Holiday promotions planning & design for 2013 final
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![[intro]areyouready?marketingstrategywhat’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary
what we’re doing today
1 are you ready?
2
create a holiday MARKETING STRATEGY
3 what’s YOUR OFFER?
4
4 ways to MAKE YOUR PROMOTION GREAT
5
bring it all together, next steps
© 2013](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
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Holiday promotions planning & design for 2013 final
- 1. holiday promotions: planning and design give yourself the gift of new customers © 2013
- 2. [intro]areyouready?marketingstrategywhat’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary what we’re doing today 1 are you ready? 2 create a holiday MARKETING STRATEGY 3 what’s YOUR OFFER? 4 4 ways to MAKE YOUR PROMOTION GREAT 5 bring it all together, next steps © 2013
- 3. [intro]areyouready?marketingstrategywhat’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary what we’re doing today 1 are you ready? 2 create a holiday MARKETING STRATEGY 3 what’s YOUR OFFER? 4 4 ways to MAKE YOUR PROMOTION GREAT 5 bring it all together, next steps © 2013
- 4. intro[areyouready?]marketingstrategywhat’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary are you ready? holiday spending to increase by online holiday sales will increase by 11% 15.1% Source: Experian 4 Source: eMarketer © 2013
- 5. intro[areyouready?]marketingstrategywhat’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary are you ready? 20% – 40% of yearly sales november 5 december january © 2013
- 6. intro[areyouready?]marketingstrategywhat’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary begin preparing now 40% start shopping before Halloween Source: National Retail Foundation remember: this is part of building your long-term relationship with your customers know your goal for the holiday season © 2013
- 7. intro[areyouready?]marketingstrategywhat’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary 3 quick tips for holiday promotion success 1. know your goal 7 2. know your offer 3. make it timely © 2013
- 8. what we’re doing today 1 2 are you ready? create a holiday MARKETING STRATEGY 3 what’s YOUR OFFER? 4 4 ways to MAKE YOUR PROMOTION GREAT 5 bring it all together, next steps © 2013
- 9. what we’re doing today 2 create a holiday MARKETING STRATEGY • know your marketing goal • know your audience • know what they want • know where to reach them • know when to reach them © 2013
- 10. introareyouready?[marketingstrategy]what’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary know your marketing goal 1. know your goal 10 • • • • reach new customers drive repeat business/loyalty motivate donors and advocates increase membership/subscriptions © 2013
- 11. introareyouready?[marketingstrategy]what’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary know your audience • ask: – what frequency do they prefer? – what topics are they interested in? • use your reporting: – watch your open rates – check your click rates • what you get: – identify the right customer for the right promotion 11 © 2013
- 12. introareyouready?[marketingstrategy]what’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary know what they want unsubscribe because the content was not relevant © 2013
- 13. introareyouready?[marketingstrategy]what’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary know what they want: segmentation dividing people into groups based on information like interests and demographics © 2013
- 14. introareyouready?[marketingstrategy]what’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary know what they want: drive traffic with content engage with your social networks now with relevant content, so they are ready for the holiday season © 2013
- 15. introareyouready?[marketingstrategy]what’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary know where to reach them: email • • • • • • • 15 coupon/discount free shipping featured products drive people to your website donate increase awareness increase membership © 2013
- 16. introareyouready?[marketingstrategy]what’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary know where to reach them: mobile 90% of mobile searches lead to an action searchengineland.com 75% 70% who ran a local search via mobile acted within one hour used phone to get real-time, location-based information CMO Council PewInternet.org local search © 2013
- 17. introareyouready?[marketingstrategy]what’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary know where to reach them: social media • share your email newsletters • post offers • share product photos • provide shopping advice • ask questions to spark conversation 17 © 2013
- 18. introareyouready?[marketingstrategy]what’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary know where to reach them: social media name Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Pinterest Instagram Google+ smartphone users men, students, software developers all business young adults women, foodies, crafters good for what? sharing text, photos, video, links sharing news, product info, testimonials sharing news, text updates, links to info pinning photos, video, graphics sharing photos and video sharing text updates, links, photos, video best for what? sharing engaging content, reaching a large audience sharing products, how-to/tips, e-books showing what you do: products, people. behind the scenes increasing your searchability and expertise primary audience 18 thought leadership #ctctsocial sharing original and curated content @constantcontact © 2013
- 19. introareyouready?[marketingstrategy]what’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary know where to reach them: social media • use your networks strategically • match the value/volume that fits each network value high low high medium high volume low low high medium medium medium frequency 19 high 3x/week 3x/week 5x/day 3-5x/week 2-4x/week 3x/week © 2013
