6 Tips to Prepare Your Digital Ad Campaigns for the Holidays

This 2022, holiday retail sales are expected to reach up to $1.262 trillion. That’s up from $886.7 billion in 2021!  

If you want to get a share of that Holiday cheer, plan your digital ad campaigns as early as today to start preparing your business for the holiday sales madness.  

According to the National Retail Federation, 61% of consumers start their holiday shopping as early as November. While many customers prefer to buy last minute, others prefer to shop in advance.  

By starting your holiday internet marketing campaigns in Miami and promotional efforts ahead of time, you can capture these early shoppers, persuade them to buy your products or services, and get ahead of your competitors!

Here’s how your business can prepare for it and make the most out of the holiday spirit.  

5 Predictions That Will Impact Holiday Sales and How You Should Prepare for It

Running campaigns before, during, and after the holidays will help you capture customers who are in the mood to shop and splurge.  

However, digital campaign costs will rise during the last two months of the year and changes in consumer behavior will likely occur.  

Here are the other factors you need to be mindful of as you prepare for the holidays.  

Holiday Shopping Will Start as Early as November

In 2021, consumers started holiday shopping as early as October. This year, given that the country is experiencing inflation, expect this trend to continue

Customers believe that buying gifts in December will be much more expensive than in October. This is because they know annualized prices rise between 6-8% each month.  

As a result, they will start Christmas shopping earlier. This will likely affect your Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.  

Incentivize early shoppers to buy from you by running an “early bird” sale. You can also keep consumers on their toes by letting them know that there will be great deals coming their way on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  

It’s all about knowing what’s valuable to your customers and building hype around it. This way you can capture early shoppers and ride the waves of the holiday spirit!

Expect More People to Shop via Mobile

According to Sensor Tower, the top 10 U.S. livestream shopping apps reached 2.3 million installs in the first five months of 2022. This doesn’t include the download of TikTok with its eCommerce features.

Given that mobile shoppers comprise 60.9% of the US population, expect a lot of people to buy from you this holiday season via mobile.  

Prepare for this by using a mobile-friendly web design and making sure that your internet marketing campaigns in Miami are compatible across mobile devices.  

You should also consider adding buttons on your ads and campaigns that allow potential customers to call you or locate your store right away.  

Photo from Google Support

People Will Be Thrifty Because of Inflation

Inflation is making it difficult for people to maintain their lifestyles, and this could impact their behavior towards buying gifts this holiday.  

Consumers may end up using Prime or buying many gifts from one online seller or marketplace to keep shipping expenses down. They may even opt for bundle deals and sales to save money.  

Consider offering free shipping if they spend a minimum amount on your online store. You should also bundle products together for a lesser price, offer coupons and freebies, and maybe even incentivize them to invite their friends and family to shop at your store by offering a referral discount!

Post-Pandemic, Buyers Crave an In-Person Shopping Experience.

Some holiday shoppers prefer to buy online, while others want to go to an actual store and feel the Christmas spirit around them.  

Whether your target customers prefer to engage online and shop offline or vice versa, make sure you meet them where they are by developing an omnichannel marketing strategy.  

Strengthen Your Customer Support and Communication

During the holiday season, expect to receive more messages than usual. Sprout Social estimates that retailers across all industries and business sizes will get 18% more inquiries or messages per month.  

Make it easy for customers and prospects to reach out by using social media instant replies and adding chatbots to your website to boost user experience.  

Automating this part of your business will allow you to cater to more customers, filter through leads, and boost your holiday sales!

Get Started with Your Holiday Digital Ad Campaigns with These Tips

Competition is fierce during the festive season. To stand out from the crowd and convince shoppers to buy from you, create a seamless shopping experience across all touch points. It's critical to cut through all the noise and grab your customers' attention by doing the following:

1. Plan Early

Since we've already established that consumers will indeed start Christmas shopping as early as October, you and your team must get down on crafting an internet marketing plan in Miami as early today. Here’s how you can get started:

• Define your target customers. Who do you wish to appeal to this holiday season? It’s best to identify who your best customers are and create a profile for each type so you can segment your target audience according to these different types of personas. Doing this will allow you to target different kinds of customers and tailor each campaign according to their preferences and behaviors. As a result, your internet marketing promotions in Miami are more compelling and convert well during the holidays.  
• Set realistic goals. What do you hope to get from running campaigns during the holiday season? Is it to grow your sales? Engage your audience and get closer to your customers through participation and dialogue. You can use the insights from your previous holiday campaigns to help you set realistic goals for this year's holiday campaigns.  

