2016
HHGIFT PACK lidayliday INTRODUCTION 2
CALENDARS 3-5
DIGITAL MARKETING HOLIDAY GUIDE 6-14
HOLIDAY MARKETING CHECKLIST 15-21
1 Introduction
Whether or not you see twinkly lights or snowmen lining the streets, as a business owner, it’s important to get into the spirit of the season well before the holidays arrive.
NEARLY OF CONSUMERS 40% BEGIN THEIR SHOPPING IN NOVEMBER ONLY OF SHOPPERS && 25%WAIT UNTIL December
Black Friday is a pivotal date for the holiday shopping season. According to a 2015 survey by the National Retail Federation,1 nearly 40% of consumers begin their shopping in November, with only about 25% waiting until December to get started.
To help keep your profits high and stress levels low, we’ve taken our holiday marketing calendar and expanded upon it. Along with this, we’ve added a digital marketing guide with tips for each important shopping day in November and December and a handy holiday checklist to make sure you’re thoroughly prepared for the upcoming holiday season.
2 NOVEMBERCalendarsCalendars AND DECEMBER November
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
31 1 2 3 4 5
OCTOBER 31 HALLOWEEN
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
VETERANS DAY
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
THANKSGIVING BLACK SMALL & GRAY FRIDAY BUSINESS THURSDAY SATURDAY
27 28 29 30
CYBER GIVING MONDAY TUESDAY
BIGGEST DAYS FOR IN-STORE SHOPPING BIGGEST DAYS FOR ONLINE SHOPPING HOLIDAYS
4 December
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
GREEN MONDAY SHIPPING DAY
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
CHRISTMAS EVE
HANUKKAH 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
CHRISTMAS NEW BOXING KWANZAA KWANZAA KWANZAA KWANZAA DAY YEAR’S (UK & CANADA) HANUKKAH HANUKKAH HANUKKAH HANUKKAH EVE
HANUKKAH KWANZAA KWANZAA HANUKKAH HANUKKAH
BIGGEST DAYS FOR IN-STORE SHOPPING BIGGEST DAYS FOR ONLINE SHOPPING HOLIDAYS
5 DigitalDigital MarketingMarketing
GuidGuide:PER HOLIDAYe: This marketing guide will explain expert marketing tactics, which holidays they’re best suited for, and how to implement them effectively.
November 24: Thanksgiving In the past, people would wake up at pre-dawn hours on Black Friday to get their share of the day’s deals. But over the years, shoppers began hitting the stores earlier and earlier, and now many are venturing out right after Thanksgiving dinner. Despite some retailers refusing to be open on Thanksgiving Day, many others are taking advantage of these eager shoppers.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
People are actively using their phones on Thanksgiving Day to check emails and social media in preparation for Black Friday.
Schedule posts using compelling imagery that features your products, deals, and Thanksgiving themes.
Think Instagram-style brand posts. It’s ok to post pictures of products and services, but be sure to publish content your audience will actually want to see during their Thanksgiving festivities. Mention deals and sales for Thanksgiving Day or Black Friday within the image or the post’s text. Boost posts on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to reach a larger audience and get a burst of engagement. Even a $25 investment can make a big difference.
November 25: Black Friday
From sunrise (or earlier) to sunset your customers will be on the lookout for the best deals around. Deliver yours right to your customers’ email inboxes. 7 EMAIL MARKETING
This is one of the most important days for email marketing, as many customers will check their emails for coupons and sales while waiting in checkout lines. Emails should be designed for easy viewing on mobile devices.
Place any information about special sales or discount codes at the top of the email. This will grab attention in the days leading up to Black Friday and also make it easier for consumers to find and use them once the day arrives.
Black Friday emails should be sent ahead of time, but not too far in advance.
Include an attention-grabbing subject line that is clever, yet also clearly states what’s inside for easy access on-the-go.
November 26: Small Business Saturday
Started in 2010 by American Express, Small Business Saturday is a shopping day dedicated to supporting local businesses that has gained major popularity throughout the United States. According to American Express,2 95 million people went shopping at small businesses on this day in 2015 — that’s nearly 30% of the population! Check out their free marketing materials here3 to get ready for Small Business Saturday. GEOTARGETING
Even if ecommerce is a strong contributor to your business’ sales, this is typically a day when people physically visit stores in their area.
