Today I had a startling realization – it’s October. I’m not quite sure how this happened because there didn’t seem to be any warning that this was coming. Maybe it’s because it’s been unseasonably warm here the last few weeks or perhaps it’s because I’ve only had one pumpkin spice latte so far this season, but I’m shocked that it’s October already! If October snuck up on you too, you may already be behind when it comes to your holiday marketing. I know what you’re thinking… “Holiday marketing?! Lady please! I don’t even have pumpkins for my front porch yet, so Santa is a long way off!”
A recent Google study revealed that 25% of holiday shoppers last year had done some of their holiday shopping before Halloween and 48% had the majority of their shopping done by Cyber Monday. This was up substantially from the prior year, indicating that holiday shopping will likely be done even earlier this year if seasonal this trend continues. So let this post be your holiday wakeup call! You need to start embarking upon your holiday marketing right now in the following ways:
A recent Google study revealed that 25% of holiday shoppers last year had done some of their holiday shopping before Halloween and 48% had the majority of their shopping done by Cyber Monday. This was up substantially from the prior year, indicating that holiday shopping will likely be done even earlier this year if seasonal this trend continues. So let this post be your holiday wakeup call! You need to start embarking upon your holiday marketing right now in the following ways:
Planning Holiday Email Marketing
Email marketing continues to be an effective channel to let both existing and potential customers know about promotional offers, product releases, and other exciting holiday happenings. But a good email marketing strategy isn’t about designing a flashy looking email to bombard your subscriber base with it and hope that they buy. A solid email strategy includes:
Starting Gift-Related Blogging
Blogging is a great way to boost your SEO efforts and holiday blogs are sure to gain traction if your target audience views them as helpful and interesting. Make sure to cover gift-related topics and encourage sharing across your social media channels. For instance, if you own an art supplies store you can publish blogs like “The Best Art Supply Gifts Under $50,” “The Season’s Must-Have Gifts for Artists,” “Top 10 Unique Holiday Gifts for College Students,” or “25 Artistic Gifts for Men.” Pick blog titles that will let you cash in on search queries that become popular around the holidays. This will position you for an SEO lift as these queries gain more traction.
Setting Up Paid Search Ads
Paid search (or PPC) allows you to run targeted ads when holiday shopping hits its peak. Select keywords that represent your most popular offerings as well as trending search queries. Then develop ads that will serve as a great base so that when you decide to run holiday promotions you can easily change them out. As the holiday season progresses, do ongoing keyword research so that you can stay on top of current search trends. Use data to tweak your efforts as you go – adding negative keywords to make your efforts more targeted and testing ad variations for maximum return.
If you assistance help setting your PPC account up or maintaining it throughout the holidays, we’re here to help! Contact us for more information on how we can help your company succeed with PPC online this year. We even offer a free AdWords audit for anyone with an existing AdWords account to provide tips on how to improve their account!
Kate Pierce is the owner of LionShark Digital Marketing LLC, a West Michigan internet marketing company. Her areas of expertise include Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Web Consulting for small businesses, Copywriting and Local Online Marketing. She lives in the Grand Rapids area with her husband and enjoys cooking, watching sports and spending time outdoors. Like a true digital marketing expert (i.e. geek), she loves talking about marketing theory and SEM trends… so don’t say you weren’t warned!
Email marketing continues to be an effective channel to let both existing and potential customers know about promotional offers, product releases, and other exciting holiday happenings. But a good email marketing strategy isn’t about designing a flashy looking email to bombard your subscriber base with it and hope that they buy. A solid email strategy includes:
- Setting email marketing goals and defining KPIs (which may be different during the holidays than your everyday email KPIs)
- Segmenting your email list by behavior, purchase history, and other distinct characteristics
- Planning a content calendar of what messages you want to send when
- Designing emails to accompany your content calendar
Starting Gift-Related Blogging
Blogging is a great way to boost your SEO efforts and holiday blogs are sure to gain traction if your target audience views them as helpful and interesting. Make sure to cover gift-related topics and encourage sharing across your social media channels. For instance, if you own an art supplies store you can publish blogs like “The Best Art Supply Gifts Under $50,” “The Season’s Must-Have Gifts for Artists,” “Top 10 Unique Holiday Gifts for College Students,” or “25 Artistic Gifts for Men.” Pick blog titles that will let you cash in on search queries that become popular around the holidays. This will position you for an SEO lift as these queries gain more traction.
Setting Up Paid Search Ads
Paid search (or PPC) allows you to run targeted ads when holiday shopping hits its peak. Select keywords that represent your most popular offerings as well as trending search queries. Then develop ads that will serve as a great base so that when you decide to run holiday promotions you can easily change them out. As the holiday season progresses, do ongoing keyword research so that you can stay on top of current search trends. Use data to tweak your efforts as you go – adding negative keywords to make your efforts more targeted and testing ad variations for maximum return.
If you assistance help setting your PPC account up or maintaining it throughout the holidays, we’re here to help! Contact us for more information on how we can help your company succeed with PPC online this year. We even offer a free AdWords audit for anyone with an existing AdWords account to provide tips on how to improve their account!
Kate Pierce is the owner of LionShark Digital Marketing LLC, a West Michigan internet marketing company. Her areas of expertise include Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Web Consulting for small businesses, Copywriting and Local Online Marketing. She lives in the Grand Rapids area with her husband and enjoys cooking, watching sports and spending time outdoors. Like a true digital marketing expert (i.e. geek), she loves talking about marketing theory and SEM trends… so don’t say you weren’t warned!
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