“Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ‘Make me feel important.’ Not only will you succeed in sales, but you will also succeed in life.”   — Mary Kay Ash

With the holidays just around the corner, thoughts have already shifted toward making the most of every marketing opportunity with the potential to impact fourth-quarter profits. Whether your plans are at the tweaking phase or approaching the now-let’s-get-started stage, here’s some excellent food for thought on strategies to impact your 2019 holiday marketing.

Corinne Watson, a writer and researcher for BigCommerce, declares the planning phase to be an essential part of a successful holiday marketing campaign. “A lot goes into creating a holiday campaign in the increasingly digital year of 2019”:

  • Creativity is critical to winning mindshare, but channel distribution may be necessary to win sales.
  • Returning and net-new customers have different purchasing behaviors, but simplicity makes it easier for retailers to adapt quickly.
  • Brick-and-mortar shopping is persistently common during the holidays, but brands continue to create online innovation.

Watson consulted with 15 of the top e-commerce marketers, agencies, consultants, and brands concerning the multitude of components that go into holiday marketing campaigns. Check out the conversations from which eight areas of concentration emerged.

Facebook to the Rescue

In July, Facebook announced two new tools applicable to holiday marketing campaigns: a data tool for sorting through insights from the past two holiday seasons, and a 2019 Holiday Insights Guide showcasing a range of trends and functions to assist in your planning.

Concerning the new insights tool, from Facebook:

“Our Holiday Season Insights tool has nearly 30 searchable insights from the 2017 and 2018 holiday seasons across 25 markets and is available in 17 languages. Explore this robust resource to ensure your 2019 holiday season is filled with insights and magic.”

With filtering options that include ‘Market,’ ‘Year,’ and ‘Shopping behaviors,’ with further breakdowns for ‘In-store,’ ‘Messaging,’ ‘Post Purchase,’ and more, this tool is worth checking out.

“But the bigger addition is Facebook’s new Holiday Marketing Guide,” states Andrew Hutchinson, Content and Social Media Manager at Social Media Today. “A 63-page eBook of holiday season data and insights to assist with the development of your strategy. The aim of the guide, Facebook says, is to help marketers get their products in front of the right people at the right time.”

From the Holiday Marketing Guide

“The holidays are among the most magical times of the year . . . What is magical about the holiday season is the amount of opportunity to be found within the season. The holidays are a great time to introduce your brand to new shoppers and attract new buyers in volume. The season also presents the perfect opportunity to increase engagement with your existing customers and boost their lifetime value.”

Complete with a range of relevant insights, data-backed trends, and a holiday planning calendar, this is a must-check-out tool.

Target Audience is Key

Adam Leach stresses the need to define your target audience. “Make sure that you have defined personas and are using them to tailor your creative and target your activity. It’s imperative that you continuously review your personas, taking into account your latest research, insights, and data on your products and services, psychographics and demographics of your customers, competitor, and market analysis.”

With which season does your target audience resonate? If the answer is any season other than winter or even spring, your most significant marketing campaign probably takes place then rather than during the holidays. However, a message focused on gift-giving should net sales during the Christmas shopping season. Keeping your name out there all year long holds the key to folks remembering your brand when the right season rolls around.

Leach urges a broader yet more specific focus for your holiday marketing plan. “Don’t forget that Christmas isn’t just made up of one event. A Christmas campaign shouldn’t be created solely around Christmas. Most campaigns are launched in late November to early December and include other holidays that surround Christmas. Your campaign has to be able to serve them as well.”

  • Friday 29th November 2019 – Black Friday
  • Saturday 30th November 2019 – Small Business Saturday
  • Monday 2nd December 2019 – Cyber Monday
  • Sunday 22nd December 2019 – Winter Solstice (Shortest Day of the Year)
  • Tuesday 24th December 2019 – Christmas Eve
  • Wednesday 25th December 2019 – Christmas Day
  • Thursday 26th December 2019 – Boxing Day
  • Tuesday 31st December 2019 – New Year’s Eve / Hogmanay
  • Wednesday 1st January 2019 – New Year’s Day

Go global for Black Friday

Tricia Carr advises, “Black Friday might have originated in the US, but now it’s officially a global shopping day. We see sales and traffic spikes in other countries comparable to those we see in the US. And in countries like Spain and Poland, the sales gains are even larger. Cyber Monday is gaining popularity outside of the US, too, and we see impressive sales spikes across Europe that day. Make sure your consideration and conversion campaigns reach a global audience around these key shopping days. There are big opportunities to increase your traffic and sales if you look beyond the US.”

In these days of exciting marketing innovations and fast-changing trends, ASJ Partners is proud to assist the staffing industry in marketing their services to candidates and clients across a vast sea of industries. Our comprehensive six-step process begins with a consultative assessment to determine how we can put our expertise to work for you. Our team is ready and willing to make a difference for you. Contact us today!