We’re officially in the midst of the holiday season rush, where everyone is looking for the perfect gift. As a small business, it is your job to encourage those around you to shop local and avoid the big eCommerce giants. To do so, you need to create and execute a marketing strategy that elevates your brand and helps you stand out to your audiences. This season leaves just as fast as it arrives, so even if you’re late to the game, there’s always the new year to target consumers looking to spend their holiday cash.
At Zero Gravity Marketing (ZGM), we work with small businesses every day and understand what it takes to succeed during this time of year (and beyond). Learn from our experts on how to prepare your small business for a merry and bright holiday quarter:
There is nothing small about small businesses, as they represent more than 90% of the business population. With COVID-19 (Coronavirus) causing such a large piece of our economy to close down, we have seen a massive shift in how in-person and eCommerce shopping occurs.
As consumer behavior continues to change due to the pandemic, the way you go about marketing your products should, too. It is time to put your online lifeline into action and get creative this holiday season. Leverage your social media and digital advertising with these five tips:
Although it can feel intimidating, shooting your photos can be extremely easy to do. You just need your phone, great lighting, and an arrangement that will make for an insta-worthy setting. It can be tempting to hire a professional to photograph your products, but doing it yourself will save you time and money to allocate towards other aspects of your business.
When making new content for the holiday season, pick a consistent visual style using props to stand out on your feed, so followers know exactly what your posts are for. You can incorporate stockings, ornaments, or fake snow to add some seasonal flair to your photos that will help you stand out and get shoppers to stop scrolling. This could be decorating a Christmas tree with your store’s gift cards or adding a product into a stocking. No matter what you decide, make sure you stay on brand.
Holiday gift guides aren’t only an excellent resource for shoppers to pick out gifts from your store, but an easy way to showcase your bestselling products, too. When creating one, make sure to include gifts of all different price points and ones that appeal to each of your buyer personas. You can even put together gift boxes with a variety of your own products, “For Him” or “For Her,” to entice shoppers to get all of their holiday shopping done on your website.
For small business owners who are looking to advertise on Facebook or Instagram, the best place to start is targeting the audience you already have. If your brand has a loyalty list or email newsletter, you can set up custom audiences for your ad campaign to connect to your core group of customers directly.
Rather than focusing on reaching new shoppers, work with the ones you currently have so they’re the first to hear about your holiday specials and stay top of mind once they start shopping. When you have done that, you can consider adding “Lookalike” audiences to expand your targeting towards similar demographics.
One of the most underrated times of the year for driving sales is the post-holiday season. January may seem like a slow time for advertising your business and looking to reach customers more than other months. However, consumers are incredibly active online in the new year, returning presents, using gift cards, and spending their holiday cash. Especially with Coronavirus, your shoppers are going to be doing this at home and online.
Consider a post-holiday push in “Q5” and think of ways you can continue your creative messaging throughout January. This is a great time to switch up your holiday props for new year arrangements to stand out.
Although the holiday season is moving fast, there is still time to have your small business make a significant impact. When marketing your brand during the holidays and beyond, continue to consider these five tips to leverage your creative and audience reach. Want to learn more about optimizing your small business marketing strategy? Reach out to ZGM today!