Like a kid on Christmas morning, each year I get excited for Facebook to release their holiday guide, filled with holiday marketing strategies and Black Friday advertising ideas fueled by their endless pool of customer data. Inspired by this year’s Facebook 2021 Holiday Guide, here are the three key insights that will help your retail strategy this holiday season.
Prepare for Mega Sale Days
According to Facebook’s research, 1 in 2 holiday shoppers buy something during a “mega sale day” event, like Black Friday or Small Business Saturday. By not focusing on these key holiday shopping events in your marketing strategy, you’re missing out on 50% of shoppers.
Create Your Holiday Marketing Strategy in the Fall
As I write this, the flowers are still blooming and Black Friday or Small Business Saturday feel like a world away. But we all know it’s a trick – the holiday shopping season will be here before we know it, with 95% of people starting their shopping before December.
To optimize for shopping events, start developing your holiday marketing strategy now before the first snowflake falls. Identify the shopping experiences that are most relevant to your business and the marketing channels that can help you efficiently reach your audience. HINT: I highly recommend Facebook or Pinterest advertising for their targeting capabilities and ecommerce integrations.
Make it FUN
One of the main reasons people use social media is to be entertained. So it’s no surprise that 71% of mega sale day shoppers agree they like to take part in shopping experiences that are entertaining.
Optimize Your Site For Mobile
We’ve all had an online shopping experience that made us want to give up and go cry in the corner. The holiday season is your chance to leave a lasting impression that will encourage repeat purchases. In the last 6 months, 79% of people made a purchase using their mobile device. Even if your customer is just in the research phase, if your website isn’t optimized for an enjoyable mobile experience, your lasting impression will be anything but fun.
Copy that Entertains
From landing pages to confirmation emails, you have plenty of blank canvas waiting to be optimized for a fun experience. Leverage unexpected copy or content as often as you can. Your customers have just traded their time and money and entrusted you to provide the ideal gift. The least you can do is make it enjoyable.
Make Your Audience a Gifting Hero
Remember when we used to drive to the mall with a list of people to shop for? You’d see twinkle lights in every window and a line that Starbucks would envy of screaming children waiting to see Santa. For better or worse, part of the shopping experience was not knowing exactly what you were going to buy for your Aunt Carol.
Even though we’re shopping in a new way, 55% of the people Facebook surveyed experienced difficulty knowing what to buy for others. As a marketer, you have the opportunity to turn their gifting fears into the perfect present.
Turn Your “Wes” to Yous”
Leave the “wee-wee-wees” in children’s rhymes. The holiday season is not about marketing messages or your company’s bottom line – it’s about your customer. The one who’s been searching all over the internet for the perfect gift to bring a smile to someone’s face. All your marketing copy should focus on them.
Here’s an example “we” sentence:
We offer 10% off your first purchase.
And here’s a revised sentence focused on the customer:
Enjoy 10% off your first purchase.
Highlight Testimonials
Of course, a company thinks their product is the “perfect gift.” But what do actual gift-givers say? Take every opportunity to highlight customer testimonials and user-generated content (UGC) in your marketing. Let your audience develop trust through your customers.
Have you started planning for the holiday (marketing) season? Already feeling behind? With more than six years of retail experience for brick and mortar and ecommerce, I can help. Let’s make a brilliant 2021 holiday marketing strategy together.