- 20. introareyouready?[marketingstrategy]what’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary know when to reach them • find out the best times and dates – check email reporting – check social media reporting • tools to help you schedule – email marketing – social media marketing • Facebook scheduling tool • HootSuite or TweetDeck 20 © 2013
- 21. introareyouready?[marketingstrategy]what’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary know when to reach them: content calendar Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 2 Cyber Monday 3 4 5 6 monthly newsletter: gift ideas 7 8 email promotion: free stocking stuffer w/purchase 9 10 Facebook: 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Facebook question: Who in your family is hardest to shop for? 19 20 Email: last chance for free shipping 21 22 link to Pinterest board of stocking stuffers 23 email promotion: stocking stuffer offer ends today 24 Christmas Eve 25 Christmas 26 27 28 29 30 31 New Year’s Eve 1 get ready for our Cyber Monday deals! link to Pinterest board of gift ideas regular communication social media promotional communication holiday/event affecting business deadline-driven communication 21 © 2013
- 22. introareyouready?[marketingstrategy]what’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary one week of Facebook posts monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday time: morning time: noon time: morning time: afternoon time: noon Monday motivation quote did you know? fill in the blank having a sale this weekend! fun fact! or “check out these tips” glass of wine (celebrate!) 22 © 2013
- 23. introareyouready?[marketingstrategy]what’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotionsummary now it’s your turn…one week of Facebook… monday time: tuesday time: wednesday time: thursday time: friday time: (celebrate!) 23 © 2013
- 24. what we’re doing today 1 2 are you ready? create a holiday MARKETING STRATEGY 3 what’s YOUR OFFER? 4 4 ways to MAKE YOUR PROMOTION GREAT 5 bring it all together, next steps © 2013
- 25. introareyouready?marketingstrategy[what’syouroffer?]4stepstogreatpromotionsummary examples of offers • 20% off through Thursday • Buy one, get two • 1+1 = Fun (one for you, one for a friend) discounts • Newsletter review with every consult • Save 30% on initial consultation • 3 coaching sessions for price of 2 B2B services 25 • 5 Tips for downloads Better Gardens • Quickstart Guide • 7 Mistakes to avoid in your tax preparation • Mobile-friendly in 8 simple steps • Top Trends in Front- ofHouse Operations • DIY Precision Instrument Maintenance hints + tips • Register now, save 20% • 2-for-1 tix: register yourself, bring a friend for free! • 10 VIP seats left at standard price! event invites + updates • Help today and receive exclusive access! • Donate today for a chance to join us! • Join today and receive our Friends + Family discount support a cause © 2013
- 26. introareyouready?marketingstrategy[what’syouroffer?]4stepstogreatpromotionsummary how will you engage with customers? 26 © 2013
- 27. introareyouready?marketingstrategy[what’syouroffer?]4stepstogreatpromotionsummary make them notice • answer the question “Why should I care?” – use a strong subject line – make it clear what are you are offering • coupon/discount • free shipping • increase awareness of featured product 27 © 2013
- 28. what we’re doing today 1 2 are you ready? create a holiday MARKETING STRATEGY 3 what’s YOUR OFFER? 4 4 ways to MAKE YOUR PROMOTION GREAT 5 bring it all together, next steps © 2013
- 29. what we’re doing today 4 4 ways to MAKE YOUR PROMOTION GREAT 1. make it timely 2. make it easy 3. make it engaging 4. make it shareable © 2013
- 30. introareyouready?marketingstrategywhat’syouroffer?[4stepstogreatpromotion]summary 1. make it timely • take advantage of key dates • keep important shipping dates in mind • know when exclusive offers end 30 © 2013
- 31. introareyouready?marketingstrategywhat’syouroffer?[4stepstogreatpromotion]summary 2. make it easy • help them find the gift they are looking for • make your visuals do the talking • use design wisely • make your links work for your customers 31 © 2013
- 32. introareyouready?marketingstrategywhat’syouroffer?[4stepstogreatpromotion]summary 3. make it engaging – with video • videos increase clickthrough rates by 300% Forrester Research • spotlight your products, services and customers • promote your video 32 © 2013
- 33. introareyouready?marketingstrategywhat’syouroffer?[4stepstogreatpromotion]summary 3. make it engaging – with reviews • don’t be afraid to ask! • include relevant reviews, feedback, ratings and quotes • 90% read reviews before purchasing ChannelAdvisor “Global Consumer Shopping Habits Survey,” 2011 © 2013
- 34. introareyouready?marketingstrategywhat’syouroffer?[4stepstogreatpromotion]summary 4. make it shareable • what you do – Share Bar – Simple Share • what they do – ask people to Like, share, retweet, pin 34 © 2013
- 35. get set for success! ¤ determine your promotional goal ¤ create a holiday marketing strategy ¤ does your offer answer the question “Why should I care?” ¤ make your promotion great 1. 2. 3. 4. make it timely make it easy make it engaging make it shareable © 2013
- 36. introareyouready?marketingstrategywhat’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotion[summary] when you put it all together… 36 © 2013
- 37. introareyouready?marketingstrategywhat’syouroffer?4stepstogreatpromotion[summary] when you put it all together… 37 © 2013
- 38. how to promote your Small Business Saturday offer constantcontact.com/Saturday 38 © 2013
- 39. Special Offer Get a $25 gift card & a website template match when you buy Email Marketing, EventSpot, Social Campaigns or Online Survey on or before November 22nd Enter code: 25EVENT at checkout Fine print: To receive the gift card, you must remain a customer in good standing for at least 2 months. Gift card will be sent to the billing address on your account in February. 39 © 2013
