Holiday Marketing: Content Comes First

The leaves are still piled up in front of the house and we haven’t even gotten rid of our pumpkins yet, but here we are… talking about Christmas.

If you’re a business owner or marketing professional, you should already have a plan for the holidays. You should have your copy written, advertisements designed, and in-store activations ready to go.

Still have no plan? That’s ok, but don’t wait too long to figure it out. Time is of the essence and your holiday strategy is going to be packed full of content that can take a while to develop.

To save some time, here are a few tips you should keep in mind when you start thinking up your holiday marketing plans.

Remember your competition.

Literally everyone is going to be running a holiday campaign. The world will be drowning in twinkly lights, jingle bells and tinsel. Understand that you will have more competition than any other time of year during the holidays. Make sure it’s clear what benefit your product or service will have for your customers, bundled in with a heaping helping of holiday cheer.

During the holidays, your customers are more emotional, more sentimental and more stressed out. Keep these things in mind when you’re creating high value, unique content.

Don’t rely on sales to stand out. 

A sale isn’t a competitive advantage. A discount doesn’t help differentiate your product, business or service in a high competition situation. It definitely encourages one-off retail sales, but that customer loyalty doesn’t last much further past the holidays. What you’ll end up with is a recurring customer that only comes out when your products are on sale.

This isn’t someone who has hooked into the value your product or service provides, it’s someone who wouldn’t pay full price for the same thing. Consider different ways to provide value for your customers during the holidays. Maybe you could provide a shopping assistant when they arrive at your storefront, or gift guides online before they make a purchase. There are ways to provide value to your customers without giving them money off your product.

Make sure that you’re focusing your marketing energy on what you’re providing in store, not just the percentage you can take off at the till. This added effort will make them feel appreciated as customers, not just like they’ve scored a deal. Good experiences will make them come back for more than just the price and possibly, year-round.

Always err on the side of simplicity. 

Even when you’re competing for holiday attention and hustling through the season, remember to keep it simple.

There are only three basic things you need to portray or answer for your customers during the holiday season:

  • What is the product or service that you’re providing to them or the gift recipient?
  • What is the benefit or experience that they will receive from your product or service?
  • How will it make them or their gift recipient feel?

Think about every single traditional Christmas ad for a second. You have the footage of the parent buying the toy for their child. They wrap the toy and put it under the tree. This is the idea or the outcome. Next we get a shot of the child either pulling the toy out of the box or playing with it under the tree. This is the benefit. The emotional shot is something like the parent smiling while their child plays with the toy, or the child hugging the parent. Make sense?

Try to incorporate this into your holiday advertising as a tried and true strategy this year. Use it to build your content moving forward.

What's next?

Incorporate these few tips into your marketing strategy for the holidays and let us know how it differs from what you’ve done in the past. If you have any questions about how you’re going to incorporate these tips into your strategy, let us know. We provide no-pressure consultations and advice, just give us a call and schedule a meeting today. 


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