{"id":5462,"date":"2016-11-11T16:11:23","date_gmt":"2016-11-11T22:11:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/5bd4f92546.nxcli.net\/?p=5462"},"modified":"2024-12-05T15:38:40","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T21:38:40","slug":"small-business-holiday-marketing-tips-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bluecotton.com\/blog\/event-planning\/small-business-holiday-marketing-tips-experts\/","title":{"rendered":"Small Business Holiday Marketing Tips From The Experts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Create\u00a0your custom, company-branded swag for your holiday party in our Design Studio<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The holidays are fast approaching, and we all know what that means: shopping! And every holiday season, it’s like the floodgates burst open and all of a sudden, there are holiday marketing campaigns everywhere. Every business is trying to cash in on the spending frenzy with emails, social media posts, television advertisements, and other related efforts. But retailers aren\u2019t the only ones who can get in on all the money that gets spent on holiday shopping. Whether you own a store, restaurant, service provider or even a B2B company, a smart and well thought out marketing plan can boost your holiday sales, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

To help get a leg up on your competition this year, we\u2019ve gathered some of the best marketing advice from experts around the industry. Take a look at the tips below and let us know if you have any additional tips in the comments below!<\/span><\/p>\n

Create Geo-Precise Marketing<\/b><\/p>\n

Small businesses can officially stop worrying about how to reach every consumer that could possibly want their goods and services: Geo-precise marketing and precision targeting is now leading the pack in consumer marketing. Businesses can use their analytics and purchasing data to identify zip codes that are extra active when it comes to purchasing — or even use IP targeting to narrow down their focus to individual households.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"b1\"<\/p>\n

Sujan Patel, Entrepreneur and Marketer, @sujanpatel<\/span><\/p>\n

Social Media Holiday Ideas<\/b><\/p>\n

Social media is a critical component to your holiday marketing campaign. Reach your customers while they\u2019re out shopping and push a mobile strategy during the season. Most of your customers are constantly connected to their social media accounts via their smartphones. Boost the frequency of your social media posts to reach your customers as they\u2019re doing their holiday shopping on the weekend. A time-saving tip for a Facebook marketing strategy is to spend time pre-scheduling your Facebook posts. Take an hour out of your day, and schedule all your holiday Facebook posts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"b2\"<\/p>\n

Susan Lou, Chief Knowledge Officer at Strikingly, @susanloulou<\/span><\/p>\n

Mobile Matters<\/b><\/p>\n

A mobile-friendly website (or a responsively-designed one) will allow shoppers to easily find the information they are looking for on your website (such as a phone number or map with driving directions). Mobile searchers have a high purchase intent (50% visit a business after searching on their device) and a mobile-friendly website provides a seamless customer journey from discovery to purchase.<\/span><\/p>\n

To incorporate mobile into your 2016 holiday marketing plans, consider running an online mobile-exclusive coupon or discount that requires a customer to redeem in-store. When a shopper receives your mobile coupon and adds it to their phone\u2019s Passbook, you have effectively added your business as a destination for them to shop at during the holiday season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"b3\"<\/p>\n

Catherine Schutten, Content and Brand Strategy at Vivial<\/span><\/p>\n

Advertise Ahead Of The Holidays<\/b><\/p>\n

When the holidays arrive, the underprepared invest in ads conservatively because they haven\u2019t yet tested their latest creatives. Before they know it, the celebration is over and they\u2019ve spent a mere fraction of their overall budget.<\/span><\/p>\n

To get a headstart on the holidays, marketers should promote ads weeks in advance of the shopping season. Doing so gives them ample opportunity to try new copy and images to learn how consumers react. With enough lead time, they can optimize their creatives to guarantee profitable performance when it\u2019s go-time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"b4\"<\/p>\n

Eric Samson, Founder of Group8A, @ericbsamson<\/span><\/p>\n

Use Texting And Social Media For Customer Service<\/b><\/p>\n

Many small businesses do customer service the old fashioned way. That\u2019s fine, except while you\u2019re dusting off your landline to call a customer, they\u2019ve moved on to higher technological ground. By using SMS for time-sensitive customer inquiries and making it easy for customers to reach you on social media, you offer customers more convenience and better service. When clients hit pre-holiday madness, good customer service becomes even more essential.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"b5\"<\/p>\n

Alexa Lemzy, Customer Support Expert, @Alexa_Lemzy<\/span><\/p>\n

Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising Can Usher In A Holiday Windfall<\/b><\/p>\n

If customers are not aware of your business they are even more unlikely to buy from you. This is where strategic marketing efforts come into play. One of the best ways to build awareness is through online advertising tactics like PPC. In fact, \u201cPPC campaigns increase brand awareness by 63% when businesses use online advertising.\u201d Best of all you can advertise locally and attract customers with the products that they\u2019re searching for. And only pay when they click to visit your website or call.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"b6\"<\/p>\n

Erica Nicole, Founder and Publisher of YFS Magazine, @YFSEricaNicole<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Forget Cyber Monday!<\/b><\/p>\n

Even if you are a primarily brick-and-mortar business you still need to cater to your online audience. Not everyone will flock to your store the moment the turkey gets cold. Today\u2019s cost conscious consumer knows the best deals can be found the Monday after. Be sure to create an exclusive offer for your online audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"b7\"<\/p>\n

Gregor Schmidt, Co-Founder & Chief Innovator of Studio 5 Innovation, @gregorspeaks<\/span><\/p>\n

Improve Your Email Marketing<\/b><\/p>\n

If you want to improve your sales figures for the holidays, it\u2019s a good idea to boost your email marketing efforts now. Summer and fall are good times to market your services to loyal customers, while reminding those you haven\u2019t seen in awhile to buy from you again. In the months leading up to Christmas, you should study your newsletter conversion rates to determine what types of messages generate the best response. Additionally, you should monitor your social media pages to see what your customers are discussing and determine what the hottest products are going to be for the holiday season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"b8\"<\/p>\n

April Maguire, Freelance Writer and Editor at Multiple<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Create\u00a0your custom, company-branded swag for your holiday party in our Design Studio. The holidays are fast approaching, and we all know what that means: shopping! And every holiday season, it’s like the floodgates burst open and all of a sudden, there are holiday marketing campaigns everywhere. Every business is trying to cash in on the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":5472,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[764],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-event-planning"],"yoast_head":"\nSmall Business Holiday Marketing Tips From The Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We asked expert marketers how small businesses should promote themselves for the holidays. 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