Editor's Notes
- Here’s what we will be talking about today:We’re going to start by making sure you are ready for the holiday season – what should you expect?Next, we’ll talk about how you can create a holiday marketing strategy for your business or organizationThen, we’ll help you think through the best way to create a great holiday offerOur last section is about 5 tips you can use to make your promotion great
- Now let’s start off by talking about what to expect during this holiday season
- Are you ready for the holiday season? Here’s what to expect for 2013:[click to build] Holiday spending will go up as it usually does. According to marketing technology company Experian, consumers will spend 11% more over last year.[click to build] And online spending will go up too – marketing research company eMarketer predicts that online shoppers will spend 15.1% in 2013.So now you know – it’s going to be busier this year. People are willing to spend more, so now is a good time to plan your marketing to get them in the door.2013 updatesHoliday spending will increase by 11%, Source: Experian http://www.qas.com/data-quality-infographics/the-month-before-the-holidays.htm?intcmp=emsblogOnline sales will increase by 15.1%, Source: eMarketerhttp://www.internetretailer.com/2013/09/05/online-holiday-forecast-sales-will-increase-151Notes from original slideJT Script: Online spending is projected to increase in 2013 with 1 in 5 shoppers spending more. http://www.internetretailer.com/2012/03/08/online-spending-will-increase-2012-one-five-shoppershttp://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1009348&ecid=a6506033675d47f881651943c21c5ed4http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2012/08/a-third-of-consumers-plan-to-do-their-holiday-shopping-online.html20-40% is the amount of yearly sales for small and mid-sized retailers in the final two months of the calendar year – National Retail Federation (NRF)http://www.inc.com/guides/maximizing-holiday-sales.htmlhttp://money.cnn.com/2011/11/27/pf/black_friday/index.htmGet ready for the holiday shopping season – not slowing downShoppers starting earlier; expect to spend more2013 updatesHoliday spending will increase by 11% http://www.qas.com/data-quality-infographics/the-month-before-the-holidays.htm?intcmp=emsblogOnline sales will increase by 15.1% http://www.internetretailer.com/2013/09/05/online-holiday-forecast-sales-will-increase-151
- This is an important time of year for you. [CLICK TO BUILD] The National Retail Federation estimates that the holiday season brings in 20-40% of yearly sales for small and mid-sized retailers, so now through the end of the year – these are huge months for all kinds of retailers.JT Script: 20-40% is the amount of yearly sales for small and mid-sized retailers in the final two months of the calendar year – National Retail Federation (NRF) So…November and December are huge months for all kinds of retailers. http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=Pages&sp_id=1140http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1009348&ecid=a6506033675d47f881651943c21c5ed4http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2012/08/a-third-of-consumers-plan-to-do-their-holiday-shopping-online.htmlhttp://www.internetretailer.com/2012/03/08/online-spending-will-increase-2012-one-five-shoppers20-40% is the amount of yearly sales for small and mid-sized retailers in the final two months of the calendar year – National Retail Federation (NRF) http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=Pages&sp_id=1140http://www.inc.com/guides/maximizing-holiday-sales.htmlhttp://money.cnn.com/2011/11/27/pf/black_friday/index.htmSales have been growing each yearYou can get a slice of that pie – 20-40% of yearly sales for small and mid-sized retailers occur during this time of the year
- We know that consumers are going to spend more this year, and that’s great because the next few months is when a lot of your annual revenue is coming in. So you should start preparing now to take advantage of the holidays.[CLICK TO BUILD] Some shoppers have already started on their seasonal purchasing. In fact, the National Retail Federation says that 40% of people start their shopping even before Halloween! And we are looking at a shorter holiday shopping season as well. There is one fewer weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas and 6 fewer days between the holidays.[CLICK TO BUILD] Your holiday planning should also fit into your long-term planning – make this part of your marketing plan to help form relationships with your customers[CLICK TO BUILD] You can begin preparing by having a goal in mind – what do you hope to accomplish this year? ShopperTrak and others expect the holiday rush to come earlier this year than usual because there is one fewer weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas and six fewer days between the holidays. Also, the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah will begin the night before the November 28 Thanksgiving holiday, though that shift alone is not expected to have a major impact on overall sales patterns. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/17/us-usa-retail-shoppertrak-idUSBRE98G05E2013091740% begin shopping before Halloween – Aug. 2013 stat http://www.cnbc.com/id/100978837
- If you had to leave this webinar right now, here are 3 important tips to walk away with for holiday promotion success: [click to build] 1. Know your goal – choose one objective for your holiday promotion – too many will confuse you and your customers.2. What’s the offer? You have a lot you could choose from – coupons, discounts, gift with purchase, etc. – make it a clear and compelling offer for your customers.3. Make it timely – remember that the shopping cycle for the holidays should take into account shipping time, prodding last-minute shoppers, etc.
