It’s time to get ready for the upcoming Holiday Season! Yup, you heard me and no it’s not too early, actually RIGHT NOW is the time to start brainstorming and planning. Talk about early bird gets the worm… what keeners! Don’t worry though, we’ve got some great tips on how to kick-start your Holiday Campaign

Refresh Your SEO and Offer Seasonal Exclusives

Organic reach is the name of the game, and having the same old tired content won’t bring in new customers, nor inspire your current ones. So change it up and really optimize organic search – people are looking for the perfect gifts, and you might have just the thing! Start off by rewriting Title Tags and meta-descriptions to completely optimize each search. Many Internet surfers will read Google’s SERP Snippets before opening each link, so really utilize those 150 characters to draw in new leads.
Examples of Google’s SERP Snippets:

Get Your Social Media in the Holiday Spirit

Yes, that means pulling out the warm and fuzzies to draw your customers in with the spirit of the Holiday Season! It’s always nice to decorate your house or the store for Christmas, but your social media needs to be decorated as well (even more so if you don’t always meet your customers face-to-face). Update your Twitter and Facebook banners to reflect a holiday theme, and be sure to change it often. Or take a picture of your staff in ugly Christmas sweaters and post it on your company’s Instagram, or make it the Facebook picture. Start reposting holiday articles and blogs, and also create new ones with relevant content in real-time. The holiday season is stressful for everyone, so make theirs a little easier by posting relevant information to ease that stress.

Organize Website Content Based on Themes

This one might take a bit more time, but you should organize your website content based around holiday themes to fully optimize your website, and simplify your customers journey. Once a customer enters your website, allow them to be one click away from exploring “Gifts for Dads” or “Fantastic Finds for your Furry Friends.” These categories narrow the search for your customer as they might know who they’re buying for, but unsure of the right gift. Good news is: they came to your site, so you could have the solution!

You’re Mentally Prepared, Yes. What About Mobility?

Like I said, the holiday season is crazy for everyone so your customers might not always be at their computer but they’ll always have their cellphone. Utilize the mobility-side of your website as many shoppers will use their phones to find the perfect gift, and buy it either then and there or in-store. And ensure the mobile site is easy to use; there’s nothing more frustrating then trying to click on a single icon and end up clicking on the wrong one. Zooming in and out and scrolling left to right on mobile web browsers is never fun either, so make sure each web page fits their screen and everything is properly sized.

Mobile to In-Store Engagement

Question: How do you get people to come to you, without the tactics of Traditional Marketing?
Answer: Use your website and social media – that’s what it’s there for!
You use these tools each and every day, so why not use them to attract customers to come to your store. Chances are they most likely heard about you through an online search or a social media platform. So give them a sneak-peek at what’s in store for the Holiday season… their curiosity will jump into overdrive as they’ll want to see what new and exciting things you’re planning! When it comes time to send out those Holiday specials, the customer has already thought about the offer, and might be ready to take the next step. Another way to do this is using Newsletters and Promotional emails – but remember, do not spam your subscribers! Include a promo code or barcode at the bottom, so they can either print it off or have something to refer to later on. And for those loyal customers, give them an Early Bird Special before the deal is offered to the general public. This brings us to our next point…

Create Mobile Coupons

The #1 reason why coupons are great – They increase conversion rates of turning potential leads into customers! But be aware that not every person who comes across your coupon will become a customer. Coupons help to drive and increase your website’s traffic, so you may have a few dropouts, but that’s okay – it’s expected. Another great thing about coupons is that everyone loves them, and we mean everyone! So ensure they’re easy to share on social media as people love to share their steal-of-a-deal. And most importantly, don’t forget to make the coupons printer-friendly.

Image credit: Dave Mason