5 ways to set your 2016 holiday marketing strategy apart
December 1, 2016 | hi-gloss | by Roberto Villazón
The holidays are upon us, again! No need to panic, there’s still time to get your brand in gear for what promises to be frenzied season of companies competing for consumers’ attention. Here are five ways to sure up your strategy, while setting yourself apart from a crowded field.
All the Feels
The holidays are notorious for flooding our souls with all the feels; emotions of all sorts over abound in ways we didn’t realize existed throughout the rest of the year. Be emotionally intelligent with your marketing. Choosing to promote happiness is a smart and seemly obvious choice, but marketers forget to be intentional about this. You have heard “misery loves company,” but companies should avoid making consumers feel frustrated with their brand experience, especially during this season. Know your brand’s emotional intelligence and translate that into your audience engagement; before, during and after the sales funnel.
All Digital, All Day
The beauty of digital content creation and distribution is the ability to update, monitor and measure in real time – in most cases; try doing that with print. Doing what makes sense for reaching your audience is key of course, but an all digital strategy should suffice for most communication needs this holiday season. Refresh your knowledge on the capabilities of social networks, distribution channels and devices your target audience uses to engage with your brand, then create content optimized for maximum impact in each of those environments. Whether using Google Analytics or a combination of analytics tools, keep your eyes on the data; monitor continuously and measure your audience impact.
Design Matters
Yes, it is 2016 and design still counts, but not just any design; designing for maximum brand love impact should be your top priority. Human-centered design is not just some trendy fad, it is human focused art, strategy and experiences created within the context of your brand for audience engagement. Specifically, you should always design for your target audience. Whether you are creating content for holiday revelers or the anti-holiday movement – not everyone celebrates – you should be cognizant of who is consuming your content and on what device. This approach will help you empathize with the user’s context and deliver the best experience. Attention to design details should be applicable in all aspects of your marketing strategy.
Entertain
I want to be bored to death, said no holiday audience ever! People are waiting for you to make them laugh, cry (happy tears) and celebrate; place your strategy within the context of their lives. Celebrate alongside your audience. The holidays are all about entertaining and being entertained. Whether you are sparking warm emotions of nostalgia or extracting moments from contemporary culture, you now have the important distinction of being an entertainer. Your content should reflect the experiences people expect to have or suggest new ways to celebrate. Think more along the lines of an immersive show, where the audience will be encouraged to interact and share your content with their friends and family on social networks and via their digitally enabled smart devices. Make your videos, podcasts, snaps, tweets and status updates share worthy.
Optimized
Is your website, app, landing pages, e-commerce stores… loading fast? Do you have a reliable host that is ready for web traffic spikes? What about your fulfillment and delivery of goods and services? Optimize for a seamless user experience on all fronts – from internal to consumer facing interactions. The holidays are the worst times to bring anything but your “A” game. Let’s face it, the success of your strategy relies heavily on technology and it being available to deliver the experience your audience is expecting of your brand. So, test early, test often and continuously monitor your infrastructure as much as you measure your campaign’s performance.
The marketing environment is dynamic, because it needs to reflect the movement and behavior of your audience. The ability to pivot on a moment’s notice is key to winning at any strategy, the holidays are no different.