- Now that we’ve looked at what to expect for the holidays and why it’s important to get ready now, let’s talk about how to create a holiday marketing strategy. [click to build]
- first think about your holiday marketing goalnext, think about who your audience isconsider what kind of promotions they want or would respond tochoose the channels they prefer to use to receive informationand think about timing – when is the best time to share your messages?
- Let’s start by thinking about your marketing goal. This will help you guide your holiday planning. What do you hope to achieve? Is it: [click to build] Reaching new customers Driving repeat business from current customers/increasing customer loyalty Motivating donors and advocates to take that next step by giving or spreading word of mouth about your cause Or are you hoping to grow your member numbers? Now that you know your marketing goal, you can focus your holiday planning on achieving that goal.
- Next, find out more about your audience – what offer would appeal to them and help you accomplish your marketing goal.How do you find out?[click to build] The first thing you can do is just come out an ask them with a survey. Find out how often they want to hear from you. How frequently would they like promotions and offers?What products or services are they interested in?[click to build] Use your reporting information to find out. If you send emails, Check your open rates. Which emails got the best response? What promotions or products or services do you mention in the subject lines and inside the emails themselves? Take a look at your click rates – what links did your audience click on in the emails? Your open rates and click rates will tell you the promotions, products and services your audience is interested in. You can see who on your lists opened the emails and what they clicked on.[click to build] When you ask your audience what they want and take a look at their behavior, you can find out what promotions your customers will respond to and target your holiday offer to the audience that will act on it.
- Knowing what your audience wants will help you to provide relevant promotions to your audience so you’re not wasting your time creating and sending messages they’re not interested in. And if they’re not interested in what you’re sending, they might unsubscribe. [CLICK TO BUILD] According to a Constant Contact and Chadwick Martin Bailey study, 56% of people who unsubscribed from a business or nonprofit list did so because the content was not relevant (http://www.socialquickstarter.com/content/117-10_facts_about_why_and_how_consumers_like_and).
- How can you provide relevant content? You might try segmenting your audience into different lists.If you haven’t heard of segmentation, it's a marketing term, and it means dividing people into groups based on information like interests and demographics. You might already be segmenting by categorizing or grouping your contacts. It's important because some emails are not one-size-fits all. For example, if you're a pet store, you’re selling products for different types of pets. Some people might be dog owners, cat owners, fish owners, etc. You might want to segment your contacts into lists based on what kinds of pets they buy for. Why would you want to segment? If you're the pet store and you’re sending everyone on your customer list a special promotion for dog toys, you can find the dog owners and send them the email. That's segmenting. In this example, the dog owners get the promotion that’s relevant to them and the other pet owners don’t get frustrated by receiving an email about a discount they can’t use.
- If you’re offering relevant content to your audience throughout the year, they will know to connect with you during the holiday season Art Impressions has done a great job with this – rubber stamp/craft retailer in Salem, OR They regularly check in with their customers – what products, themes do they want? Where are they engaging online? They pay attention to their customers’ needs – they know that their customers plan ahead for their holiday projects. Art Impressions offer discounts, promotions for those themes – communicate about it on their blog, Pinterest and Facebook[click to build] In October, they offered a free Thanksgiving turkey stamp with orders over $30. This is an example of an email they sent to their lists. [click to build] They also shared the promotion with their Pinterest followers[click to build] And reminded their Facebook fans about the offer.
- I mentioned those different channels – email, Pinterest and Facebook – on the last slide, because of another important thing to keep in mind: where to reach your customers, what channels should you be using to communicate with them. If you’re sending emails already, and you have an audience who have been getting email communications from you, email should be part of your holiday promotion plan Consider sending separate emails about the promotion, but also make sure you’re including your offers in your regular newsletter to drive sales and put you at the top of mind of your readers. What kinds of promotions are best to include in your emails? Coupon or discount Free shipping Suggest products or services Encourage customers to buy directly from your websiteIf you’re a nonprofit and are running an end-of-the-year donation drive, make your email readers aware Promotions that increase awareness of your business or organizationAnd you can use email increase membership for a nonprofit or if you’re a retail organization and have a loyalty program, you can build it through email. This example of a holiday promotion email is from Tee Fury, an online T-shirt store. This email is a promotion for featured products, so they suggest T-shirt designs to purchase – wear a different one on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, day after Christmas. They are an online business, and this email also acts as a way to drive their audience to their website to make a purchase. They also increase awareness of what’s happening at their business. They tell their audience that they are not slowing down during the holidays – more designs/new products are available during the season and the winter.