• Assess your previous holiday marketing campaigns. Analyze your previous holiday marketing campaigns and determine what works for your target audience and doesn't. You can use this data to refine your internet marketing holiday strategy in Miami, develop better promos, and craft compelling ad copy.  
• Define your business’ KPIs. KPI stands for a key performance indicator. It’s a type of performance measurement that allows you to gauge whether or not your campaigns are successful. Once you’ve set your holiday marketing campaign objectives, it’s time to identify your KPIs. Your KPIs will depend on your goals. For example, if your goal is to boost holiday sales, then your KPIs could include sales targets, average revenue per unit, lead conversion ratio, opportunity-to-win ratio, average purchase value, incremental sales by campaign, and many more.  

Once you know who you target for your holiday campaigns, analyzed your previous ad results, and defined what your goals and KPIs are, it’s time to talk about tactics!

2. Craft a Personalized Interactive Gift Guide

‘Tis the season when consumers want to be merry and make others happy by buying gifts! The problem, however, is they probably have a million things to do. Shopping might not be one of their priorities.  

Make their lives easier by creating a personalized interactive gift guide to help them find the perfect gift for their friends and family. Based on customer data and their latest interaction with your site, you can make tailored product recommendations and promos.  

You can personalize your homepage for every visitor or send them out as emails to your list. You want the items on the page to be clickable so customers can check out right away if they see anything they like.  

It's also a great idea to section your products or services based on your customer's interests. For example, you can create "For Mom" and “For Dad” product page sections on your site. You can also make things fun by creating a “For the Foodie” section or “For the Dog-Lover”.  

This makes it incredibly easy for them to sort through your products and quickly decide what to get their loved ones. The less friction in their buying journey, the higher the chances they'll checkout.

3. Tap into the Emotions of Your Customers

We all know being too salesy no longer works for modern consumers. Instead of telling people to buy your products, help them get into the holiday spirit during the season of merry making by tapping into their emotions.  

Connect with your customers by capturing the essence of the holiday season in your video ads, captions, and visuals.  

The holidays are about spending time with family and friends, reuniting with loved ones, sharing with others, giving gifts, and having a great time.  

Pick a theme consistent with your business' values and beliefs and create a video ad or marketing campaign around it.  

Check out WestJet’s Christmas Miracle video ad!

Photo from Shortyawards.

People are emotional beings. As much as consumers want to justify their purchase decisions with logic, they still rely on their emotions to help them decide what to buy and where to buy it.  

Tell a story that resonates with your target audience. Once your customers are emotionally connected with you, they’re more likely to remain loyal and tell others about your company.  

4. Allow Your Customers to Share and Show They Care This Holiday Season

The spirit of Christmas is sharing and caring. Create more impactful marketing campaigns this holiday season through an act of goodness!

Inform your audience that for every purchase they make during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, a certain percentage will go to a local charity. This way, they’re not just getting a gift for themselves or their loved ones. They’re also helping others in need.  

People like to feel good about themselves. So, this is a great way to motivate them to buy from you.  

5. Boost Your Mobile Marketing Strategy

61% of all web traffic to eCommerce sites is from mobile. This shows that more people prefer to browse your products and services on their phones than on their desktops or any other device.  

Capture customers who prefer to shop through mobile by optimizing your mobile internet marketing strategy in Miami this holiday season. Here are some best practices to help you engage consumers on mobile:

• Use a responsive web design for your site to ensure that it renders well across all mobile devices and provides a consistent, seamless experience.  
• Provide your customers with cashless payment options via mobile. Since mCommerce is at an all-time high, it’s good to make it easy for users to check out in one tap!
• Run ads specifically for mobile to target shoppers who prefer to buy through their phones.
• Send out exclusive offers, coupons, and alert customers for the restocking of their favorite items via SMS!

6. Retarget Prospects with Ads

During the holiday season, consumers are bombarded with all sorts of marketing from left and right. So, it's safe to say they're extremely distracted during this time. As a result, they might abandon your site without checking out.  

But this doesn't mean that you give up on these visitors. Keep your brand at the top of their minds through retargeting!

Retargeting is a tactic that involves strategically showing ads to people who have already visited your site or used your mobile app but haven't converted yet.  

They're more likely to go to your site and check out if they’re reminded of the items they checked out.

Take Your Internet Marketing Campaigns in Miami to The Next Level this Holiday Season!

With your competitors vying for your customers' attention this holiday season, you must run internet marketing campaigns in Miami with laser-sharp targeting and personalization to build better engagement and connection during a time when they’re super distracted.  

At Digital Resource, our content marketing specialists and SEO experts will work with you to create a custom content plan for the holiday season that will not only drive more sales but also put you ahead of your competitors!  

Contact us today to start planning for your holiday internet marketing strategy!

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