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It’s Never To Early To Plan For Holiday

Already thinking about your holiday sales strategy? You should be! Why? Online shopping is flattening the spending year which means holiday shopping no longer means that crazy week before. In fact, in a 2018 Valassis Research survey found that a whopping 49% of people said that Amazon Prime Day (in July!) encouraged them to get a jump-start on their holiday shopping. 

Facebook also released its Holiday Guide*. Check out these tinsel-turning numbers:

bar graph for when holiday shopping startsstatistic graphicbar graph of different media channels

What does it all mean? That putting off your holiday marketing strategy is a big no-no. In an ideal world, retailers should start thinking about the holiday season in January, but we know that can be impractical. So ensuring that your strategy is tied up with a bow by the summer will help all the pieces of your plan fall into place as the cold weather creeps in. While there is no “right date” to begin your holiday launch, aim for November 1st.

Here are a few other quick tips to help your strategy shine:

  • “Plan” all year long. If you notice other efforts that work throughout the year, take note and include them for the holidays.
  • Spend money to make money. Now is the time to put your marketing budget to use in Facebook and Instagram ads.
  • Think about your audiences. Tap into customers from the previous season through VIP parties, holiday cards or email lists.
  • Have a merry marketing time. Holidays are a time to let creativity shine! Use those fun custom graphics and GIFs, videos or templates.

Thinking about the holidays might make you sweat, but careful planning and execution (with a healthy dose of inspiration and imagination) will help make this the best sales season yet!

*Find the Facebook Holiday Guide here.

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Tips to Draw in Last-Minute Holiday Shoppers: The Modern Marketing Show, Episode 76

Christmas Eve is next week, can you believe it? We’re in the homestretch of the 2018 holiday season. If your customers are anything like some of the Social Edge HQers, they’ve waiting until the last minute to get their holiday shopping done. So, we’re sharing some quick tips to help optimize your social content to draw in those last-minute shoppers. You want to do what you can to make sure their shopping experience with you is as easy as possible.

Watch the full episode:

Tip #1: To draw last-minute holiday shoppers, you want to make sure you post gift-guides or gift ideas for the people who are most important in our lives like spouses, parents, friends children, co-workers, host/hostess, etc. Share your top-selling items or most popular customer favorites. Also, if you’re running low on inventory share that information to create urgency. The best way to do this is in a live video.

Tip #2: Another way to draw in last-minute holiday shoppers is to include the price, your store info, sizes available, if they can put the item on hold, and any other important information on the post. Make it really easy for them to know what they’re getting and how to get it. You want to help ease the stress of last minute gift shopping.

Your life might be a little crazy right now, but the little bit of extra effort you put into optimizing your social media content this week can have a big return in your overall sales. You want people to love what they’re buying from you, and to be a returning customer in the future.

You can catch new episodes of The Modern Marketing Show every Monday at 10 a.m PST on our Facebook Page. Replays will be available on the blog each week.

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How to Attract Holiday Travelers to Your Store This Holiday Season: The Modern Marketing Show, Episode 73

Are you in an area that tends to see an influx of holiday travelers this time of year? If so, this is the perfect chance for you to get those out of town visitors into your store and shopping with you this holiday season. Targeting people who are visiting your area is a smart move. It’s hard to travel with a suitcase full of presents, so these out-of-towners may be looking for the perfect gift for their loved ones where they’re spending the holidays aka in your city!

Watch the full episode:

Here are three things you can do to attract holiday travelers to your store:

#1. Create an eye-catching window display and front entrance tables. While people are out and about enjoying all your town has to offer, get people in your store with something that catches their eye. You can even cater your signage and messaging to them making it more likely they’ll want to come inside.

#2. Run a reach ad. This can be done in the Facebook Ads Manager. You can set the audience to target anyone who is traveling in your area. To make things even sweeter, try running a special campaign specific to these people offering a special gift if they come in and shop with you.

#3. Create and promote your events using a Facebook event page. This is another great way to gain more exposure because your event can be seen by anyone within your area. They’re free to set up, and promoting the event page using an Event Ad can boost attendance significantly.

Now that Black Friday and Small Business Saturday are behind us, it’s time to start thinking about how you’re going to continue reaching your Q4 sales goals. Maybe reaching out to an unexpected audience might just do the trick!

You can catch new episodes of The Modern Marketing Show every Monday at 10 a.m PST on our Facebook Page. Replays will be available on the blog each week.