- When you’re thinking email, think mobile. [click to build] 75% used mobile phones to get real-time, location-based information, PewInternet.org[click to build] 90% of mobile searches lead to an action – searchengineland.com [click to build] 70% who ran a local search via mobile acted within one hour, CMO CouncilPeople are using their smartphones to look for products and make purchases, so the holiday season is a great time to get your promotions in their inbox. Shopping is one of the top activities smartphone users do with their devices, and people are more open to mobile marketing, so when they’re checking their emails, they’re in that shopping mindset and are ready to act.2013 update: 90% of mobile searches lead to an action – searchengineland.com (from mobile webinar slide 10)2013 update: 75% used mobile phones to get real-time, location-based information, PewInternet.org (slide 10)2013 update: 70% who ran a local search via mobile acted within one hour, CMO Council (slide 10) Mobile coupons get 10 X the redemption – Borrell Associates, 2011 33 million Americans use their cell phones for shopping – Experian Simmons, “The 2011 Mobile Consumer Report 15% research products/compare prices 8% scan barcodes 7% shop directly Mobile is an important channel to consider - something your audience may be interested inMore than 50% of those polled said they would like to receive location-based ads, and mobile coupons would be a more appealing incentive than check-ins. (JiWire Mobile Audience Insights Report, 2010)134% increase in US mobile sales during the 2010 holiday season -Ebay, 2010http://www.smsmarketingnw.com/category/mobile-statistics/http://www.marketingprofs.com/chirp/2012/8315/10-reasons-why-you-need-a-mobile-site-infographichttp://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/24082/9-Amazing-Mobile-Marketing-Statistics-Every-Marketer-Should-Know.aspxhttp://www.experian.com/assets/simmons-research/white-papers/experian-simmons-2011-mobile-consumer-report.pdf
- Make sure that social media is part of your holiday marketing strategy One of the advantages of social media: your fans’ interactions with your content can be seen by their networks. They can easily share your content, giving you a greater chance to reach more people. [click to build] Post your email newsletters and email promotions on your social media sites Make your images work for you – post product photos – social media users interact more with images than just text or text with a link You can engage with your audience – interact with them. Give them shopping advice for the holiday season Ask them what they need help with or what they think about the holidays – use Facebook questions BellaSoleil.com, online Tuscan gift store – relies on social media to spread the word about their offers. They share their Cyber Monday sales on Facebook, offer coupon codes. CLICK Use Pinterest to help people make purchasing decisions, show off products and how they’ll look in someone’s home
- So which social media channels should you be using? Here’s a chart that you can review later on when you get today’s slides to see if one or more social networks are the right channels to reach your audience.[click to build] What is the audience for each network? Facebook is the most popular of the networks, with 1.1 billion users. Everyone is on it – all age groups – so your customers are probably there already.LinkedIn has more of a business focus. It started as a network where people could post their resumes and search for jobs – and you can still do that – but it’s become a great source of industry news.People join Twitter to find out the latest news and information, posts from brands and businesses, and to discover trends.Pinterest is a social channel that relies heavily on visuals. Pinterest users create boards – think of bulletin boards – and pin images of things they like to them. Those images can link to anything – a recipe, a how-to video, or a product that you can purchase online – and they can take many forms of multimedia. Who’s using Pinterest? Women make up the majority – it’s a great tool for foodies to find recipes, and crafters to organize and display projects or provide links to their products on Etsy. People use Pinterest with a shopping mindset, so this is a great network to use for the holidays.Instagram is an app for your smartphone that you use to take photos and video, and edit and share it with your followers. Who is using Google+? Most of them are men, and its 2 biggest user groups are college students and software developers, but its audience is growing to include other groups as well. [click to build] What do you use these networks for?People share just about everything on Facebook. It’s as simple as a status update with a sentence or two. But many people and businesses also share multimedia – photos and video – and links to helpful information from their blog or from other blogs or websites. LinkedIn is used to share news – either about your organization or other happenings in your industry – or your blog posts. You can talk about product information and share testimonials from satisfied customers.What do people share on Twitter? Links to news and tips, just plain text updates or comments, and links to information like blog posts or multimedia – photos and video they’ve created. Pinterest users pin photos, video and graphics of the things they’re interested in – they’re sharing a lot of products they use or want to buy, as well as tips and useful information. Instagram users share interesting, beautiful images – Instagram has some great tools that help make your photos and video look beautiful and professional. By the way – Facebook owns Instagram and they’ve made it really easy to share your Instagram photos on Facebook. Google+ is similar to Facebook. You can share text updates, multimedia, and links to your content or content created by others.