Summer temps may be lingering, but fall has officially arrived, and the holiday season isn’t far behind. Many industries rely on holiday shopping to drive sales in the fourth quarter. For 2019, spending is already expected to increase from the previous year. Additionally, 53% of holiday shopping is expected to take place online, which is why it’s important to make preparations now and set your business up for success through the holiday season. Here’s why:
Social users buy from brands they already follow.
77% of consumers are more likely to buy from brand they already follow on social media. If you’d like to rack up sales from your social followers, it’s important to start growing your audience now and focus on engagement moving forward. People want to feel a connection to brands they buy from, which takes time. Forming a bond with your audience early and fostering that connection will give you greater influence once they begin making holiday purchasing decisions.
Tip: Implement brand awareness campaigns on social channels now to grow your following ahead of the holidays and give yourself an advantage over competitors.
Some shoppers have already been prepping for the holidays.
We’re focused on planning ahead, and we’re not the only ones. Online searches for the holidays begin to increase during the summer months because of early shoppers. And by October, 1 in 5 consumers has already started shopping for the holidays. Reaching these early shoppers is a great way to generate early sales of your own and strengthen your connection throughout the season, just in case they need to make any last-minute purchases.
Tip: Place ads on the right social networks to capture the attention of early shoppers. New shopping tools make Instagram and Pinterest ideal, plus their save features allow users to come back to your products later and share them with others.
Competition will increase during the holiday months.
The closer we get to the holidays, the more competitive the market will become. More businesses pay-to-play during the biggest shopping months of the year, making it more difficult for those who are late to the game to stand out. By focusing on community management efforts now, you can engage in meaningful interactions and demonstrate customer service techniques, which will keep your brand top of mind when it comes time for your audience to shop.
Tip: Test out various ad concepts, evaluate performance, and optimize your strategy (especially on Facebook) for an edge during the holiday season. In conjunction with your community management efforts, this will make your brand even more memorable.
The biggest shopping days of the year are on the horizon.
Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday will be here in the blink of an eye and consumers will be ready to shop. During these major retail holidays, shoppers aren’t just hoping to luck into deals – they’ve been researching and planning. By doing research and planning of your own, you should have ads in place to capture consumers ahead of these retail events and secure sales once they arrive.
Tip: Prepare your digital campaigns, refine targeting, and optimize ads in advance of major shopping days. Your brand will be more memorable to target customers and they’ll be more likely to think of you when they’re making purchasing decision on these hectic days.
As online holiday shopping continues to grow in popularity year after year, it’s important for businesses to head into the season prepared. Ready to talk holiday ad strategy? Contact our team today.
