With brands everywhere competing for attention, this increased demand drives up ad costs, making it harder to secure a spot in front of your audience. To stay ahead, it’s important to review and revise your holiday marketing strategy. Even though we’re coming down to the wire, with thoughtful planning, you can make your ads stand out and reach the right people during this busy season.
We’ve put together a short list of our top tips, from leveraging past data to avoiding costly pitfalls—to help your ads stand out and drive results.
5 tips to create the best holiday marketing campaigns
Let Data Drive Your Holiday Strategy
If you haven’t already, take the time to look into insights from past campaigns. Use Google Analytics or platform-specific dashboards to analyze key metrics and leverage that data. Identify key audiences, time of day, or geographic locations that have served in past campaigns and focus on those areas.
Navigate Rising Costs and Intense Competition
With more businesses advertising during this time of year, your CPC is going to be higher than usual. Results have shown that the Average CPC YoY for Paid Search and Social has gone up by 13%. The fact is that with some of these media platforms, you have to pay to play and this is more true than ever over the holiday season.
If you’re not an e-commerce driven business, now might actually be a good time to take your foot off the pedal and focus your strategy on the new year when the competition isn’t as steep and your budget can be put to better use.
Simplify for Success
When ad costs are at their peak, simplicity wins. Stick with strategies and creatives that have proven effective. Use familiar ad copy and visuals your customers already associate with your brand. This is when brand loyalty pays off, helping your message rise above the noise. If you’re testing new approaches, run A/B tests to ensure your audience connects with the changes. Monitor performance closely and go with what works.
Build Trust with Genuine Messaging
Many brands fall into the pitfall of click-baity marketing around the holidays in a desperate attempt to stand out. It’s important to keep in mind that your business works hard all year round to build loyalty and credibility with your customers. Adopting this “pick me” marketing tactic voids trust and destroys the credibility you’ve worked hard to establish.
Maximize ROI with Smart Remarketing
Target potential customers that have already visited your website. It’s far cheaper to get a user back to your website once they have already been there and have the established brand recognition.
Solidify Your Holiday Marketing Campaign
It can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the whirlwind that comes this time every year, especially if you’re not getting an early start. These tips can help you design an effective last minute holiday marketing strategy that appeals to your customers, uses your budget wisely, and stays true to your brand. If you find yourself needing support with your PPC/Social campaigns contact us for a free audit.