[click to build] How can you get the most out of these social networks? What are they best for?Facebook is the best place to go if you want to share engaging content that your Facebook fans interact with and respond to. And it’s the best of the social networks to use if you want reach a large audience because of its population. So if you have a holiday promotion that you want everyone to see, share it on Facebook.LinkedIn is the best place to demonstrate your thought leadership as an expert in your industry. You can leverage this during the holidays. Are there tips or advice that you can share to help colleagues or customers get through the season?Twitter is another great place to develop thought leadership. You can gain a following by sharing value – your original content and helpful content from others. Take the promotions or tips you’re posting on Facebook and LinkedIn and share them with your Twitter audience.Pinterest is a great place for you to share products, how-to information or tips, and digital assets like e-books. Link those images to your website – make it easy for people to buy from you as soon as they see something they like on Pinterest. A lot of people are now using Pinterest as a way to discover or research things they want to buy – 21% of Pinterest users have purchased something they saw on Pinterest. (http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2012/9671/facebook-pinterest-trigger-more-offline-actions-than-other-social-sites) The best way to use Instagram is to show off what you do through multimedia. Take interesting photos of the products you sell, or the people you work with, or give your followers a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes at your organization during the holiday season.The reason to think about Google+ is the fact that Google loves Google. Having a page on Google+ gives you a leg up on your competitors who aren’t there. When someone searches on Google, it’s going to look at its own resources first, so having a presence on Google+ can help you get to the top of a Google search. So take that thought leadership – your original content – and make sure to share it through Google+ to establish yourself as an expert. Again – this is a brief overview. You’ll get this chart when you receive today’s slides – later on, sit down with this chart and think about which social media networks you could use for your business or nonprofit.
- It’s important to have a strategy for each social media channel, because, as you saw in the last slide, each network is a little bit different.[click to build] When you post to these networks, consider how valuable the content is. [click to build]Facebook audiences want engaging, interesting content, so don’t post just to post. Share content that has high value, that’s entertaining, useful or informative.LinkedIn audiences also want high value content that’s interesting or useful for business or their industry.When you share on Twitter, share engaging content that you’ve created, but it all doesn’t have to be created by you. Think low value. It’s OK to point to other things you think are interesting as well like blog posts or news articles.With Pinterest, think high value because you want people to take an action. They are using Pinterest with a shopping mindset, and they’re also looking for content that’s useful. Pin your products and services from your website, and people can click on those pins and purchase from you.Instagram needs medium value content. You want to share images and video about what you do, but you can show people your business’ personality, what happens behind the scenes.Google+ needs high value content. We talked about how what you post on Google+ can give you the edge in a Google search. Share content about what you do, what you sell, and valuable thought leadership content – like your blog posts.[click to build] Let’s talk about frequency, or volume.Facebook posts should be low volume. Make sure you’re not posting a lot there during the day. Users become frustrated if businesses fill their news feed with their messages.LinkedIn is low volume as well. You don’t want to post a lot of content during the day – just like Facebook users, LinkedIn users don’t want one business to dominate their new feed.With Twitter, it’s OK to be high volume. Twitter users follow a lot of people so all of those messages are showing up in real time. It’s OK to post several times a day because people might not have seen what you shared earlier.Pinterest, Instagram and Google+ are medium volume channels. You don’t want to flood your followers’ feeds with too many posts, but you also want them to remember you are active, so keep your activity to a medium volume. on Pinterest, Instagram and Google+[click to build] You also need to consider frequency. For most of these networks, it’s important to post a few times a week – enough so you stay top of mind with your followers, but not too much that they’ll get frustrated with too many posts. The exception to this is Twitter. Twitter is a high volume network. People post throughout the day on Twitter, and your tweets might be lost in that stream of tweets. So it’s OK to tweet at least 5 times a day, but make sure you are spreading them out and not sending 5 tweets at the same time so that you’re dominating the twitter feed.
- So we know where to reach your customers. But when’s the best time?[click to build] You can use your email reporting to find the times and days that your customers are opening your emails.[click to build] Most of the social networks have reporting to show you how much engagement you got with your posts. Think about what day of the week and what time you posted content, and what got the best reaction. Once you get a sense of when the best days and times to reach your audience, schedule your emails and social media posts in advance. [click to build] CTCT email marketing has scheduling tools[click to build] Social media marketing Facebook has options that let you schedule a post – found in the status update editor Use a tool like HootSuite or TweetDeck – social media platforms/monitor and post to multiple accounts. Schedule ahead of time
- A content schedule can help you decide the best content to share at the right times with the right channels. Plan ahead to get aheadConsider: How often should I sendWhat does my audience want?What days do the holidays fall on? What about shopping holidays?Black FridaySmall Business SaturdayCyber MondayWhat deadlines impact business? Shipping dates, sale datesPlan ahead, so you don’t have to think later. Before the busy season. What do they want? What did they tell you in surveys, and when they signed up? Then create a calendar of your important dates during the holiday season. In this example, I’ve noted when my regular email newsletter is sent out, but also looked at holidays and other events, and deadlines, and then scheduled my promotional emails and social media posts so that I’ve given my audience enough time to take advantage of my offers.
