Updated October 27, 2019
For many businesses, the 4th quarter represents up to 40% of yearly sales. Your online strategy is increasingly important to have a great end of year. A recent survey by the National Retail Foundation found that 56% of consumers will complete their holiday shopping online.
Your challenge is to have customers and prospects find you! The key to success here is to have a good plan.
Here are some tips to make the most of your year-end campaign.
5 Things to Do Now to Finish Strong
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Grow Your Subscriber List
Actively grow your list today so that you get more reach with your holiday campaign. By increasing your subscriber list, you can continue to build relationships with your customers and prospects all year long. This is the start of a relationship.
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Plan Your Offer
What will you be offering to entice your customer to shop with you? Knowing what keywords and themes that are currently hot are going to help you gain traction. Focus on a single offer and call to action. Too many choices overwhelm your audience. Keep it simple. Keep it timely. Keep it relevant to give your customers a great experience.
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Create Content
Once you know what your offer is, decide what content you need to support your campaign. Web site posts, landing pages, ads, social media graphics, and in-store signage are examples of items to add to your list. Decide what channels you will focus on. Repurpose images, messages and copies across channels. This will save you time and increase the visibility of your campaign.
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Make it Mobile
Did you know that 1 out of 5 millennials now only use a mobile device to go online? For all users in the United States, more social media, emails, and web searches are done on mobile devices than desktop computers. For local businesses especially, the journey to purchase often happens on a mobile device. Make sure your promotion is optimized for a mobile experience. Try to redeem your offer on your phone. This one is getting more important every year.
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Organize with an Editorial Calendar
Create a schedule of when you will be communicating on all the channels you’ve selected. Prepare the content ahead of time and take advantage of pre-scheduling website content, emails and social media. You’ll be busy so scheduling ahead of time will make sure message is getting delivered.
More Resources
- We recently partnered with Montgomery County SCORE to present the Google and Constant Contact holiday live-stream event. Watch the Spruce Up Your Holiday Marketing recording to get tips you can use now and throughout the year to increase the effectiveness of your marketing.
- Getting successful results from your digital marketing efforts requires a plan. Starting with a good plan will not only help you grow your business, but will save you time and effort in implementation. Get the Framework for Digital Marketing Success here.
Now is the time to put your business in a position to increase sales and gain new customers. Get started preparing for the holiday season today, and let us know if we can be of any help to organize a strategy for this holiday season.
