Newsletter Insights
Author: Tom Walkden, Head of Paid Media, IDHL Performance
Seasonal marketing isn't new. But just because the concept isn't always shiny and cutting edge doesn't mean it's not still an incredibly powerful strategy for retailers. Curating campaigns and content that feed into trending topics allows your brand to participate in the conversation and, if done right, reach an audience that wants to convert.
However, this is easier said than done. With the retail sector more competitive than ever and consumer demand increasing, trying to capitalize on seasonal trends can look like a losing battle. Retailers need to think carefully about their strategies to ensure their campaigns don't miss the mark and waste time and resources.
In this article, we'll discuss how retailers can best market seasonally, and some performance strategies to help make your campaigns a success.
Create a calendar that supports your goals
If you Google “key marketing dates in 2024,” literally billions (yes, billions) of results pop up. Creating calendars packed with events and holidays is a thing of the past, but when you take a closer look at those results, it quickly becomes clear that you're drowning in dates that could be your goal.
But are they worth it?
We've all seen it before. Consumers are shaking their heads at this clear example of a well-known brand jumping on the bandwagon by sticking to a trend that has nothing to do with its core product. Instead of creating a positive association with your business, it can backfire and discourage potential customers from shopping with you.
It's important to take the time to identify relevant topics and events throughout the year that naturally align with your brand. In addition to mainstream holidays like Christmas and Halloween, you should create a marketing calendar that sprinkles in topics and trends specific to your product or niche.
let's talk about peak
After all, this is a retailer publication, and we can't talk about seasonal marketing, and we can't talk about peaks. The peak period between October and New Year's is one of the most important times of the year for retailers. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas all occur during this period, so the impact of missing the mark with your marketing can be huge.
Retail is arguably an oversaturated industry, and even the most well-thought-out seasonal campaigns can fail when faced with intense competition. No matter how compelling your storytelling is, conveying an important message in a sea of similar brands can feel like an uphill battle.
Embracing integrated marketing allows retailers to run campaigns with real results. But what does this mean?
Drive seasonal campaigns using various digital strategies
From digital PR to SEO, paid media to CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization), there are so many digital marketing tactics out there that the possibilities are endless. When it comes to making your mark online, what's the best use of your budget? When it comes to seasonal events, historically companies spend the majority of their budget on PPC (pay-per-click). I have selected. This is also known as the fastest results tactic and is perfect for events and holidays. There's no doubt that PPC is a great tactic to leverage, but as the online marketplace evolves, retailers need to rethink their approach. With CPC (cost per click) rising and more competition in the market, relying solely on PPC to achieve your goals is not for the faint of heart.
A blended approach to digital marketing uses a combination of different disciplines to provide one multi-pronged approach to reach your target audience at different stages of the purchase funnel. So what tactics can you use:
- Paid media: more than just PPC – Paid media is a great tactic for seasonal marketing, helping you control where your budget goes and promoting your products to a relevant and targeted audience. Many people immediately think of PPC when they hear paid media, but paid advertising is actually much more diverse. Key tactics include paid social, PPC, retargeting, and programmatic.
- SEO: Don’t ignore the basics – Because SEO is considered a long-term endeavor, it can be underutilized when retailers run events and seasonal promotions. But when done correctly, SEO is always a useful tactic that can be incorporated into your marketing strategy to help drive traffic to your site and build an audience over the long term. By using a curated list of researched keywords and implementing them across relevant landing pages on-site, his SEO strategy, executed properly, can be highly effective in seasonal campaigns.
- Earned media: Outreach and digital PR boost your marketing efforts – Outreach and digital PR allow you to expand your reach and bring your campaigns to new audiences who may not have been interested in your brand before. It is wonderful. But to reach these new audiences, your content needs to stand out from the crowd. As earned media, if your campaign isn't eye-catching, engaging, and downright interesting, your story won't get picked up.
Benefits of different approaches to seasonal marketing
Lights4fun is a leading British pavement lighting company. Well-versed in seasonal trends, his Lights4fun offers a wide range of seasonal lighting for major events throughout the year, alongside year-round products. As the peak approached, they wanted to change their strategy and move away from PPC-driven campaigns to look at their campaigns more holistically.
Using a multi-pronged approach, Lights4fun implemented a full-funnel strategy that targeted audiences at each stage of their online journey. We leveraged paid social, programmatic, and paid search to focus on brand awareness while drip-feeding Halloween and Christmas merchandise to select, relevant audiences.
By implementing a new strategy, Lights4fun not only met its goals, but exceeded them by 15%. Read more about their success stories here.
Use digital tactics together, not in silos, for maximum effectiveness
SEO, paid media, and digital PR are each important areas that help retailers reach audiences at different stages of the buying journey, from awareness to checkout. While some brands may choose to focus their efforts on one tactic, going all in on creating the perfect PPC or SEO strategy, for many brands, seamlessly combining multiple areas A straddling approach can yield the best results.
Competition is fierce in the retail industry, so when peak season approaches, it's best to develop a digital strategy that targets your audience at every step, including organic search, retargeting ads, and creative PR. You will stay at the forefront of the industry. Their hearts will not change until the time comes for them to convert.
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Interested in learning more about our approach? Visit the IDHL website to see how we work with you or get in touch here.