- We are going to put what we learned today into practice by taking this a week at a time – how to create 5 days of social media content.You can also take it one week at a time. This worksheet will help you plan your week of social media. You’re going to fill this out later, but I wanted to take a minute to walk you through the steps. Then think about the week ahead. What’s one thing you could post each day about your organization? What type of content are you sharing? Is it a text update, link to something on your website, link to someone else’s content, a photo or a video?We talked earlier about each social network. You might be using one or more of them already, or are thinking of adding a channel or two to your marketing. Which social networks would you use to share this content?Now, decide when you will share this content on each day. Is it in the morning, afternoon or evening.You can fill out this worksheet for each of the 5 days, but you don’t have to post every day. The key is to be in touch with your audience a couple of times a week so you’re top of mind with them. You’re engaging with them. Each post is a thoughtful post, and will help you grow your relationship with your current followers, and help you to gain new ones.Here’s a quick example of how you could fill this out, and we’re just going to do Facebook for now, but you could do this for any or all of your channels:[click to build] On Monday, I could post a Monday motivation quote – find something online about your industry or a related topic. This is a post that will stir conversation and get engagement from my fans.[click to build] The next day, I’m going to links to some tips I wrote about on my blog – this is helpful information for my fans, and it’s an useful and informative post.[click to build] On Wednesday, I’m going to do a fill in the blank post. That’s a post that can get me some likes, shares or comments.[click to build] Thursday’s post about my business – we’re having a sale this weekend, so I want to let my fans know in advance.[click to build] Everyone’s winding down on Friday. It’s the end of the week so I want to share something that’s interesting and useful to my fans – I’ll give them a fun fact.I did it! There is one week of social media ready to go. [click to build] Once you’ve finished, pat yourself on the back and celebrate – it could be with a glass of wine or some chocolate – whatever you want to do to celebrate. You are on your way to social media success.
- Here’s the worksheet! This will be in the slides you’ll receive in the follow up email. Print out as many copies as you like and start planning your content. And don’t forget to take some time for yourself to celebrate!
- What is your offer? Think about what you can provide to your customers this year. Some ideas:[click to build each]
- Think about how you will engage with your customers. Be creative! You can try traditional incentives like Coupons Deals Free shipping Gift cards Gift with purchaseYou can also experiment – try new ways to offer incentives. Boloco example: Offer a gift with purchase with a twist Naughty or nice? Buy a $25 gift card and either get a free burrito for yourself or give the burrito to a friend.
- When you create your promotions, make sure they are answering the question Why should I care? That’s what your audience is thinking every time they receive any message in your inbox. You need to tell them what’s in it for them and get their attention. Think about your subject line. Use a strong subject line that tells them the most important information in this email. You should also make it clear to your readers what your offer is. When they know there’s something in this email that benefits them, that answers the question, Why should I care?, then they’ll be more likely to act on your offer. Talk about this in the subject line and in the top of the email so they’ll see it right away. You can see in this email example from Syncline Wine Cellars that they have a strong subject line: Last Chance for Free Shipping. And the offer is at the top of the email, the reader doesn’t have to do much besides open the email to find the information.[click to build] Here’s an email from Cotton Clouds, they have multiple offers – sales and free shipping. It’s at the top of the email and it’s bold. It’s drawing the readers’ attention.[click to build] This email from Wise Snacks includes a coupon - at the top of the email, easy to see, so readers can see the promotion right away and take advantage of it.
- So we’re getting ready for the holiday season. We’re thinking about our holiday marketing strategies and we have an offer or promotion in mind. Here’s the next step: 4 ways to make your promotion great
- [click to build] Make it timely[click to build] Make it easy[click to build] Make it engaging[click to build] Make it shareable
- Timing is important during the holidays Leverage those key dates – of course the national holidays, but think about the retail events that have become popular over the last few years[click to build] Black Friday – day after Thanksgiving – Nov. 29 $648 million spent, 9% increase -comSCORE, 2010[click to build] Small Business Saturday – weekend of Thanksgiving – Nov. 3027% of small business saw an increase in sales -American Express OPEN, 2010[click to build] Cyber Monday – Monday after Thanksgiving – Dec. 2$1.028 billion in online spending, a 16% jump in spending -comSCORE, 2010[click to build] Some people make up their own holidays like Christmakwanzakah and use them to promote sales Think about shipping dates in your promotions – alert your customers when you have free shipping or what date do you need to ship by to be delivered in time Plan for exclusive offers and sales – give your customers enough time to take advantage of discounts
- Make it easy for customers to take advantage of your promotions Your content should help them find the gift they are looking for This email from Russell’s Garden Center definitely does that – look at the top of the email – Tired of fighting mall traffic or online shopping delivery deadlines? They’re a small business that can help. They have a list of gifts right there; at the bottom of the email, they list their store hours. Russell’s Garden center also helps their customers with visuals – they have photos of the products they’re selling[click to build] This email from Creations Abound also has great visuals – and it’s well organized. Has photos of the products, titles that show price range, description, and links on the bottom that enable you to click and purchase directly from the website Use your design wisely – the template used for Creations Abound’s email is one that’s built for product promotions. It is well organized, spotlights 3 products and has room for a description and buttons that are linked to the product’s page on the store’s website. Speaking of links, make them work for your customers. Take them to the website that allows them to take the next step. Don’t link to your homepage, link to the product’s page on your website. Don’t make them search for the product. They might not take the time to look.
