holiday marketing: 5 do’s and don’ts for decking the halls
TRANSCRIPT
5 Do’s and Don’ts of
HOLIDAY MARKETING
It’s the most WONDERFUL time of the year…
It’s no question every marketer’s goal is to end the year with a
strong, and meaningful campaign. So as marketers, it’s painful to
be a bystander when brands make a marketing mistake or faux
pas, which often result from getting caught up in the hoopla of
the holidays.
Guidelines to consider when putting together your HOLIDAY MARKETING PLAN
Our Top 5 Do’s and Don’ts of Holiday Marketing.
DO
Sharpen your vision of success.
Take appropriate measures to define your
interpretation of a successful campaign. Being
specific in setting up campaign goals are going to
help you truly understand how well it performed.
Maybe you decide to focus on setting up paid digital ads
for one area of service, or maybe you’re promoting every
area of your brand’s service organically on social media.
No matter how narrow or wide your goals are, define
them.
DON’T
Dive in without a goal in mind.
Without a goal, your holiday messaging is very likely
to get lost or confusing (let’s be honest, it’s REALLY
hard to put together a marketing message when you
don’t know your goal).
Narrow down exactly what you want to accomplish with
your holiday marketing campaign. This will serve as a
blueprint for putting everything else together.
DO
Focus your messaging.
The holidays open a lot of windows for marketing
opportunities. With so many options and directions
available, it’s easy for brand messaging to get lost in
the clout of the holidays.
Put some extra thought into your target audience and
how they may react to your campaign. Are you going for
a sentimental or emotional campaign? Are you going for
entertaining or humorous campaign? Choose one tone,
and then DON’T GO OFF SCRIPT.
DON’T
Go off script.
The holidays are a great marketing opportunity, but
only if you stay on message. Mixing between different
tones is one way brands fail to hit a home-run.
You want your holiday marketing to be purpose driven
and brand compliant. Staying consistent with your
holiday messaging is crucial for your brand to
accomplish the goals you set up at the beginning of your
campaign.
DO
Be genuine.
Before you even think about being shoppable and
shareable, you want to make sure your holiday
marketing campaign is meaningful.
The holidays are a great time to develop meaningful
relationships, because it’s the time of year consumers
EXPECT genuine marketing. Don’t sell. Don’t push. Just
be genuine, and let them know you care about and
appreciate their business.
DON’T
Over do it.
Shoot for quality content, not high quantity.
Your audience is already getting bombarded with
hundreds of messages from brands in all industries.
DO
“Seasonize” your messaging.
Okay, so we might have just made up a word. But
mixing your current/typical brand messaging with
some holiday-inspired messaging really creates a
smooth transition for your audience.
Your campaign will seem more natural, and less like a
marketing campaign, which is exactly what you want.
Plus, you don’t want to lose your brand identity within
your holiday marketing.
DON’T
Disrespect the season.
Finding a balance between brand messaging and
holiday messaging can be more difficult for some
brands than others. Some of the biggest marketing
“Oops” moments happen during the holidays.
So it’s important to proceed with caution when it comes
to your verbiage, images or catch-phrases when it
comes to the holidays.
DO
Plan ahead.
Start planning for the holiday season months ahead
of time. It takes time to perfect marketing campaigns.
Many companies require approval from up the ladder,
so getting a head start is essential to a timely
marketing strategy.
You want to have everything approved and ready to go
a few weeks ahead of time so you can avoid any cringe-
worthy marketing faux pas.
DON’T
Skip out on holiday marketing.
It may seem daunting to step outside of your usual or
traditional marketing plan, but it’s amazing what can
be accomplished with a successful end of the year
marketing campaign.
Not only is it a great way to say goodbye to the year,
but it also helps set you up for a successful new year!
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