Don’t get surprised by the holidays this year. Plan your marketing now to save time and stay sane during the busy season.
In this webinar you’ll learn:
- How to plan your marketing for the holidays
- How to execute your holiday plan using various channels
- How to prepare for ongoing success after the holidays
You can view the webinar directly through Wistia or right here on the Blog!
About the session
- This session was a webinar focused on planning holiday marketing strategies for small businesses and nonprofits. The webinar aimed to guide participants on how to effectively use online marketing to drive sales and donations during the holiday season and beyond.
Key speakers
Stephanie French, Senior Producer of Webinars at Constant Contact
Steven Norman, Marketing Advisor at Constant Contact
Agenda
- The webinar began with an introduction and some statistics about holiday shopping trends.
- The agenda included planning marketing for the holidays, executing the plan using various marketing channels, and taking the momentum from the holidays into the new year.
- The speakers also introduced themselves and their roles at Constant Contact.
Takeaways
Plan your marketing for the holiday season
Holiday marketing requires strategic planning and execution. During the webinar, the speakers highlighted the importance of starting early, knowing the important days for the business, understanding the different kinds of shoppers, and updating one's mailing list. They also talked about the need to create a compelling offer that provides value to customers and aligns with what they value during the holiday season.
“Now's really the time to do a little planning for your online marketing so that you can drive more sales and more donations through the holidays and beyond," stated Speaker A. Speaker B added, “If you're someone who's looking for those how to type webinars, we do have those, and we'll have Dallas share a link to those in the chat window as well."
“She also emphasizes the importance of being able to think creatively and practically, and having a perspective that you can stand up for."
Use various marketing channels to execute your plan
The speakers highlighted the importance of executing a holiday marketing plan across different marketing channels. They focused on social media, email, and SMS as the primary channels, explaining how each channel has its strengths and can be used to share different types of information.
“With all of that in mind, let's go ahead and take a look at our agenda to see more specifically what we're going to cover in today's session. We're going to start by talking about how to plan your marketing for the holidays. We'll talk about how you can execute that plan using various marketing channels."
“And if there's something else you're thinking, use that questions window to communicate with us and tell us what you're thinking is your biggest challenge this season."
Take the holiday momentum into the new year
The speakers stressed the importance of carrying the momentum from the holiday season into the new year. This includes reviewing results to understand what worked and what didn't, creating an after-holiday offer, and planning for consistent marketing in the new year.
"Now, before we get into the details, allow me to introduce myself more formally, as well as my guests for today. My name is Stephanie French and I'm well versed in email and online marketing. I'm the senior producer of webinars here at constant Contact and I'm also very excited to introduce Steven Norman. He is a marketing advisor here at Constant Contact, which means he works one on one with clients on a regular basis and gets to know them."
Insights surfaced
- According to a recent report, 30% of Americans start holiday shopping as early as September, and 48% of people say it's important to shop at small businesses.
- For nonprofits, 44% of people still plan to donate their time or money during the holiday season.
- It's important to plan your marketing strategy in advance and use a combination of email, social media, and SMS for maximum reach.
- When creating an offer, consider what customers value most during the holiday season, such as ease, convenience, and unique gifts.
- Segmenting your email list and sending targeted, relevant messages can improve your results.
- After the holiday campaign, review your results to understand what worked and what didn't. This information can be used to improve future campaigns.
Key quotes
- "We know that 30% of Americans have already started holiday shopping back in September... 48% of people will say it's important to shop small businesses."
- "Now's really the time to do a little planning for your online marketing so that you can drive more sales and more donations through the holidays and beyond."
- "The thing I want to mention is today's webinar is not going to be a demo, but it is a conversation with our guests on holiday strategies and tactics."
- "I like to start holiday planning by thinking about some of the more important days for your business or organization."
- "I end up being an evergreen shopper because I'm looking for the perfect gift. So I end up shopping pretty much all season long."
- "You don't need five different articles in your email. Really, all you need is a picture, a paragraph and a call to action."
- "With all of this momentum you're going to build up now after your holiday campaign is over, you want to take a little time to review your results and understand what worked and what didn't."
