Check out part two of our guide to holiday email and social media strategies.
For businesses of all sizes, the holidays are here! Marketing your products and services effectively during this time of year can bring in a much-needed financial boost. In fact, for some small businesses, holiday sales can bring in as much as 30% of their yearly revenue!
Luckily, no matter how big or small your holiday marketing budget, there are strategies your business can take to ride the holiday revenue wave. We’ve put together a two-part holiday marketing guide to help you best take advantage of this busy season. In part one, we discussed holiday search engine optimization (SEO) and landing pages for targeted products and services. Here in part two, we’ll discuss two of the most effective holiday marketing tactics you can take on right now: email and social media campaigns.
Make Sales With Email Marketing
Your email list is one of the most valuable assets your business has. Whether or not your business offers online shopping, email marketing is an incredibly effective way to get the word out about your holiday specials. That’s because anyone on your mailing list has essentially told you, “I’m already interested in what you’re selling. I want to know more!”
Here are two email marketing options that are proven to bring in a great return on your investment.
Coupons and discounts
During the holidays, your email communications should be all about one word: discounts. Consider these incredible holiday shopping statistics from the National Retail Federation:
- 3 out of 4 consumers say discounts are very or extremely important to their purchases.
- 85% of consumers say they’ve backed out of a purchase because the item wasn’t on sale.
- More than 4 in 10 can’t resist buying something on sale (hence, the popularity of deal-a-day websites!).
- 70% say they expect to find the best sales around the holidays.
Holiday shoppers are ready to purchase if you offer a great deal, and email is an inexpensive and highly effective way to get the word out. Try a Black Friday or Cyber Monday deal, or a last-minute shopping incentive.
If it’s applicable to your business, a deal-a-day email campaign can also be wildly successful. Plan out a handful of items you’re willing to offer a deal on and automate a daily email to boost your sales. The volume and potential for repeat future business may be worth it!
Related: The Art of Writing an Awesome Email Newsletter
Holiday gift guide
A holiday gift guide rounds up your products and/or services, usually around a theme that matches your customers’ interests — gifts for handymen, gifts for healthy skin, or gifts for decorating your home. You can also showcase your products based on price or age range. This allows you to flex your creativity and showcase your wares in a different way.
‘Tis the Season to Get Social
Your customers are on social media and mobile devices, increasingly to complete purchases. Between the 2017 and 2018 holiday seasons, online sales jumped 16.5%, with 51% of those sales taking place on mobile devices. And, according to a 2018 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) survey, social media was the number-one source of buying inspiration.
Steal some of these ideas to boost your seasonal sales via social media.
Related: Which Social Media Accounts Should My Business Have?
Turn your feed into a shopping opportunity
If your products can be purchased online, then take advantage of built-in shopping capability on Facebook and Instagram. To do this, set up your Facebook shop, then tag your products on your Instagram feed. Followers can click and shop — easy!
Hold a contest
Whether it’s for a gift certificate, basket of goodies, free service, or special discount coupon, hold a contest to give away something to your social followers. Ask your fans to use a unique hashtag, share the post, tag a friend, or post photos of themselves using your product if applicable. Bonus: You may see a boost in your number of followers, too!
Create a posting theme
Imagine a 25-day-long theme around your product or service. For example, 25 Days of Dresses for a clothing manufacturer, 25 Days of Great Skincare for a dermatologist, or 25 Days of Holiday Tables for a restaurant.
Not only is it fun for your team, but consistent posting is great for engagement. Even if your posting theme doesn’t include a giveaway or discount, simply creating awareness around your business can bring your brand name front of mind when it comes time for your fans to buy a gift.
Consider connecting with an influencer
If you’re working with a larger marketing budget or have a strong social media network, the holidays are made for influencer marketing, which can get your products in front of a highly engaged, ready-to-purchase audience.
Influencer marketing can be a confusing space, with different influencers charging based followers or engagement. Alternately, you can research who on social has a good, engaged following and is talking about products like yours already. Reach out to the person directly and offer to send them a sample for free in exchange for demonstrating it on their page. This works best with beauty products, clothing, food, and consumer goods.
Time to Get in Gear
We love the holiday marketing season and we hope you do, too! For help with your email marketing campaigns, holiday SEO, landing pages, or some social media expertise, check in with us for a free consultation. Integritive works with businesses of all sizes and budgets. We can create a seasonal strategy to help you get the most out of your holiday marketing.