Because this is one of the lesser-known shopping days, potential customers may not know that your business is having a sale.
Promote your offers and discounts through geotargeting.
Focus Facebook-boosted posts and Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads on people within a 5-10 mile radius. 8 It’s natural to want to reach as many people as possible with your advertising, but for this day in particular, a targeted approach is much more effective.
With geotargeting you’re reaching less people, but these people are more likely to drop by your store on Small Business Saturday and make a purchase due to their close proximity.
November 28: Cyber Monday
This shopping day has taken off in recent years with the shift towards ecommerce. Last year,4 Cyber Monday broke the record for most online sales in one day, surpassing Black Friday’s online sales by over $300 million! See below for ways to take advantage of this day.
EMAIL MARKETING
Emails should include one-day-only offers and promotions for customers.
On this day, like other discount shopping days, customers are not interested in paying full price for anything.
Make sure you get their attention early and let them know you’ve got what they’re looking for on sale!
You can entice people to purchase from you by offering reduced (or free) shipping.
November 29: Giving Tuesday
While this isn’t a shopping holiday, more and more businesses are participating in Giving Tuesday every year. Social responsibility is something consumers look for in the brands that they love (and purchase from). According to Nielsen,5 consumers will not only switch brands, but even pay more, for products and services that come from a socially 9 responsible company. CONTENT MARKETING
Content marketing is a great way to keep your customers and community informed on your business practices.
This type of marketing includes everything from blogs to social media posts, emails, and website content.
Focus on something specific, rather than half-heartedly trying to get involved with many different initiatives.
Your business can choose to get involved with a nationally-recognized cause, but it might be more beneficial to do some research and find out if there’s something in your community you can get behind.
If you have a blog and regularly write about industry-related topics, it’s ok to switch up the content and write about your recent efforts at a fundraiser or run for charity.
December 12: Green Monday
Coined by eBay in 2009 as Green Monday, the second Monday in December is yet another day of deals for online shoppers. You can make sure customers are able to find your site and navigate it easily by focusing on a few web design factors. WEBSITE DESIGN
Any business offering deals on Cyber Monday or Green Monday is looking for a boost in sales. But some websites make it very hard for shoppers to navigate the purchase process.
This could be the result of poor call-to-action (CTA) placement, lack of internal links, or a confusing layout.
Whatever your end goal is (sales, reservations, rentals, etc.), make a clear and concise CTA that urges people to take the desired action.
For example, if your site sells sneakers, make sure you have a prominently-placed CTA on the homepage that says something like, “View Cyber Monday Sneakers Sales” or “Shop Sneakers Now.” 10 Remember to place an internal link behind the CTA that will direct potential customers to a relevant landing page.
For these shopping days, create a separate page for your sale items. You can also make a product page dedicated to gift ideas with a selection of items customers might want to give their loved ones for the holidays. Don’t forget to embed the link from the landing page into the CTA image for smooth and effortless navigation.
December 16: Free Shipping Day
For online shoppers, this is the day businesses offer free shipping on last-minute orders that will arrive just in time for Christmas. You can check which businesses are participating here.6 There are still a limited number of participating retailers, so your business has a unique opportunity to offer a special deal that many others aren’t. ALL TACTICS
Free shipping is a big deal. Not every company wants to or is able to offer it, so if you plan on participating this year, getting the word out is essential.
Get a leg up on your competition by making sure your customers know you’re participating in this promotion.
Use free and sponsored posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and update your website content, product pages, in-store signage, and Google ads to inform customers that you’ll be offering free shipping on this day.
This will encourage shoppers unsure about making a purchase to do so in order to take advantage of free shipping.
For all social networks, audience is the most important element of any campaign. Make sure to narrow down your audience by geographic proximity, age requirements, and whatever other demographic markers are appropriate for your business.
11 December 24-January 1: Hanukkah
A period of eight days in which the Jewish community celebrates the Festival of Lights by lighting a menorah and exchanging gifts, Hanukkah requires a slightly different marketing approach than other holidays. Only 2.2% of the American population identifies as Jewish,7 so a targeted marketing approach is essential. And with the variety of paid advertising options on social media, you can do just that. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
If you’re having a special Hanukkah sale, social media is the way to spread the word.
