Holiday Countdown: 5 ways to prep your audience for the holidays

Martha Warner Author

Unwrap the strategies to engage your audience and share your holiday offer with these 5 tips.

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Photo by Microsoft Edge on Unsplash

It’s that time of year again. The holiday countdown is on!

If you are anything like the 90% of business owners I talk with, they struggle with how to promote their business during the holidays. How much is too much? How little is too little? Do I buy ads? How do I find the time to do all the things?

Now is the perfect time to start planning and preparing your audience ready for what you have to offer.

The fourth quarter is where some business owners can expect to make up to 75% of their annual sales! Don’t miss out on the opportunity to end the year with a boost in sales.

Through effective strategies, early planning, community engagement, digital marketing expansion, and holiday offer promotion, you will be on the right track to ending the year on a high note.

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Plan early

You need a plan, and you need to create that plan well in advance. Start by laying out your goals for the holiday season.

Are you looking to:

• Increase sales?

• Grow your email list?

• Build brand awareness and authority on social media?

• Prepare for a larger launch in the new year?

Whatever your overall goal is, you need to have a clear objective that will help you come up with your overall strategy.

Once you have your goals laid out, you can start to look at how to reach your target audience. Look at your strategy and analytics from last year.

• What did their preferences, behaviors, and interactions look like?

• What appeals to them?

• What do they clearly need help with?

• What social channels did they engage with the most?

Use your findings to build your strategy. Ask yourself what worked well and what could be improved, and come up with a plan rooted in data.

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Get social

Put yourself out there and get to know your target audience. Talk and start a conversation with them. Once you build up rapport, tell them about what you do and what you offer. They won’t know what you are offering if you don’t talk about it!

Now is also a great time to get your name in front of new people and different audiences. One great way to do this is by collaborating with other business owners.

Do you know someone that needs help with a certain task that you don’t provide? Create a referral list and encourage your list to do the same. They’ll return the favor later on. Swap information with others and build your network.

You can also organize an interactive Q&A. Hop into a Facebook group, go on IG live, or set up a Zoom meeting with other small business owners. You can set up a virtual networking event and invite other business owners. Have an open conversation about your services and products and allow others to ask questions as well. Focus on being genuine and authentic, and you will grow your network quickly.

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Update your website

Use this time before the holiday rush to get everything prepped on your website ahead of time so that your user experience (UX) is top notch.

• Prep your website and ecommerce platforms to be optimized for the holiday rush. Focus on your user experience by streamlining the purchasing process and making navigating your site easy and intuitive. You should also take a look at your site speed, make any fixes you need to before you launch your offer, and remember your mobile users!

• Update your product listings and descriptions. Review all of your descriptions to make them clear, engaging, and SEO friendly . You can also emphasize any holiday-specific offerings, show gift ideas, or offer limited-time promotions.

• Optimize your website for conversions. Create landing pages that have clear, frequent call-to-actions (CTAs) to help encourage your visitor to purchase. You can also create upsells to maximize your sales and make sure you're capturing their email for future offers.

• Enhance the search functionality on your website. Help visitors find your products or content easily by providing a search function. You can also create filters and tags that allow users to sort and narrow down their choices.

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Expand your digital marketing strategy

Hit your marketing strategy hard during the holidays by sharing your offer everywhere. Try leveraging multiple marketing channels to reach a broader audience. Try your hand at email marketing, social media growth, and new content updates on your website.

There are SO many ways to market your business and even more platforms to choose from. Follow your research on where your target audience is and hit those platforms hard.

Some platforms to consider are:

• Social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, etc.)

• Email marketing

• Blog posts

• YouTube videos

• Podcast guest appearances

• Virtual events

If you want to lean in on social media, you can engage in conversations, share valuable content, and respond actively to comments and messages. Keep your website updated by creating blog posts that are targeted at your offer while providing value to your audience.

One of my favorite ways to connect with my audience is email marketing. I designed a special offer for the holiday season and opened it up to my email subscribers first.

We are designing a series of holiday-themed emails created specifically for your business and tailored to your audience. These emails are perfect to announce your Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday offers to your audience. We will also schedule them on your platform, so this offer is completely hands off! Your email marketing will be taken care of, and you can focus on everything else your business needs during this busy season.

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Offer a holiday special

One of the best ways to prep your audience for the holidays is to tease the launch of a new offer. Maybe it is a new product you have been working on, a special discount on a service you provide, or an entirely new service you are offering.

Along with our newest offer of a crafted holiday email sequence, we are also bringing you an email sequence to prime your audience for your holiday break. You will get an email sequence for your business, specified for the time that you will be away. Don't send a generic out of office email anymore. Create a compelling email specific to your audience that they will WANT to read!

To make your holiday offer even more special, you can provide your loyal audience with exclusive early access to your holiday offers or products (Psst…if you aren’t signed up for our mailing list, you are missing out on our early access to our latest offerings). This special offer makes your audience feel valued and appreciated and provides an incentive to sign up for your email list. 

You can also implement elements of urgency and scarcity in your promotion. Use phrases like "limited time offer" or "2 spots remaining" to encourage your audience to take action right away. But use urgency and scarcity sparingly. Provide even more value to your audience beyond discounts by giving them freebies such as an ebook, guides, or tips related to your products or services.

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By following these strategies, you will be on the right track to ending the year successfully. By preparing for the holidays now, you will enhance your chances of building more connections and making more sales. 

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Do you need help with a plan for your holiday sales or even just getting a second set of eyes on your offer? I am now offering 90-minute business consultations, and now is the perfect opportunity to get your clear on your offer! 

You can even book the call when it's convenient for you. Schedule your call here. Check out my recent social media posts for more details!

Categories: : digital marketing