Digital marketing strategies to get ahead this holiday season

Get a head start

Brands should be looking toward their holiday marketing strategies as soon as autumn arrives. A head start gives brands ample time to plan and execute marketing campaigns, understand consumer habits, and be in the strongest position possible during the busy holiday season.

In the lead-up to December, brands should figure out goals for the holiday season. This could be figuring out a target of email subscribers, increasing social media followers or setting a target to beat last year’s sales figures.

Personalize it

Personalized content is becoming a key selling point for brands as consumers demand tailored content and more personal experiences. For existing consumers or new subscribers, personalized emails with suitably festive greetings can go a long way to ensuring that brands stand out from the holiday clutter.

A brand can leverage personalized content by understanding its different audience segments and targeting them with content relevant to them. For first-time subscribers, this could be offering them a sign-up discount; for loyal, long-term customers, adapting tone and messaging to resonate with them specifically with might be more effective. This messaging could, for example, include a simple thanks for their continued support and what it has done to help the business.

Don’t forget that consumers are much more likely to respond to marketing efforts that make them feel valued and respected by a brand over ones that cold email. This is applicable across all Christmas marketing efforts.

Be responsible

Today’s consumers are much more conscious about the brands they choose to shop and interact with. A brand’s efforts (or lack thereof) can stand out to consumers, especially during times of hardship. So, it has become essential for a brand to support its community and social causes that are important to its consumers.

By being more responsible, a brand can increase its opportunity to attract and retain consumers, as well as continue to support its business growth and lead to stronger relations with its local community. This could be done by showing the brand's own sustainable efforts such as ensuring its Christmas marketing is not wasteful, or by educating customers about how to dispose of packaging waste sustainably. Brands could also consider supporting a local charity or non-profit organization for the holiday season.

Get into the festive spirit

With Christmas marketing, it is essential for brands to use the joy and fun connected with the holiday to engage consumers and create memorable interactions. Consumers are much more likely to discover new brands during this time period, presenting a viable opportunity for brands to provide clear, engaging, and informative messaging in visual and interactive digital marketing content.

With a festive theme, a newly discovered brand can be much more appealing to a consumer, especially if efforts are focused on making the journey easier for consumers through usefully labelled ‘gift’ pages, festive guides, and visible holiday discounts. However, brands need to heed the messaging and tone of their Christmas marketing strategies to remain sensitive to the change in people’s financial situations.

Harness the power of AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the latest obsession in the marketing world; the multitude of tools available could be a game-changer for many brands' Christmas marketing strategies. AI holds the promise of delivering increasingly efficient and effective marketing results through the ability to create trends and predictions from otherwise time-consuming and overwhelming datasets.

From understanding how to enhance the personalized customer experience and pinpointing opportunities within customer data to creating unique experiences, AI tools are the future.

With the festive period fast approaching, brands need to actively respond and engage with their audience through effective digital marketing strategies in order to stand out during such a busy time.

If you are ready to optimize your Christmas marketing strategies and elevate your activity to a new, festive level, get in touch with one of our digital marketing experts today.