Create a boosted Facebook post on your organization’s Page or make a Facebook Ad with Facebook for Business.8 You can also create Instagram ads on the Ads Manager9 and Power Editor10 tools within Facebook for Business.11
Twitter has its own ad creation platform. Create your next Twitter campaign with this step-by-step guide.12
December 24: Christmas Eve
Based on data13 from the 2014 holiday season, Christmas Eve was the biggest spending day of the year, with December 23 coming in second place. SEARCH MARKETING
Put yourself in the position of the last-minute Christmas Eve shopper. You’re looking for a specific item and you’re running out of time. The first thing you’ll likely do is search on Google for where the item is sold.
12 You can use Google Trends14 to see the most popular items that shoppers are searching for. Enter search terms based on what your business offers.
For example, if you do a search for “Nike,” you can see that people are looking at the Nike+ FuelBand more than any other product.
December 25: Christmas Day
Take a day off; you deserve it. While not a shopping day itself, research shows: OF ALL ANNUAL 2 SEASONAL SPENDING /3 is in preparation of this one day
December 26- January 1: Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is a week-long observance of African culture primarily celebrated by African Americans and Canadians. Kwanzaa Holiday Expos15 are popular throughout the United States and are a great forum for targeting this market. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Kwanzaa is a difficult holiday to market for because of one of the main pillars of the celebration — a desire to keep the holiday from becoming all about gifts. Many people are passionate about keeping Kwanzaa from becoming as commercialized as other holidays.
13 Instead of using interruptive marketing methods to push products at people who don’t want them, use your social accounts as platforms to celebrate Kwanzaa.
Social media posts should follow the 80/2016 rule, which states that 80% of your content should be about topics that your customers are interested in. Only 20% of posts should promote your business and its products. Posts wishing your followers a Happy Kwanzaa during the appropriate timeframe will fit into the 80% section, as will posts wishing followers a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, etc.
December 26: Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a major shopping day for the United Kingdom and other areas where British culture is present, including Canada. For those in close proximity to our northern neighbors, you can expect an influx of Canadian customers in your local shopping malls.
IN-STORE SALES AND GEOTARGETING
Whether or not you’re located in a major shopping plaza or mall, you can still take advantage of the droves of potential customers coming across the border.
Use geotargeted ads on Google and social media platforms to focus on southern Canadians who might venture out on Boxing Day for some shopping.
For example, Walden Galleria17 is a large mall in Buffalo and a popular destination for Canadian shoppers. These shoppers are coming from southern Ontario, so businesses in and around this mall would be wise to target this geographic area with their ads.
Canadian shoppers will already be at the major malls, so use your ads to let them know that you’re only X number of miles away.
Make it seem worth their while to stray from the beaten path with some in-store sales specifically for visiting Canadians.
If your business isn’t open on Boxing Day or you don’t have a brick-and-mortar location, you can still use geotargeting to let your audience know that you have special deals for 14 them online. YOURChecklist: MASTER PLAN FOR HOLIDAY MARKETING SUCCESS We know that preparing for the holidays can be hectic, but don’t let the season stress you out. Set your business up for success by checking these items off of your marketing to-do list! But first: Evaluate last year’s holiday performance. What went well? What would you change? How did your competitors fare?
Define your specific marketing objectives for the holiday season. Has your company experienced any major changes over the last year in terms of management, new locations, new product offerings, etc.? Are you looking to build brand awareness? Give back to your local community? Grow your email subscriber list? Increase sales?
Set a budget — and stick to it. Look at your holiday marketing expenses from last year and see if you made the best use of your investment. Companies often spend more because it’s what their competitors are doing, but you should never increase your budget if it won’t increase your ROI in the process. Identify free and low-cost opportunities to market your business (e.g. social media, email marketing). Don’t forget to consider any personnel you may need to hire or overtime you may need to pay employees for the additional marketing efforts.
