According to Google’s marketing retail guide, 40% of U.S. holiday shoppers say their holiday shopping experience has made them consider shopping much earlier for other milestones this year. This means your holiday gifts offers, specials, and other deals should be ready a couple months in advance. With consumers combining online and in-store shopping, preparing an omnichannel holiday strategy early will be critical to reaching shoppers along their purchase journeys. Have both your supply chain and digital marketing plan ready before November. 

If fact, it might be best to have new strategy right after the current holiday ends. According to the guide, June 2021 reported 31% of U.S. shoppers had already started their holiday shopping and 37% of shoppers who shopped the previous holiday season wished they had started earlier. During COVID-19 and currently, a lot of business’s supply chains had stock issues, causing over 50% of U.S. shoppers surveyed to say that they would start holiday shopping earlier to avoid an item being out of stock. This is especially important if you are an ecommerce business or a product-based company. Several suggestions from Google to include in a marketing strategy are:

• Use the Insights page in Google Ads and best sellers report to keep up with consumer demand. 
• Notify customers with promotions, sales, free and fast shipping options, and return and refund options directly to your product listings.
• Create a Business Profile and run a Local campaign to connect with local shoppers. 

If you are struggling with any of these items Miller Media can help with Google Ads and provides Google Analytics Consulting to create a marketing strategy that is successful. 

Multichannel Shopping is the Main Way People Shop

Omnichannel or multichannel shopping has led to only 4% of U.S. holiday shoppers not using digital channels for their shopping according to the retail guide. This means have a digital presence is a requirement for your business. Have a website, create social media accounts, and GoogleMyBusiness Profile for your business. If you are missing one or more of these avenues and can’t manage them yourself a digital marketing agency can help you. Also, convenience is key for people around the holidays. Minimize stress for last-minute shoppers, who rely on local and nearby stores. In Google Maps, searches for “gift shops near me” have grown globally by over 60% year over year. Make sure your on-page and off-page SEO is effective, so new or returning customers will see you first on Google’s results page. Other ways Google suggests helping shoppers see your business is with: 

• A Performance Max campaign, and through your app (if you have one) by deep linking to reach the right customers. 
• Smart Bidding for store visits or store sales. 
• Listing your products for free across Google Shopping 
• Local inventory ads and adding  Pointy  to your Business Profile to reach nearby customers by promoting available inventory. 

People Use Google for Holiday Inspiration

Google states that 43% of U.S. holiday shoppers that used Google said they did so to get gift ideas, and 64% said they did so for discovery and inspiration. This is very important for retailers. Search visibility is critical to capturing these shoppers. Include gift guides in your company’s blog. In addition, promote your products to your target audience at the right time across Google surfaces, like Search, YouTube, Gmail, and the Shopping tab. This takes SEO, website optimization, PPC, Google Ad creation, social media marketing, and other digital marketing services. All this can be overwhelming to maintain. If you are struggling to market your business while trying to run it, let the team here at Miller Media do it for you. 

Need help preparing for future holiday marketing strategies? Call 248.528.3600.

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Post and Advertise on Social Media 

Create a feed that is festive and fun. If you sell products supply gift guides. If you are a service-based company create a joyous atmosphere around your services. Contests and give aways are popular during the season because people are hoping to get a least one free gift for someone this year. Make sure the contest or give away is fun and rememberable that way the client will be encouraged to purchase something from your brand in the future. Take group photos of your company being charitable and giving back to your local community. 

Organize or Attend a Value-Added Sales Event 

Invite groups of people to your store for an exclusive sales event or attend a festival where there is a high influx of people holiday shopping. Both ways let you meet new customers and local business owners you may partner up with in the future. These person-to-person meetings allow you to create a positive experience for customers that they will remember off the holiday season, thus building brand loyalty and trust. 

Decorate Your Website 

Whether you are strictly a small online shop or a small local brick-and-mortar shop, it is fun to decorate your website. Having a holiday vide will get people in the mood and brighten their day. Add a Santa hat to your logo or any other item associated with holidays celebrated at this time. Add falling snow to your website or create a fun cursor to grab visitors’ attention. These will increase retention rates and increasing the likelihood of visitor purchasing an item. 

 Celebrate Small Business Saturday

Across your social media use #smallbusinesssaturday to promote your business. Many towns have various promotions such as special events, advertising gimmicks, and public relations initiatives to take advantage of. While this year it was on November 26^th, some locations celebrate this year-round. Use Saturday during holidays to promote your most popular sales item and be on the lookout for holiday specials you can offer based on your local Saturday activities. Don’t forget to update your Google Business profile with holiday hours and events. 

It is not too late to start holiday marketing. Call 248.528.3600.

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1. Ask what your target audience is doing around the holidays

According to data.ai, studies show mobile app usage and mobile shopping go up in November and December. Consumers are also looking for deals for gifts and holiday supplies. Create mobile-friendly web and ad content that helps your target audience find what they are looking for. Special discounts are often offered to help draw in consumers that need to spend for a lot of people in their lives. Check and secure your supply and delivery chain. Consumers are usually stressed and are looking for items that arrive quickly. Include call-to-actions that encourage urgency, especially if you are limited in supply or time. 

2. Adjust your normal social media content calendar 

Make sure you increase the frequency of your posts leading up to the holiday. Try to avoid posting the day before or the day of. People are usually finish shopping the week of and last-minute shoppers usually grab whatever closest. Remember that not all social media posts have to be direct sales. Some quick ideas are: 

• How to use video
• Customer testimonials
• Suggested gift post 
• Showcase bestsellers
• Live video asking what audiences are doing for the holidays 

3.  Keep in mind your employees’ time off

Whether you are open the day of the holiday or closed, employees are going to take time off on or around the time of the holiday to relax and be with their friends and/or family. Keep this in mind when you are creating your ads. You want to have enough breathing room for consumers to see and buy and for employees to register the purchase and do their jobs. Make your content in advance, especially if it evolves employee interaction. You want to be courteous of employee’s time because they are the one keeping your products or services moving. If possible, include ai or a social media manager that had access to software that automatically posts in advance. 

4. Keep in mind of other winter holidays besides the major ones

This is especially important is you are an international business. If you’re not selling something that is directly tied to major holiday or there is intersection of holidays that your target audience may celebrate, create content acknowledging different holidays. For example, you can create content based on Hanukkah or Kwanzaa in addition to Christmas. It can be blog post or a social media post. If there are too many holidays during the winter month and you are having trouble incorporating them in an authentic way, then just stick to “happy holidays” posts, blog articles and ads. 

5. Include sales-enablement collateral into your holiday content

This is important for b2b buyers. Web landing pages, case studies, client testimonials, and other sales aids content are still needed during the holidays. One would argue even more so due to other business’ fiscal year ending. Other businesses are deciding what to do with end of the year budgets and upcoming ones. Gather whatever content you can that make your business look like they have a smooth and positive experience. Exchange internal and team holiday news. LinkedIn is a great platform to highlight these items.

Need help preparing a marketing plan for the holidays? Call 248.528.3600.

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