The holiday season is rapidly approaching, and for the first time in three years, this one is expected to be without significant COVID-19 restrictions in place. While 2020 holiday marketing was heavily digital out of necessity, the “new normal” we’re experiencing in 2022 still puts precedence on these online components. But as always, with so many brands competing for consumers’ attention this time of year, it’s good to review how your sales tactics can stand out from the others. Have you yet to start thinking about your seasonal strategy? Fear not; the Vision team is here to help with this procrastinator’s guide. Let’s dive into how you can still be successful with your holiday marketing.
Take Stock of Your Online Resources
Though most if not all COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, thereby allowing for the return to in-person shopping, having a digital presence is still crucial to doing business in 2022. Online browsing and ordering, curbside pickup, and home delivery all offer convenience to customers who lead busy lives and don’t want to deal with the hassle of holiday traffic and crowds. Not to mention, from the business perspective, both selling and marketing online allow for wider reach, personalized experiences, and better sales conversions.
To evaluate where your business currently stands when it comes to digital marketing and online presence, here are some things to check on:
- Company Website – We like to think of a brand’s website as a home base. Your website is the one place where just about everyone can count on finding out more about your business, products, and services and get info on how to get in touch with you. You’re likely anticipating an increase of traffic to your site this holiday season, so be sure that all the content you provide there is current and accurate. More than looking good, your website also needs to be functional and secure (be sure your SSL certificate is up to date).
- Social Media Profiles – Is your business present on social media? And, if you have profiles, are you actively posting to them, checking notifications, and engaging with other accounts? Here we are in 2022, and social media platforms have continued to cement themselves as a great way to not only reach new markets but also to stay connected with your existing fanbases.
- Email Lists – Perhaps your business already has a regular newsletter or email marketing strategy. Or perhaps you’ve collected email addresses from previous or potential customers before but have yet to put those addresses to use. If that’s the case, comb through the list(s) to scrub any outdated contacts and get yourself organized by segmenting the people into appropriate categories.
- Google My Business Page – While you’re at it, if you have a Google My Business page or another type of business info page (like a Facebook “about us” section), you’ll want to double-check that your business’ days and hours of operation, as well as contact info, are all current. If your hours change for the holiday season, those changes should be reflected, and your clientele should be made aware of any closures.
Three Quick and Painless Holiday Marketing Solutions
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday right around the corner, those who didn’t plan ahead have limited options, but they’re not non-existent. Here are our top-three suggestions if you need to whip up a holiday marketing strategy in a jiffy.
1. Email Marketing Campaigns
From announcing discounts to offering coupon codes or launching new products/services, email campaigns can be an easy and low- to no-cost way of reaching customers this holiday season. If you already have those email address lists, it’s usually not hard to get up and running on an email marketing platform, some of which are free to use until you reach a certain number of contacts. Just remember that most people already receive way too many emails on any given day, so you’ll be competing to be one of the messages they want to open; get creative with your headline, keep content short and sweet, make the design attractive, and don’t email your contacts every day.
2. Social Media Marketing Campaigns
Here’s another free tool in the toolbox that you can start immediately: posting to your brand’s social accounts! Whether you’re on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or elsewhere, social media accounts can be useful for staying relevant and top-of-mind. Not every post needs to—or even should—convert to a sale, but having an active presence is beneficial over time. You might consider showing off pictures and videos of hot items this season, providing links to any promotions or deals, and putting your brand’s own spin on platform-specific current trends. If you’re able, you can also host product giveaways to gain traction and engagement.
3. Google, Facebook, and Instagram Ad Campaigns
If you do have even a small marketing budget to spend before year’s end, consider throwing those dollars behind a digital ad campaign, either through Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, or a combination thereof. Note that in order to advertise on Facebook and Instagram, your brand will need to have business accounts and their Meta Business Suite/Ads Manager already set up; you can learn more about advertising on these platforms in our recent CWE Webinar Series.
Regardless of how your company approaches seasonal marketing techniques, we at Vision wish you all happy holidays! At the pandemic’s peak, we helped existing clients and new clients alike pivot their businesses to keep them thriving and safe. And as 2022 comes to a close, no matter what the future holds, we plan to continue supporting the unique marketing needs of businesses as best we can. If you need marketing assistance, or if you often find yourself waiting until the last minute to even think about marketing, contact us.