Going “Inbound””this Holiday Season Rather than focusing on traditional, “outbound” marketing methods (like cold calling, email blasts, and buying leads), inbound marketing18 emphasizes:
Attracting the right visitors to your website through social media marketing, content creation, and search engine optimization. 16 Converting anonymous visitors into qualified leads that have a need for what your company offers. Nurturing and closing these leads through continuous education and communication. Delighting your customers long after their purchase by being available to address any questions or concerns and keeping your brand top-of-mind for future purchases.
HERE’S HOW YOUR HOLIDAY MARKETING STRATEGY FITS INTO THIS METHODOLOGY. Attract CONTENT MARKETING
Make the holidays the center of your blog’s content during November and December. Ideas: Top trends, gift ideas, holiday decorations, budgeting tips, etc. Try to post at least once per week, but ideally 2-3 times per week. If you don’t have time to put together a full-length post, consider sharing a daily tip to help visitors find the perfect gift or stay on track financially.
Design attractive graphics, infographics, SlideShare presentations, etc. to grab attention. Provide your visitors with free downloadable content that is branded for the holidays. Guides to stress-free holiday shopping, planning your budget, or even cooking a perfect holiday meal are all valuable types of content around this time of year. It’s all about educating consumers and making them see you as a knowledgeable and reliable source of information.
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)
Make sure that your website loads quickly across devices so online shoppers aren’t delayed or turned away from your site. 1 OF CONSUMERS EXPECT 40% WILL ABANDON A SITE /2 pages to load in 2 seconds or less & after 3 seconds if it isn’t fully loaded 17 A one-second delay decreases conversions by 7%. Website speed is a Google ranking factor.
Check that your site is mobile-friendly through Google’s free tool.19 Google established an algorithm in April 2015 that ranks mobile-friendly sites higher in mobile search results. Over half of consumers use a mobile device at some point in the shopping process, so a compatible site is no longer optional.
Evaluate your product pages to ensure that there are enticing images and descriptions that encourage purchases. These pages should provide as much, if not more, information than you would receive in-store so that consumers are trusting enough to make the purchase without seeing the item first. Product descriptions should include relevant keywords that you want your company to rank for in search engines. Only use high-quality images that allow for zooming or rotating, or include a slideshow of the product from multiple angles.
Optimize images by including ALT text, giving them keywords to rank under in search results.
Make any holiday-specific deals and promotions the focal point on your homepage to encourage clickthroughs. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Promote blog posts and downloadable content through your social channels to drive additional traffic to your website.
Consider sharing a “Deal of the Day,” with exclusive coupon codes or promotions for your social media followers.
Host contests or giveaways by asking users to like, share, or retweet a post as their entry. This is a great way to collect information like user preferences and contact information for future personalized marketing efforts.
Networks like Instagram and Pinterest are key for holiday marketing because they are highly visual platforms that focus on creativity, originality, and inspiration.
18 Convert LANDING PAGES
Through an effective content strategy, visitors will arrive at your landing pages to download longform content and cash in on special offers.
Make the benefits of filling out the contact form as clear as possible. Does your landing page answer the question, “What’s in it for me?”
How many form fields are essential to collecting the information you need? Don’t ask for information that you won’t actually use, and take into account mobile users that may not want to spend a lot of time filling out a form. According to Unbounce,20 the ideal number of form fields is three. Dropdown fields tend to perform the worst, so focus on text, checkboxes, and multiple choice questions.
Design pages that are mobile-friendly!
Most importantly: test, test, and test some more. Try A/B testing your forms by changing or omitting one question and seeing how the conversion rate is impacted. CALLS-TO-ACTION (CTAs)
Link to your landing pages through CTA buttons on each product category page, blog post, etc.
These should be eye-catching graphics or buttons that link to a relevant piece of content or product.
Don’t leave visitors wondering what to do next.
Like landing pages, test everything to see if certain colors or phrases perform better than others. Close EMAIL MARKETING
Start sending emails now! Share exclusive coupons and offers with your subscribers to make them feel 19 like VIPs. Never purchase email lists. Ask your website visitors to sign up for emails through a contact form or pop-up. Use social media to build your subscriber list.
Try to keep your messages concise and provide a clear call to action. Subscribers receive dozens of emails a day, so don't waste their time with long emails when you want them to use that time to come to your website!
