Facebook Insights for the Holiday Season and a Quick Marketing Checklist
‘Tis almost the season to be jolly. Of course, for both small and big businesses this means we have to equip for one of the busiest times of the year. Being jolly is officially postponed.
Jokes aside, you can still have fun with your campaigns and get excited for all the upcoming holidays. Take this opportunity as a chance to launch creative and successful campaigns, to show your clients you care and use the season to attract new ones.
This year, you can get a head start with new insights, courtesy of Facebook, to help you get a head start on those projects. Since we’re aware of the million things that have to be taken care of, we’ll add a holiday marketing checklist to make sure you’re on track.
Many events and holidays are coming up, this data is like a little nudge to step up your social media game and think about your special offers ahead of time. People may be lured into stores, but they also spend a lot of time on Facebook looking through their feed.
Sometimes a spark happens, when customers find you in their feed. Facebook has become also a news feed to gather ideas, and maybe even a starting place to make purchasing decisions. For every business, these insights suggest that Facebook is the perfect platform to grow sales.
November events
November 11 – Singles’ Day
Widespread among Chinese people, singles’ day is just what it sounds like – a day single people celebrate their status of being single. Today, Singles’ Day has become the biggest online shopping day in the world.
Just as you’d put effort into Valentine’s Day, you can do the same for 11.11. Offer your goods or services so that single people can treat themselves and their friends. This time of the year, you can be sure people are on particular lookout for all sorts of products.
November 24 – Black Friday
Given the incredible speed at which Black Friday is spreading around the world, start planning soon the special deals you’re going to announce. Get people excited about shopping at your stores! Promote deals, offer discounts and make it official before Black Friday.
November 27 – Cyber Monday
After sales hit a record of $ 3.35 billion on Black Friday, sales for Cyber Monday increased by 12% last year, topping $3.45 billion in 2016. What does this mean for your business? The data shows that shoppers continue to take advantage of special discounts for Cyber Monday. That’s right, you’ve got to prepare for this one as well.
It is also possible that shoppers are taking advantage of these two events to do their early Christmas shopping. Regardless, Cyber Monday should be part of your strategy this year. It’s highly likely that this year, sales will only go up.
December holidays
Facebook suggest that you allocate a budget for this specific time period. Given that 1 in 4 people make purchases between 11-20 December, you can create a sense of urgency to reach out to last minute shoppers.
What’s even more surprising, is that according to Facebook, 65% of their surveyed users said that they plan to shop well after Christmas. This means you can have additional campaigns before Christmas as well as a few weeks after.
December 25 – Christmas
Something all businesses can do is add a little holiday flare to their branding. Change up your social media covers, add a little festivity to your landing pages and decorate your stores before Christmas.
The festive mood can stretch out to your email marketing campaigns as well. Get warm and fuzzy with your customers and send them thoughtful emails in the spirit of the holiday. In terms of content marketing, 80% of your content should add value to your customers and about 20% should be about promoting your business. Now, for the holiday season, these rules can be bent a little.
December 31 – New Year
A new year for new beginnings. The holiday season doesn’t stop here! 46% of Facebook’s surveyed shoppers said they shop in January to make the most of additional holiday sales. You can use this time frame to spread the word about your new products or services.
It is also worth noting that online mobile sales are skyrocketing. Mobile sales are expected to reach $20.1 billion which is a 45.2% growth from last year. This means you need to make sure your ads look great on mobile devices and make sure to include those CTAs!
Quick Holiday Marketing Checklist
- Review results from last year’s holiday campaigns
- Plan email marketing ahead of time
- Create holiday specific content for your website
- Create unique holiday offers and deals
- Plan and launch early holiday marketing campaigns
- Schedule social media posts for events
- Hype customers up for upcoming sales on social media
- Don’t forget holiday blog content
- Check to see if offers and pages are mobile friendly
- Lastly, get your team in the holiday spirit
The holiday season is crucial for marketers and each year brings unique insights and new customers. Make the most of this holiday season, and truly get in the spirit to spread the joy as the year comes to an end. We’ll be back with more tips, insights and articles to help you prepare for the holiday season.
