The holiday season is just around the corner and it’s that time of the year again for parties, presents, family gatherings and – ads. Lots and lots of ads.
For most brands, the holiday frenzy is bound to spike massive amounts of ads blasted to their audiences. But as we all know people consume content best through their mobile devices. A lot of people are shopping, planning to buy gifts, planning trips to stores and looking to capitalize on great deals with their phones. Indeed, it’s the most mobile time of the year!
Your customers could be visiting you online through your website or in-store with a smartphone in hand, and it’s your job to make their experience as best as you can give. Being the merry mobile marketers that we are, we thought we’d get into the holiday gift giving the spirit a little early. Here are five mobile marketing campaigns you ought to do to help your brand stand out from the crowd this Christmas.
1. ADD SOME SPARKLE TO YOUR SMS
The holiday season represents a hurdle for marketers trying to promote offers relevant to the shopper.
SMS is the most personal and direct channel. Why wouldn’t you use this as an opportunity to make your messages as targeted and relevant as possible? The most successful retailers in the mobile space are the ones finding innovative ways to exploit the technology on hand. Marry SMS with location intelligence and it’s bound to create a powerful impact on your target audience. By tapping into its potential, your brand can send real-time advertising to customers based on their location – like sending a coupon when customers approach a store or even drive potential ones to visit your physical store.
2. SPREAD THE HOLIDAY CHEER
With the rise of mobile and all the powerful, automated marketing tools that have come with it, scheduling and sending the most common messages have never been so easy. Think welcome messages, purchase confirmations, thank you notes, greetings, etc. It will save you valuable time and effort in doing tedious work and allow you to focus on what truly matters, creating personal mobile experiences for your customers.
It’s important not to lose sight of the fact that even email marketing should speak straight to the heart of your customer. So go beyond sending generic messages to a faceless database and start creating content that could actually resonate and engage to an individual. Aside from promoting sales and discounts, try showcasing unique gift ideas, invites to your holiday events, or even gift guides – the list is endless and it’s all in your hands.
3. MAY YOUR APP AND WEBSITE BE MERRY & BRIGHT
Just like how you decorate your home (as wacky or discreet as you please), try getting creative with your website pages as well. Maybe add twinkling Christmas trees or create a wintry Christmas version of your logo. Small details like this can make a huge difference and ultimately keep your audience engaged and delighted. But more importantly, be sure your website is mobile friendly. This means visitors who access your site from mobile phones have an experience optimized for their devices. In fact, 57% of consumers will abandon a site that fails to load after 3 seconds. This could truly make or break the success of your e-commerce site and we can’t stress this enough!
And while a mobile-optimized site is an important part of your arsenal, make no mistake, apps also reign supreme. Make the most out of your business app and don’t forget to drive in-app purchases with in-app notifications. This type of messaging, when used as part of a smart, targeted customer attraction and retention campaign, can have deep, far-reaching effects. Promote holiday deals as early as now and ramp up activity two to three weeks in advance of the big holiday shopping weekend.
4. DECK YOUR SOCIAL WALLS
While many shoppers are still dedicated scrollers and browsers on ecommerce sites, many are also looking for products and services on their Facebook or Instagram accounts. Be sure to create captivating, tap-worthy social media content and since everybody loves to win something, try running a Facebook contest too. Make your competitions fun, interactive and as social as you can to capture the attention of users across Facebook and help promote your Christmas message across user timelines. Make it simple for your customers to share great mobile deals on their social networks. Viral sharing campaigns, whether charitable or offer-based, are extremely successful and provide your company with more exposure and, in turn, more customers.
Don’t forget, the bow on top of a great customer experience is social media customer care. Your customer service practices are simply going to have to step up as consumers today will most likely voice out their thoughts through their social media accounts. Expect the influx of problems ranging from delayed deliveries, product losses, difference in orders and a whole lot more. Reply quickly to comments, questions, complaints, and even kudos. Real time response not only encourages higher engagement, builds your brand image but also generate leads.
5. THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS
Nothing says Christmas spirit more than the joy of giving, so go above and beyond the usual loyalty perks with something extra special this holiday season. Thank your loyal customers for their patronage throughout the year with an exclusive discount or a thoughtful gift. Try electronic gift cards, those are delivered digitally – email, SMS, social media or even through your app. It’s easy to send and easy to use! Your customer can redeem it in-store or use the gift code online.
There you have it. Five mobile marketing campaigns to send you on your way this holiday season. Of course, we are always here to help you spread holiday cheer. If you’re interested in learning more about creating captivating mobile campaigns, let us know below and we’ll be in touch soon.
Sources:
Kirkpatrick, D. (2015, September 29) Mobile marketing tips for your holiday season campaigns. Retrieved from http://www.marketingdive.com/news/mobile-marketing-tips-for-your-holiday-season-campaigns/406394/
DeAngelis, K. (2015, November 12) 12 Holiday Marketing Tips for Mobile Campaigns Retrieved from http://www.waterfall.com/blog/holiday-marketing-tips-for-mobile/
Hintz. E. 6 Must-Do Mobile Strategies for Q4 2016 Holiday Campaigns (2016, April 29) Retrieved from https://www.urbanairship.com/blog/6-must-do-mobile-strategies-for-q4-2016-holiday-campaigns
Marchetti, P. (2017, August 1) Best Practices for Mobile Marketing during the Holiday Season. Retrieved from https://www.spredfast.com/social-marketing-blog/best-practices-mobile-marketing-during-holiday-season
Grennan, T. (2016, November 11) HOW DATA AND EMOTION POWER SMART HOLIDAY MARKETING. Retrieved from https://www.appboy.com/blog/holiday-mobile-marketing-emotion-customer-data/
