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, using both traditional and new media. So how can your business stand out from all the Christmas advertising noise? Here are a few recommendations.

Get to the Point

Source Global Research reports that the attention span of humans has gone down from 12 seconds, to 8 seconds, making it increasingly difficult for businesses to stand out. For brands, there is usually little to 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, brands have to cut through the noise 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.

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, including deciding on any special products and promotions you will offer.

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. You could also create a temporary landing page solely for your holiday promotions. That way, persons can learn the details about your Christmas offerings on one page.

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.

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 executed properly you won’t reap the results and sales you want. One of the easiest ways to commit marketing suicide in an already competitive space is to not have a targeted campaign.

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, and then steadily narrow your target with additional qualifiers as you gain insight into which audiences your campaign most resonates with.

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

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.

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 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, re-tweets 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.

Give a Gift

‘Tis the season for giving. Including unique and interesting gifts with customer purchases will increase the chances of their coming back and possibly buying more. This is also a good way to increase the word-of-mouth about your brand.

Utilize mobile marketing to send time-sensitive notifications about specials, discount, 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.

Have a Competition

Another way stand out during the competitive holiday advertising season, 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.

Get more Holiday Season digital marketing tips from our free Christmas eBook. Click to download.