Five Tips to Own Online This Season

By Kwesi Grimes

The holiday season is when most brands bring out their big advertising guns; winter wonderland storefronts, massive billboards, decked out social media, coupons by mail, and everything else you could imagine. This year, many will still go hard with their advertising, but the focus will be on their digital platforms. With major brands and everyone else focusing on online advertising, we’ve got a few tips to help you stand out. 

Share your story!

We’ve been hearing the phrase ‘humanise your brand’ more and more. Simply put, people buy from people. This season is the time to share your story. People are interested in knowing your purpose, sympathising, seeing who you help. Emotions play a big role in the buying of gifts for loved ones, make your business the easy choice by giving us a reason to shop with you. Your story and the reason behind your brand’s actions help you stand out from all the other companies just trying to make money.

Be Festive

We’ve seen the generic ads all year; it’s time to jazz up your marketing recipe for advertising this Christmas. As the holiday season draws nearer, people get into the festive spirit. Being festive helps you to connect with your customers as they know you’re experiencing what they feel. Remember people buy from people, and online doesn’t always give you that personal touch.

Give us something!

Many of us have been affected negatively by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year we’re looking for deals and spending wisely. We know not all products are easy to discount so you can also show us value for money by giving us how-to videos, tell us what pairs well with an item, or give us different ideas of how to use something. Remember, your competitor is just one search away.

Be Social

Some of us may still be inside, but we still want to connect. Social media is the perfect medium and is one of the easiest ways for a brand to talk to their community. Answering our questions and responding to our comments not only humanise your brand but makes it a lot simpler to facilitate and encourage purchases. Consider having a team in rotation to monitor your social media and arm them with FAQ sheets for your best sellers, new products and sale items.

Focus

The online space is crowded with messages, but we urge you to keep calm. Design a plan that outlines what your message or key points are, how you want to come across, and how to manage your leads, and stick to it. Sometimes the simpler the better. Don’t get caught up following your competitors and looking to reinvent the wheel every day. Trying to talk to everyone sometimes stops you from being of benefit to the most interested customers.