23 Jul Tips for Running a Festive Season Digital Marketing Campaign

It’s that time of year again… The decorations are up, the Christmas carols are playing and the shoppers are out in full force stocking up for the festive season.

If your business sells products online, you’ll understand how important this time of year is, and that the competition can be fierce. Knowing how to leverage your digital assets and channels is essential if you want to stand out from your competitors in the retail battleground. We’ve compiled a few top tips for running a festive season digital marketing campaign.

Tip #1: Analyse Previous Years

Think about the previous years – what you did, what went well and what didn’t work.  Consider what your top-selling products were, and look at Google Analytics to view which days had the best traffic on your website and conversions. This will help guide you on what to do again and where you can improve.

Tip #2: Seasonal SEO & PPC Strategy

By implementing a seasonal SEO and PPC strategy, you’ll rank better for festive-themed search terms and queries, attracting more Christmas shoppers to your site. For example, if your business sells toys, customers are likely to search for, “Christmas gifts for kids” or “Best Christmas toy ideas for boys”.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday is fast becoming very popular in South Africa, so creating a PPC and SEO strategy for these will also increase relevant traffic to your website. Your website is your brand’s “shop window”, so by adding a holiday-themed design will make it more appealing on an emotive level to customers.

Tip #3: Optimise for mobile

According to eMarketer, nearly 60% of all online sales are attributed to mobile devices.  More consumers are browsing online from their handheld devices than ever before, so it’s imperative that your website is fully optimised and responsive for mobile. Up to 57% of mobile users will not recommend a business if their mobile website is poorly designed or responsive, and mobile websites that load in 5 seconds or less will end in a viewing session that’s 70% longer than their slower competitors.

Tip #4: Target Existing Database

Consumers tend to purchase from brands they trust and have purchased from before. This makes email marketing and SMS campaigns very powerful. You can use it to inform your database about your festive season promotions and help drive traffic to your website. Keep the following tips in mind when creating an e-marketing campaign:

• Personalise by speaking to your customer directly – this can include their name, location and even purchase history.
• Regularly clean up your database to ensure you target the correct people.
• Remind customers of the benefits of shopping online: no long queues and trips to the busy shops.

Tip #5: Use Social Media

Users become very active on social media over the festive season – posting about their purchases, great finds, product reviews and more. Creating a social media strategy for this period can be very effective in increasing traffic to your site and conversions. Consider offering promotional codes such as a free gift, discount or free shipping to hook customers.

Ready for the Festive Season?

These are just a few ways in which you can increase traffic and sales during the festive season. The December holidays is the busiest time of year for all retailers, so preparing a well-thought-out digital marketing strategy will ensure you reap the rewards and cash in on the increased demand during the busy festive season.

If you would like some assistance with developing or implementing a seasonal SEO Services or year round Online Marketing for Business, our team would love to help. Contact us on (+27)11 568 7419 or [email protected]