5 Marketing Tips for the 2021 Holiday Season

Boost Awareness, Increase Sales

The holidays are a great time to get your brand in front of a large audience. The period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day accounts for 15 to 25% of annual revenue for many businesses. With studies showing more than 70% of customers have shifted to shopping online, digital marketing deserves attention. This all-important time on the calendar shouldn’t be attacked without a plan, so start gearing up now for the 2021 holiday season. Here are 5 marketing tips:

1. Have a plan
2. Make experiences mobile-friendly
3. Create a gift guide
4. Use dedicated landing pages
5. Personalize

1. Have a plan

While a marketing strategy may seem daunting, creating a holiday plan will ultimately save you time, energy and money. Plus, having something in place before the holiday rush will allow you time to put together your best messaging. Decide what you want to promote such as specific items, holiday sales / events, or overall branding.

Then chart out a schedule to deliver that message. Social media is a great way to reach a wide audience. Email marketing allows you to narrow your focus and personalize your approach. During the holidays, it’s helpful to consider Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday in addition to the day of the holiday. Connect with consumers before these dates in three ways: first with an announcement, then a reminder and finally, follow up with last chance offers that express urgency in CTAs.

 Taking this three-message approach not only applies to retail, but to tourism, restaurants, and events. It also triples your chances to build your email list. Encourage prospects and customers to continue to stay connected to get the most from your holiday offerings.

2. Make experiences mobile-friendly

Since the onset of the pandemic, mobile phones have become more pronounced. Research shows 79% of smartphone users have made a purchase online using their mobile devices. Additionally, searches for “online shopping app download” have grown globally by over 300% year over year.

 Now is the time to have a mobile-friendly website and e-commerce store. Make sure pages are optimized to load quickly and that features are not missing. Brands that do not make the most of mobile risk losing potential customers.

 3. Create a gift guide

 Consumers seek a quick and simple way to find appropriate gifts for their long list of friends, relatives, and colleagues. A good gift guide curates merchandise beyond “men,” “women” and “kids.” Instead, organize the guide into ideas for different kinds of people, ages, interests, and price ranges. 

 Focus on the presentation of items and educate the shopper. Consider detailed descriptions, sizing charts, item dimensions, and multiple photos.

 Provide different ways customers can contact you with any questions and consider implementing chatbots or messaging platforms. Encourage shoppers to ask questions to get assistance with their gift choices. 

 Be prepared to offer a seamless shopping experience so you don’t get a bulk of abandoned shopping baskets.

4. Use dedicated landing pages

Want to drive visitors to your website for a specific holiday promotion? Employing a  dedicated landing page built exclusively for that promotion is a great way to get traffic. Landing pages are less distracting than web pages and they focus attention on the CTA. This is why conversion rates from dedicated landing pages can often be as high as 20% whereas a regular web page would convert 1 to 3% of visitors. 

Because landing pages should emphasize time-sensitive action, it’s important to have a clear path to conversion. Landing pages also offer the ability to leverage a holiday theme, use seasonal colors, graphics and images. Make sure the dedicated landing page is optimized for mobile.

5. Personalize

Holidays are about tradition, family, and friends. Thus, it’s one of the best times for a brand to make an emotional connection with customers. Being personal is being mindful and consumers appreciate a sincere personal approach. Use data to segment your customers and deliver specific messages and holiday deals. Find ways your brand can align with the needs of your customers for experiences they desire during the holidays. 

Ready for 2021 holiday season?

If you’re inspired to get a jump on the holidays, but need some help with your holiday marketing strategy, utilize the elves at T.E. Digital. Contact us and let’s have a conversation about your goals and how we can help your bottom line this holiday.