There’s no such thing as being too early when it comes to preparing a digital marketing strategy for the 2023 holiday season.
At a minimum, eCommerce brands should have a paid media strategy two to three months ahead of the peak shopping period. And while the old adage of being “better late than never” holds water, you don’t want September to arrive and realize you are not ready for the peak sales season.
How to Prep for Seasonal eCommerce Marketing & Drive Revenue
Learn five ways we’re leveraging the power of digital marketing to increase eCommerce sales during the holidays.
1. Review Seasonal Data
Most eCommerce retailers have a treasure trove of seasonal data from previous years. Now is the time to review metrics and create a winning paid ad strategy.
Reviewing seasonal data is the easiest way to understand what you did well (and what underperformed) in the previous period, and innovate on those findings. Leverage your data from the last holiday season to inform your upcoming ad strategy.
Therefore, your first step towards improving your eCommerce sales for the upcoming holiday season is to perform a complete audit of your digital marketing efforts by platform. Start here:
- Google Analytics
- Email service provider
- Social media profiles
- CMS and sales channels
- Promotion code or deal performance
- Paid media efforts
We understand data analysis is a time investment, and we are confident the effort is critical for a successful sales season. If you wish to skip this step and turn it over to a digital agency with expertise in data-driven paid ad strategies, we’re here to help.
2. Set Goals Based on Performance
Use the data to set benchmarks for your KPIs. Don’t forget to pay special attention to the ad creative that performed well. Use a variation of ad copy, keywords, audience targeting, and eye-catching graphics to improve conversion rates.
Leveraging this strategy for Solmate Socks, we created 109 ad variations across multiple paid media channels and drove a 173% growth in YoY website purchases and a 234% increase in conversion value.
3. Prepare a Holiday-Focused Paid Media Strategy
For eCommerce brands, paid search ads are essential to staying competitive during Black Friday and the upcoming holiday season.
For example, Adobe attributed 28% of its 2022 holiday sales to paid media ads. Solid seasonal paid media advertising has the potential to greatly increase annual revenue by offering stand-out custom ads across different platforms.
These ads could include one or multiple ad types:
- Paid search: Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising on Bing, etc.
- Display and video: Google Display, YouTube, etc.
- Social advertising: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, etc.
Due to the oversaturation of the market during the holidays, we recommend thorough research before adding a seasonal paid media strategy for the first time or updating an ongoing strategy.
The management of ad campaigns during the holidays requires an approach that differs from your year-round strategy. This takes into account seasonal trends, targeting an audience more likely to engage in seasonal promotions, and the analysis of campaign data to identify areas for improvement and make data-driven adjustments to optimize campaign performance throughout the season.
If you’re considering partnering with a company for your eCommerce paid media campaigns, we invite you to connect with us. Our paid media strategists are happy to discuss your company’s unique needs and how we can assist.
4. Get Personal with Your Holiday Advertising
Your customers want individualized experiences that allow them to find what they want effortlessly. For example, 80% of online shoppers reported they were more likely to make a purchase if a brand offered more personalization.
That statistic emphasizes the importance of improving your digital strategy to attract new customers by way of deep personalization and machine learning.
If you’re interested in adding personalization to boost holiday sales, now is the time. Here are a few practical ways we deliver a more individualized experience for our clients:
- Leverage paid media campaigns to serve ads based on customer behavior
- Offer social media ads based on follower engagement
- Refine keyword and audience targeting strategies
5. Get Ready to Be More Social in Your Holiday Advertising
Within the last year, Instagram Shopping and TikTok Video Shopping have transformed social media platforms into robust e-commerce channels. By merging content and commerce, these platforms have strengthened the relationship between social media followers and their shopping habits.
By the numbers, over 130 million people use Instagram Shopping to make a purchase and 56% of TikTokers reported that ads taught them about a new brand and its products. This data highlights the value of adding one or both of the platforms to a holiday paid media strategy for eCommerce brands. But it’s important to launch campaigns on new platforms ahead of the season to provide ample time for ads to optimize and build brand awareness on those platforms.
Create Your eCommerce Digital Strategy for the Holidays
These research-supported techniques are some of the best ways for eCommerce brands to improve holiday revenue.
We invite you to schedule a consultation with us. During our conversation, we can discuss options, such as custom digital solutions that support your paid ad campaigns during the busy season.
Skip the heavy lifting and discover what it’s like to partner with an experienced digital agency. Contact us today.
