With the holiday season fast approaching, it’s time to start thinking about your marketing strategy. After all, what’s the point of throwing a party if no one comes? Marketing your business effectively is key to ensuring that as many people as possible know what you have to offer. If you’re not ready with a plan of action in time for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, then we have some tips to help. Read these holiday marketing tips from experienced marketers so that your small business thrives this holiday season.
Start planning now
Holiday marketing doesn’t begin when the first Thanksgiving ad appears on TV. It starts well before that, and there’s a good reason for that. Phil Barden of Barden & Associates says that you must be prepared well in advance if your business succeeds this holiday season. This means creating a sales strategy. Phil notes that it’s not too early to start planning, especially if you have seasonal products or services that may go unnoticed otherwise.
Talk with other businesses.
It might seem like the last thing you want right now is to speak with other people in your field, but working with others can reap major rewards come the holidays. You could start by talking to local businesses that you think would be potential customers. Work out a deal with them, such as offering them free or discounted access in exchange for a mention on your site. You could also approach larger businesses with seasonal offers, such as discounts on tickets to an event if they buy the rest of the tickets. If you make it clear that you’re doing this to promote your business and not because you’re being forced into it, they will likely see the benefit of working with you.
Create a marketing calendar
Marketing expert Steve Barden believes that the key to successful holiday marketing is to do the groundwork earlier and then regularly revisit your plan to ensure it’s effective. That means crafting a marketing calendar for the holiday period and using it to outline what you intend to do when and how you intend to do it. This way, you won’t be left scrambling at the last minute because you didn’t plan effectively.
Pay attention to social media.
According to an infographic from Social Media Examiner, more than half of adults use Facebook. This is a good place and time of year to market your business if it relies on social media or websites. However, you need to set aside some time to post regularly if you want your business to appear consistently on the radar of potential customers. One way you can do this is by joining social media groups within your industry, where you can network with professionals and share information with them.
Read more: How To Utilize Facebook To Promote Your Dropshipping Business
Use paid ads to boost brand awareness.
Done correctly, paid advertising can be a great way to promote your business. Try using Google AdWords to create a text ad and then use this as a call-to-action on your website. If you’re not sure where to begin when it comes to paid ads, then you might want to consider enlisting the help of an expert.
Use coupons and email giveaway
If you have a physical product, people are more likely to notice the discount you’re offering, so use this as an opportunity to promote your business. However, if you don’t have a physical product, don’t despair. Creating a coupon could be an effective marketing option, as long as it doesn’t just repeat what your website says about your product and services. A better idea is to ask customers for their email addresses in exchange for a discount or free promotion on your website. Then, when they log in using that email address later, send them information about the latest sales or special offers you think they might be interested in. This can be a great way to build your email list and help make you stand out in your industry.
Offer season discounts and prizes.
Providing season-specific discounts and prizes is a great way to increase your sales. For example, you might offer a 10 percent discount on orders made in November and December this year. This will make people think about buying at Christmas time, making them more likely to spend more than they would otherwise have done.
Build your brand identity
If you want customers to see you as an authority in your industry, then the best way to do this is by regularly providing information on your business’s blog. This helps build awareness of what you do and how well you do it, increasing your company’s reputation within the industry. Talking about your products and services can also help build trust with potential customers.
Market through press releases
Use this as a reminder to post a press release when you want to announce updates to your services, products and presence within your industry. Doing this increases awareness of what you do and how well you do it, helping you build relationships with potential customers.
Keep track of your holiday marketing with Google Analytics.
This is a great way to ensure that your efforts are effective and that your business attracts new customers. This can be done by installing a holiday gift guide widget on your blog, showing you the number of views and clicks it receives from visitors. This is another tool that can help you monitor how effective your marketing efforts really are.
Conclusion
These are just a few of the ways you can market your products, services and brand this holiday season. Get creative and find out more about how you can market your business more effectively. If you do this right, it will become an annual event that gets better as the years go by.
When a business starts a marketing campaign it needs to have a strong understanding of what the goals of this campaign are. The marketing team must clearly focus on objectives that are directly related to the goal or mission statement. A marketing plan provides the company with clear concise steps and makes it easier for both employees and customers to understand how they can use the product or service for them to reach their goals.
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