All I Want for Christmas is ROI: Holiday Marketing Insights for 2023
We’re here! The final quarter of the year is the holiday season. Home to Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and New Year’s celebrations, it is a major gold mine for brands to see growth and sales.
The sales during the holiday season have been growing constantly. Sales grew by 6% in 2022 to around $ 942 million, and are expected to grow around 4.5% more this year!
It is time for digital marketers to formulate a solid marketing strategy for social media to bring in customers.
It is a competitive period because even the big brands are actively utilising the season, so you need to stand out while fitting in.
Even in Australia, the BFCM (Black Friday Cyber Monday) period is marked with higher shopping rates and amazing sales.
In 2022, Australian online sales during BFCM exceeded AUD 2.8 billion, an impressive 53% increase over the previous year.
In this blog, we’re going through some of the best underrated tips and action plans for Australian digital marketers to build a stellar marketing strategy for the holiday season.
About BFCM
The end of October marks the closing in of one of the most profitable times of the year for brands- the Black Friday & Cyber Monday sale.
This period has left people bruised and with minor injuries because of the crowds in the past. Now with the addition of online shopping, it translates to website crashes.
Here are some fun statistics from a study about customers during last year’s holiday season-
80% of customers planned to spend.
23% of the budget was used by the end of October.
50% of people spent during the Black Friday & Cyber Monday period.
I. Jump On TikTok
This trend-based search engine, an irresistible platform that’s home to a billion monthly users,
8.5 million of whom are from the land down under, should be part of your digital marketing strategy for Australia this holiday season.
TikTok has been able to merge entertainment and shopping in a way no social media platform has been able to.
Close to 30% of users accredited entertainment as their reason for a purchase on TikTok.
With the amount of user-generated content, TikTok has become a platform to research products and trends.
So this holiday season, a great marketing strategy would be to include influencers to get your product recognised.
Creator endorsements work so much better than a brand saying they’re authentic.
If you’re worried about the budget, don’t worry. Studies show that 72% of the TikTok audience finds brand shoutouts by micro-influencers and other smaller content creators attractive.
Using TikTok & influencers to promote products = magic formula.
II. Create A Sense Of Urgency
Agencies are a great way to create attention for your brand during this holiday season it's because customers have been spoilt with options and it is hard to live up to their expectations.
The best way to get them to click on a new website is to create a sense of urgency.
There’s not much time left
3:00:00 hours left
Statements/banners like these help customers ignore buyers' anxiety- this is when customers have a gap between their desire for a product and a logical push toward a purchase.
It’s the cause of all those deserted carts.
So creating urgency gives customers that push toward purchase, especially during the holiday season when everybody’s wallets are in their hands ready to spend.
2. Running out quickly
Save 25% off on purchase
Another way of creating urgency is by showcasing limited stock
or a strong value proposition.
Customers are always looking for a way to validate their purchase. Not many are willing to try a brand new product from a new brand, so reviews and/or limited stock build give a feeling of trust for a push toward purchase.
Black Friday anticipation, via Readymag
III. Use Social Media To Create A Buzz
Start the buzz on your social media platforms well before the sale season.
Start planning your promotions early and create a budget for each one.
Budgeting is an important aspect because you don’t want to be left on low fuel for the actual sale.
Rather than spamming a ‘sale coming soon’ again and again, be creative by creating excitement through hints, early exclusive gift codes, testimonials, etc.
Create hype around the sale
Get some testimonials about products to strengthen your offering
Highlight some unique selling points of your products
Make sure that the sale date is clear.
Tenacity (not spamming the same thing over and over again) is necessary in marketing because according to studies, it takes 7 times for a customer to make a purchase decision.
Promote your promotions on your website, social media, and through email marketing.
IV. Tune The Shopping Experience
This is an underrated aspect of marketing correctly for any sales season.
From the loading speed of your website and smooth scrolling to multiple payment options and options for shopping,
All these factors could make or break a possible conversion.
Keep in mind, that it’s the age of e-commerce, so if your website is taking a tad bit too long to open will not speak well of your brand.
Customers are also anxious about paying online, so if you don’t provide them sufficient options for payment, they’ll likely forego the purchase even if they are highly interested in your products.
An optimised shopping experience by the Angel herself, via Djerf Avenue
V. Consider A Variety Of Promotions
The holiday season also means that it’s a time for gifting.
So along with discounts, consider gift card promotions.
Provide customers options for different amounts.
Also simple promotions like ‘free shipping’ can really aid conversions because customers usually are put off by the extra shipping costs for products
VI. Researching Trends & Your Audience
Stay on top of your social media game. Identify through demographic, age, and other factors the trends your audience is likely to be watching.
Using trendy audio, videos, memes, and post formats will help your brand show up on the algorithm.
But make sure that the trends you participate in are in tune with your brand personality and positioning.
Take e.g. Wilsonville Honda a car dealership that took the unconventional trendy meme route, and has over 2 million views on their reels.
Also, take time to research industry trends that are currently present. You can use Google Trends or other sites to get a hold on what customers expect of the industry and what the selling points are
Use social media listening tools to track what your target audience is talking about.
Conduct surveys or interviews with your target audience to learn their money habits and preferences. You can quite literally (in a cryptic way of course) ask your audience what they want and deliver it to them.
You can do these through simple Google forms with an incentive attached.
VII. Make Sure You’re Ready
This comes much later down the line. But once the marketing strategy is in place, be prepared for the increased traffic. As mentioned earlier, ensure that your website is functioning without any glitches and can handle traffic.
Be prepared with quick customer service support for the increased volume of inquiries.
These are just a few underrated tips to get you started on a solid digital marketing strategy for the holiday season. We wish you the best of sales!
