‘Tis the season to be digital
Posted November 01, 2013 | By Emily Mobbs • Former Editor
The festive season is fast approaching, which means it is time to plan your online Christmas marketing strategy, if you haven’t already. Emily Mobbs has collated some great ideas to get the baubles rolling.
Holly, carols and tinsel are sneaking into stores, which can only mean one thing – the Christmas trading rush is about to get into full swing. While many businesses will find success through marketing initiatives like promotions, catalogues and festive window displays, it’s
important not to forget about your online strategy.
Digital marketing is an ideal – and inexpensive – way to increase sales and connect with customers during the holiday season. Let’s face it, gifts need to be bought and it’s likely people will initially research products and interact with their favourite brands online before making a trip to a jewellery store.
Why not make the most of the jolly season by implementing some (or all) of the Christmas-themed digital media campaigns listed below?
1. Update profile pictures with all the trimmings
Get in the festive spirit by changing your profile/cover images on social media networks like Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. It could be as simple as adding a small dusting of snow to the top of a business name (or something more Australian) or displaying a Merry Christmas greeting.
2. Santa’s little helper
Many businesses will already be using social media as a means to provide customer service; whether it’s making available a guide about the 4Cs or answering queries posted on a Facebook timeline. Create more goodwill among customers during the holiday season by promoting your social media networks as some of the quickest and easiest ways to get help and answers to questions.
3. Make a wish list
Email is one of the most simple and cost-effective ways to reach a large number of customers. It is also the perfect medium to distribute gift guides that show off your products. As previously discussed in this column, the key to a successful email is making sure that the content is relevant for a specific audience; something that should be considered when creating your list of Christmas gift suggestions.
Once you have segmented contacts into different categories using data already collated from sources like customer relationship management systems (see article in Jeweller’s April issue), group together products that you think will be appealing to each sector. Gift ideas for mothers and girlfriends/wives, for example, might be useful for men aged between 18 and 35, while a selection of children’s jewellery could be beneficial for people with babies or young grand-daughters.
3. Stocking-fillers
The purpose of having a presence on social media should be to generate sales and in order to achieve this, businesses need to provide customers with value propositions. While value could come in the form of promotions and special offers, it also includes having beneficial resources available like advice on selecting engagement rings or an article about lab-created diamonds on your blog. Take this opportunity to include information that will be helpful during the Christmas period. Tips on how to avoid the last-minute shopping rush OR even how to handle the last-minute rush with your “gifts for everyone guide” will help to increase customer engagement and loyalty.
4. Create a festive e-card
Perhaps you already post Christmas cards to your loyal customers but why not live on the edge this year and send one electronically? There are many online websites (just type “e-card” into Google) that offer free Christmas themed e-cards. They are simple to create and can be attached to emails as well as used on social media networks as festive images.
5. 12 Days of Christmas
A “12 Days of Christmas” campaign is sure to engage customers. As the name suggests, the idea stems from a themed post being scheduled for each of the 12 days leading up to Christmas Day. It might be an announcement that your store is providing a free gift-wrapping service and complimentary ring clean on 23 December. Think of ways in which such promotions can benefit your business as well.
Perhaps people need to provide contact details in order to redeem the promotion. The campaign could also take advantage of other social media networks. One post might instruct customers to visit the store and take a photo of themselves wearing a piece of jewellery that they would like for Christmas.
The photo would then be uploaded onto Instagram and one lucky person could win their chosen item.