afford to spend, and Anchor will help you identify which social platforms you need to use. Facebook remains the world’s most popular social network, and our Facebook marketing services make the most of the platform with PPC advertising, customer service, and a creative hub. As Anchor gets to know your business and your customers in-depth, we figure out how we can best represent you in a way that gets you noticed—even in the midst of the pre-Christmas shopping rush.
To find out more and to become even better at what you do, contact the Anchor Digital team.