- Video is a powerful way to engage with your audience. People prefer watching a video to reading long web pages full of text. You can make video work for your business. Forrester study: video content increases click-through rates by 300%Make sure you mention the video in your subject line so your readers know about it right awaywhat should you feature in a video? product demos customer testimonials promotional user-generatedExample: Boloco – chain of burrito restaurants in New England – created a pumpkin shake. Did a video about it. Want people to watch your video? Promote it on all of your marketing channels. That’s exactly what Boloco did.They got the word out by promoting it using many of their marketing channels - promoted it in their email newsletter – seen on the right in this slide – also CLICK on their Facebook page
- Ratings and reviews are another way for you to engage your audience, and they are very important for the holiday season 90% of online shoppers use them to decide on purchases Encourage your audience to write reviews for you – ask them to do it, include links to relevant places on your website to create those reviews Then, include them in your content – quote those reviews, link to them in your emails, post them on social media Example of a customer that does this well: BottleWise – store that sells accessories for wine lovers Provided a discount to encourage reviews As an added bonus, if you added a review onto the BottleWise web store for any of the products you have purchased through us in the past, BottleWiseemailed you a $5 Gift Certificate to use on your next purchase – or to pass along to a friend. Did it in advance before the holiday rush – had reviews in place by the time they started promoting their products for holidayshttp://go.channeladvisor.com/AU-Website-2011-Consumer-Survey.html?ls=Website
- Get ready for a successful year! We’ve covered a lot, but here are some things you can do today[click to build] Decide what your promotional goal is for the holiday season.[click to build] Create a holiday marketing strategy for your business[click to build] Make sure your offer answers the question Why should I care? Let your readers know that your promotion is something they want or need.[click to build] Make your promotion great by keeping these tips in mind: Make it timely – think about the key shopping days and deadlines for things like free shipping. Plan your promotions in advance so your readers have time to take advantage of them.Make it easy on your customers. Do some of the work for them – make gift suggestions. And make it easy for them to buy. Include links that go straight to your products’ pages on your website so they can buy now.Make your promotions engaging by using video and reviews.Make them shareable – use tools in your emails that allow your readers to share them on social media and don’t forget to share them on your business’ social media channels.
- And this can be easier than you think.Let’s put this all together and talk about how coming up with great content about this holidays can get your audience talking and bring you new customers.Here we have Donna’s Gourmet Cookies. During the holidays they posted a picture of some of the new cookies they were making, themed for the holidays. Notice the comment – “Yup, we have them.” No complex marketing message, no convoluted marketing speak here…just a simple statement. Now look at the Engagement that took place: 10 people “Liked” the post…and 1 person shared the picture!! These were people choosing to like the image and one even deciding that she wanted to share it with her network. [click to next slide]
- Here’s the post as it showed up on one person’s Facebook feed: this is a Fan who shared the picture with her network, adding her own endorsement of Donna’s and her cookies!! And look at the results: 5 more people liked the post/picture, 4 people wrote comments, including this one… [click to enlarge the comment] …where she wants to know where Donna’s is located…SO THAT SHE CAN GO BUY SOME COOKIES!!! This is someone who wasn’t aware of Donna’s, didn’t know they made cookies she’d like, and now, thanks to the engagement between Donna’s and its customers is going to go there and become a customer herself. OMG!!! THAT’S the power of engagement and what happens when it leads to social visibility!! [click to next slide]
- These are just three of the ways you can promote your Small Business Saturday offer [click through and quickly discuss each one – there are 3]CLICK You can offer in-store promotions for the dayCLICK You can also put together an email promotion planCLICK And you can promote your Small Business Saturday events with FacebookBut don’t forget to think about your particular business, customer base, industry, community, etc. – what would be the best way to promote your offer with all of them in mind?You can find some great resources for Small Business Saturday promotions on our website, constantcontact.com/Saturday[click to next slide]