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The holiday season is a time for friends, family, and marketing campaigns. The Holiday Season has been known to birth some of the best and worst marketing campaigns of the year, with marketing agencies working overtime to come up with the ideas that best align with the business goals that season. While larger companies have entire departments devoted to the development of these campaigns, smaller businesses have to give more time and energy to creating purposeful and meaningful campaigns. While the process may be slightly more time-consuming, smaller brands are capable of creating impactful and eyecatching holiday campaigns that will connect with your audience. Today's article will give you marketing tips on how to make an effective campaign this holiday season.
“To continue winning the internet marketing game, your content has to be more than just brilliant — it has to give the people consuming that content the ability to become a better version of themselves.” — Michelle StinsonRoss, Managing Director of Marketing Operations, Apogee Results
1. Set Clear Marketing Goals
Before you even begin creating a campaign, you need to set clear goals, this is especially true for the holiday season as there are specific metrics that can only be measured during this time, like a holiday special or specific units of a holiday-themed product. If you want to sell a specific product or service during this time, make clear what your goals will be. What you are attempting to communicate can inform the messaging, look, and feel of your campaign
2. Research Past Successes and failures
One of the best ways to see what will work is to look at what has worked. The internet has amazing archives of past Marketing Campaigns that have resonated with the audiences they were intended for. These archives make for great case studies for what to do. The most important campaigns to analyze are those that you have run in the past. Taking an in-depth look at which campaigns have resonated with your audience in the past is a great way to inform your holiday marketing campaigns. There are basics of marketing campaigns that extend to every season which you can read about here.
3. Tap Into Emotions and Leverage Nostalgia
Some of the best Holiday Campaigns are those that tap into common experiences and shared nostalgia. A Christmas Story, Charlie Brown Christmas Special, and Other Christmas Classics are some of the easiest ways to tap into nostalgia. Some of the best marketing campaigns tap into the common experiences and stories that we have grown up seeing. One thing to keep in mind however is to be aware of your audience and what makes them nostalgic, as these experiences can differ based on location, interests, age, and more. The emotional impact is one of the most important things to tap into when creating a holiday marketing campaign because you are speaking to people as a person rather than just a consumer. Holiday nostalgia is one of the most powerful things you can access when creating a successful holiday marketing campaign.
“Quality content means content that is packed with clear utility and is brimming with inspiration, and it has relentless empathy for the audience.” — Ann Handley, CCO, MarketingProfs
4. Focus On A Specific Platform
As a smaller business, you may not have the time or energy to develop Holiday Campaigns for multiple platforms. Instead of attempting to focus on multiple platforms during the holiday season, focus on developing a campaign for a platform whose audience you know very well. While normally is best not to put all your eggs in one basket, the holiday season is an exception when it comes to small business marketing campaigns. The key is to go where you know where your audience will be and market accordingly. If you are a product-based business a platform like Instagram might be the best option for creating your holiday marketing campaign, because of the Instagram buying options and the visual nature of the platform. Choose the platform that works best for you and create messaging and visuals accordingly.
“There are three objectives for content marketing: reach, engagement, conversion. Define key metrics for each.” — Michael Brenner, CEO, Marketing Insider Group
Conclusion
Marketing during the Holiday Season can be a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be. By setting clear holiday season goals, researching past successes and failures, leveraging nostalgia, tapping into emotions, and focusing on a specific platform, you can create a campaign that will resonate with your audience this holiday season. It is always important to remain aware of the atmosphere during the holiday season, if you sense that there are feelings of gloom seek to inspire hope. Keeping in mind the human aspect of marketing is the best way to be successful.