The 3 Essential Tips for a Succesful Christmas Marketing Campaign

Sunday, November 13th, 2016

‘Tis the season to make the most of your business. The famous ‘last quarter of the year’ where stores and (hopefully) sales are a-blooming, there’s no better time than this to attract customers – present and new. With businesses struggling for a few moments of attention in their customers’ inboxes and newsfeeds, especially at this time of year, your online marketing strategy must hit the nail on the head.

1. Be Strategic

Plan, plan and plan. Your marketing strategy for this time of year has to be thought out well in advance. It would be best to prepare a marketing schedule, planning days and times where and when your Facebook and Google ads will show, days when your mailshots will be sent out and what you will present to your customers. This planning has to take place hand in hand with data collected throughout previous campaigns, such as which campaigns worked well, which didn’t, what time your audience is online and what type of subject lines had the best open rate, for example.

Will you promote a product or a service, will you be looking to boost your brand’s cred, will you be generous and have special offers in your store? Plan it out!

2. Be Selective

Your strategy must include a thorough understanding of who your customers are. This means that if you are promoting a particular pair of jeans aimed at millennials, using certain social media platforms such as Snapchat might work more in your favour than using other kinds of online marketing such as mailshots, for instance. You must also keep this in mind when preparing your content for Facebook and ads on Google.

Always keep in mind your demographic. Understanding who your customers are together with needs will provide you with the right combination to reap greater rewards.

3. Be Creative

We live in an age where we are constantly bombarded with adverts, images and slogans, so much so that they often feel, sound and look the same to us.

Do not be afraid to venture out and try new things. While doing so, however, make sure that you live up to your brand and ethos. Innovation and creativity, when done well, will make you stand out of the ‘noise’ we see and hear daily. Show your customer what they didn’t know they needed, give them ideas and make their Christmas shopping easier and even give them something to make them feel special and valued. Superior customer service, politeness or even things like free coupons or free gifts with every purchase will make them feel appreciated and encourage them to come back to you.

Finally, it is imperative that you allow enough time to test your strategy. Make sure that your adverts and mail shots look good and that nothing in them comes across as controversial or unethical (unless that’s your intention!) Have a team of different individuals (or even your family and friends) check your campaign snippets on different devices and make sure that it is all optimised and viewable across the entire media spectrum. Once you’re confident that your campaign is solid, it’s time to set the ball rolling. Good luck!