During the Christmas season, brands may have a better chance of keeping the attention of an ant as compared to their targeted customer. It’s no secret that the Christmas season is one of the most competitive times of the year for businesses. Consumers are constantly bombarded by various messages from thousands of companies on both traditional and new media. Every company is trying to draw individuals to their brand and creative advertising is on point. So how can you make your business stand out from all the Christmas advertising noise?

 

Here are a few key recommendations –after all, you don’t want to miss out on the profit!  

 

1. Get to the point  

Source Global Research pointed out that the attention span of a human has gone down from 12 seconds to 8 seconds. Can you imagine the difficulty for businesses to stand out amidst the advertising noise in 8 seconds? Your prospective customers often have several options presented to them and sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming.  

 For brands, there is usually little or no time to explain who they are and what they stand for. To be effective in 12-second attention spurts with a lot of competition, the most effective ways to cut through the noise is with short and captivating visuals. In the case of radio ads, be sure to use creative jingles that quickly convey your competitive advantage and get to the point. 

 

 

2. Plan Ahead 

In getting to the point, you will first need to have a clear plan. Map out your goals and objectives for the season Decide on any special products and services you will offer and any promotions for these.  

Part of your planning ahead strategy should also include optimizing your website and social media for the season with the right keywords, hashtags, blog articles, and promotions. If you may so choose you can also create a temporary landing page solely for your holiday promotions. That way, persons can get to know all the details about your Christmas offerings on one page.  

Next up, create a content calendar to map out all the relevant content you will create and when you will release these. Having a clear and concise plan will help you get a jump on your competition and be consistent with your sales and promotional efforts throughout the season. 

 

 

3. Be where your customers are  

While investing in online advertising campaigns are a great way to attract more eyes to your business, if it’s not done properly you won’t reap the results and the sales. One of the easiest ways to commit marketing suicide in an already competitive space is to not have a targeted campaign. ‘Broad brushed’ campaigns where persons are only targeted by country or age are no longer applicable. It’s important for companies to know where their customers go online and target them in these spaces. It’s always best to start out with a very broad audience, then steadily narrowing with additional qualifiers as you gain insight into what audiences resonate most with your campaign.

 

If you haven’t yet figured out how to target your customers, contact us now and get started!  

 

 

4. Personalize Your Brand 

In the spirit of Christmas, reach out to your customers in a personal way. Send e-Christmas cards with an individual’s name on it, wishing them a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. You can also help overwhelmed shoppers by emailing digital wish-lists or offering unique and specialized deals. This is a creative means of using direct communication to your already existing clientele, to retain their interests and not have them divert to one of your competitors. 

 

 

5. Be Charitable & Get Your Customers On-board 

A positive way to stand out amongst your competitors is to be charitable. Align with a local charity or local community event to help raise funds and encourage your customers to do the same. Social media is a very effective platform for doing this.  

 

Share and like the charity or community event’s page and encourage followers to do the same. You can donate an amount every time a customer on your page likes or retweets or shares the charity’s or community event’s information. This will endear your brand to your customers and help increase brand loyalty, as well as brand awareness – and of course attract new customers.  

 

6. Give a Gift  

‘Tis the season for giving. Including unique and interesting gifts with the customer, purchases will increase their chances of coming back and possibly buying more. As well, it’s a good way to get some word-of-mouth marketing going. Utilize mobile marketing to send time-sensitive notifications about specials, discounts, and bundles to prospective customers. You should also send these specials and discounts to your existing customer database and use their feedback to customize or tweak your offerings. 

 

 

7. Have a Competition 

Another way stand out is to have a fun and engaging Christmas-themed competition online that rewards customers with an amazing prize. Facebook & Instagram are great tools for this. Have a promotion that rewards the customer with the best Christmas themed photo or design or video. This will not only increase engagement and followers but also brand awareness.