The Science Behind Success: Six ways to withstand the holiday competition

Over the years, digital devices have transformed the way we live—and the way we shop. Marketing today is all about strategy and starting early to beat out the competition. Sticking out in today’s multi-channel world can seem overwhelming at first, so we made this guide to help you beat out the holiday competition.

1. Do Your Research



Many businesses get trapped in the cycle of using the same keywords each year. In fact, holiday keywords change year after year! It is smart to research any trending words in your area, state, and country. Depending on your business, you may want to strategize differently. While an online retailer or service may focus on more broad keywords, a local business may prefer the data from their area alone.

2. Start Early



Starting your digital marketing early is essential to your business’ holiday success. Unique ad copy can be written, but the best way to gage which of your ads are the most successful is to have them out at least a month ahead of time. This will give you helpful data to pick out the most competitive of your ads and give your business the most click-through ad success. As for the ad copy itself, it is smart to use current promotions and holiday themed language. This attracts your customer because they can tell your ad is current.

3. Know Your Customer

Knowing your customer and how their shopping habits change year after year is essential to your holiday marketing. In a recently posted Google Adwords blog article, data found that customers are more digital than ever, partaking less in shopping “marathons,” and more into shopping “moments” on their phones throughout the day and over a couple months. Research has become key to the customers both in your store and online as informative YouTube product videos (particularly for electronics), reviews, and blogs continue to change the competitive holiday landscape.

4. Get Mobile

Mobile optimization is essential in today’s digital world, especially during the holiday season. Data shows 54% of holiday shoppers say they plan to shop on their smartphones this holiday season. Not to mention, 52% will use their phones to research products before they enter a store, and 82% of shoppers will be consulting their phones while they are in your store.

5. Get Festive

Your brand should utilize the holidays to build personality! From a themed site and ads to a friendly social media presence, the holidays are one of the best times to engage your customers and media followers. Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are great places to reach out and spread the holiday cheer with behind-the-scenes photos, employee holiday events and more.

6. Content is Key

Creating useful content around the holidays is essential to gain traffic on your site. From “top 100” shopping lists to an increase in festive emails and promotions, your content needs to stick out from the competition with engaging, relevant language. Not to mention, customers expect to receive more emails over the holidays. It is important to keep in mind that your competition is sending more emails too. Beat them out with relevant, engaging information that is targeted to your customers.

No matter what marketing tactics you decide to utilize, it is important to have fun with whatever you do! The holidays are a time to spread joy and your marketing can be one of the many ways to do this.