Don’t blast the same email to your entire list of subscribers. Personalize every email with the recipient’s name. When someone signs up to receive emails, ask them what types of messages they would like to receive (e.g. coupons, tips, recipes, etc.), and then create several emails related to these groups.
Don’t overload your email with images or videos because they may not load on mobile.
Include social share buttons so recipients can share your special offers with their friends or followers. Delight SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING
Customers will utilize social media to ask questions, so make sure you’re listening! Be ready to answer questions regarding your return policy, shipping information, items in stock, etc.
Respond to any negative feedback that shoppers may have quickly and appropriately. Offer to contact them offline to better address their needs. Do whatever you can to provide the best customer service and keep a positive reputation online.
Thank users for any positive promotion or feedback they have.
Social monitoring adds a personal element to your digital presence, so it should never be neglected.
20 SURVEYS/FEEDBACK
Once the holidays begin to wind down, take time to reflect on how your marketing strategy compared to previous years.
Encourage customers to fill out a short survey following an online or in-store purchase by enticing them with a future coupon or special offer.
It’s important to know if your online purchase process was easy to use or needs improvement.
Understand what types of promotions your customers are most interested in receiving.
Ask if they were able to purchase everything they wanted to, or if your inventory didn’t meet the market’s needs.
Even though there may be a lot riding on your holiday marketing, don’t let it overwhelm you. This is a time to remind your target audience what makes you unique from your competitors and why they will have a satisfying purchase experience by doing business with you.
Look at holiday marketing as doing the same things you’re probably doing right now, just taken up a notch. If you keep your customers, not revenue, as the focal point of your strategy, you’ll be on track to a successful holiday season!
Need help with your holiday marketing?
LET’S TALK
21 About the Authors
LAUREN MARCHESE | AUTHOR Lauren is an Inbound Marketing Specialist at Mainstreethost, a digital marketing agency in Buffalo, NY. She has a background in social media marketing and is passionate about content writing. @lrosemarie63 | [email protected]
KIM SPEIER | AUTHOR Kim is an Inbound Marketing Specialist at Mainstreethost. She loves watching sports, especially the Bills and Sabres, skiing during the long Buffalo winters, and following the latest trends on Twitter. @krspeier | [email protected]
JESS MARRANCO | EDITOR Jess is a former Lead Content Strategist for Mainstreethost’s Inbound Marketing Department and is now a Marketing Strategist at TSL Marketing @jessmarranco
KATHRYN WHEELER | DESIGNER Kathryn Wheeler is a Graphic Designer at Mainstreethost. In her spare time she reads, writes, volunteers, and can usually be found with her puppy wherever she is. @kathrynwh4 | [email protected]
22 Sources
1 https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/retailers-very-digital-holiday-season-according-nrf-survey
2 http://www.forbes.com/sites/nicoleleinbachreyhle/2015/12/01/small-business-saturday-spending-tops-16-2-billion-a- 14-increase-from-last-year/#465fd468692f
3 https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/shop-small/
4 http://money.cnn.com/2015/11/30/news/companies/cyber-monday-sales/
5 http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/press-room/2014/global-consumers-are-willing-to-put-their-money-where-their-heart- is.html
6 http://www.freeshippingday.com/
7 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/01/us/poll-shows-major-shift-in-identity-of-us-jews.html?_r=2
8 https://www.facebook.com/business?_rdr=p
9 https://www.facebook.com/ads/manager/account/campaigns/?act=270934994&pid=p1
10 https://www.facebook.com/business/a/online-sales/power-editor
11 https://www.facebook.com/business?_rdr=p
12 http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/3-ways-to-advertise-on-twitter/
13 https://www.emarketer.com/Article/Biggest-Holiday-Spending-Day-Christmas-Eve/1011910
14 https://www.google.com/trends/
15 http://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/20/nyregion/the-marketing-of-kwanzaa-black-american-holiday-earns-dollars- causing-concern.html
16 http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/8020-rule-why-just-20-your-social-media-content-should-be-about- your-brand
17 https://www.waldengalleria.com/
18 http://www.mainstreethost.com/services/inbound-marketing/
19 https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
20 http://unbounce.com/landing-pages/ultimate-lead-capture-landing-page/
21