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  • 9 Ideas for Your 2020 Holiday Marketing Strategy

Many of us think of Black Friday as essentially the kick-off date for the holiday shopping season, but did you know that consumers actually begin their shopping well before then? In fact, nearly 40% of consumers begin their shopping before Halloween. Almost a full month ahead of Black Friday!

So, in order to capture these shoppers, you need to start thinking about your 2020 holiday marketing strategy right NOW.

We know, it’s weird to think about the holidays when we don’t know what the world is going to look like in two weeks, let alone four months – but, the show – and the holidays – must go on. This means your marketing needs to get your business in front of consumers looking for products and services you offer when they’re ready to spend their money.

What does the data say we can expect from the holidays this year? Here’s what we know so far to help you prepare your 2020 holiday marketing.

Consumers will likely be looking for holiday deals.

Right now, the U.S. unemployment rate is still high. While there are signs of improvement, it’s safe to say that a large majority of U.S. consumers have been impacted in some way by the coronavirus pandemic and the mass layoffs that followed the outbreak.

This means that many consumers will have less to spend around the holidays. And while this isn’t what businesses looking to recoup lost revenue toward the end of the year want to hear, it does present an opportunity for you to consider as you plan your holiday marketing.

Consumers already appreciate a good deal (93% of shoppers report using coupons throughout the year), so they will likely find deals, specials, and offers very appealing around the holidays. If you can orient your marketing around these promotions, you can likely entice a good number of new customers to your business.

How to incorporate deals into your 2020 holiday marketing:

  • Create PPC ads for your deals. The majority of consumers begin their search for a business on search engines. Search engine marketing ads provide you a quick way to get in front of them for relevant searches. So, make sure you’re creating and running PPC ads that are specific to your holiday specials and deals.
  • Promote your deals on social media. I’m a sucker for a great Instagram ad – I can’t even tell you how many items I’ve purchased directly from my app. You can run targeted social ads to reach consumers who may be interested in your products and services – and including a deal doesn’t hurt at all.
  • Use email marketing. Consumers are used to receiving emails about deals and specials. In fact, 75% of consumers say they search their email inboxes just to find a relevant deal or discount code, so make sure they see yours this holiday season. (Check out these holiday email subject lines to get your emails opened!)

Related: How to Implement Future-Use Coupons to Build Brand Loyalty

Deals and specials are usually a given around the holidays, and this season they may be more important than ever – so don’t miss the opportunity to incorporate promoting deals into your holiday marketing strategy.

Online purchases will continue to be king this holiday season.

According to Google, this year nearly 75% of U.S. consumers surveyed said they planned to shop online for the holidays more this year than they did last year.

We’ve said it before, but this means your online presence is more important now than ever. You’re going to want to get in front of consumers while they’re browsing online if you want to entice them to do business with you.

Here are some tips to ramp up your online presence for your holiday marketing:

  • Make sure your local listings are updated. Your local listings, like your Google My Business listing, provide consumers with an easy way to see your business’s hours, location, and phone number. But, you can also provide additional information that they’d find useful like whether or not you offer curbside service, any specials you’re running, and more to streamline their online experience with your business. (Get our local listings holiday checklist to make this a breeze!)
  • Do a quick audit of your website. Does your website have the latest updates about what your business is doing to keep customers and employees safe? Do you have inventory information or current services information? Make sure your website contains all the information a consumer would want to know before becoming a customer.
  • Get social. People are spending a lot of time on social media right now. So, make sure your business is using social media to your advantage. Share relevant information, photos, videos, and more about what your business is offering, any special deals, and anything else that would make a consumer want to choose you over the competition. Don’t forget to incorporate holiday hashtags and holiday giveaways into your social strategy!

Get more tips to check your online presence in just five minutes here and get your 2020 holiday marketing started on the right foot.

Consumers are looking for ways to support local businesses during the holidays.

In that same Google study, they found that 66% of consumers are planning to shop more at local businesses this holiday season. But they will still do most of their browsing online.

This means that not only do you need to get in front of consumers when they’re searching online, but you may need to adjust the way you offer your products and services to provide an additional incentive for them to do business with you.

If you don’t already have curbside service for your retail or restaurant business or safety precautions for your service business, now is the time to figure out how to implement these services in time for the holidays.

Here are some other ways you can highlight your local business for your 2020 holiday marketing:

  • Partner with other local businesses on special offers. What’s better than supporting one local business? Supporting multiple at once! Partner with one or two other businesses in your area to bundle some products or services to provide local customers. If you’re a gym, you might partner with a vitamin supplement store on a health starter basket that includes a month gym membership for any time in 2021 with a few vitamins, minerals, or protein shakes.
  • Set up a pop-up shop near a high-traffic area. We know that consumers are wary to visit retailers in person without a plan first. But, they’re still visiting the grocery store. Get permission from your local grocery store to set up a little pop-up outside to entice people to buy from you while they’re safely masked-up and outside.
  • Give back to a local cause. Spread some goodwill during the holidays and give customers a way to support your local business and their community by partnering with a local charity or organization. For example, you could hold a canned food drive for the local food pantry – any customer that brings in or gives five cans of food receive a percentage off your products or services.

During this time, we’ve seen how small businesses have been hard-hit, so it’s encouraging to know that consumers are specifically thinking of ways to support their local businesses during the 2020 holiday season. Make sure to capitalize on this for your holiday marketing strategy!

We know the holidays might be stressing you out already, which is why our experts are ready and willing to help you create a holiday marketing strategy that makes you merry. Reach out to us today to learn more.

Here are those 9 holiday marketing ideas one last time:

  1. Create PPC ads for your deals.
  2. Promote your deals on social media.
  3. Use email marketing
  4. Make sure your local listings are updated.
  5. Do a quick audit of your website.
  6. Engage with shoppers on social.
  7. Partner with other local businesses on special offers.
  8. Set up a pop-up shop near a high-traffic area.
  9. Give back to a local cause.

Download our holiday marketing guide for exclusive data, tips, and strategies to make your holiday marketing a success in 2020.

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