Author: Sesily Beridze

The holiday period is the most profitable time of the retail year, and it provides online stores with a great opportunity to maximize sales. 

Seasonal promotions build the momentum to attract new customers and impress the existing ones. From special offers to product bundles, they cheer up customers for upcoming celebrations. By tapping into their potential, you can build the rapport to sustain your business in quieter times. 

However, as a business owner, you should avoid the pitfalls of poorly-planned holiday campaigns and dedicate more time to your paid media strategies. Your promotional calendar should reserve a few weeks to prepare for the peak season. This way, you will account for the initial ad setup, creation of digital assets, and any scope creeps that might arise throughout your marketing initiatives.

In this article, we’ll outline top paid media strategies to gear up your marketing efforts for the most amazing season:

Offer Last-Minute Shipping

With the holiday season approaching, you should welcome last-minute shoppers with compelling sales incentives. According to Klarna, 79% of shoppers put off gift shopping until the last two weeks leading up to Christmas. This means that most of your store visitors will be busy with their to-do lists and rush to make a purchase.

Given that, major retailers offer free or next-day shipping options before Christmas, as 1 in 3 last-minute shoppers base their gift purchases on delivery speed. Last-minute deals provide the final push needed for conversions – they incentivize consumers to make purchases at peace, without any extra costs or delays.

Below, we have gathered some of the last-minute shipping incentives that your e-commerce business can offer:

Threshold Free Shipping (TFS) Policy

Many retailers introduce a minimum purchase quantity for consumers to be eligible for free shipping. This is referred to as threshold free shipping (TFS) policy, which bestows the shipping costs upon the e-retailer for “orders equal to or larger than a certain dollar amount.”

To illustrate, Amazon features a free shipping threshold for orders over $25 that urges the consumer to purchase more products to ‘unlock’ free shipping. This is a proven strategy, as 68% of consumers often spend more than they intend to in order to qualify for free delivery. 

While you can adopt the same TFS policy for your e-commerce store, it’s important to keep in mind that as the peak season approaches, shipping costs may skyrocket and seriously harm your bottom line. Yet, you can customize the strategy to your margins – this will reduce the impact on the bottom line and increase conversions. 

 
Target Loyal Customers With Free Shipping

Customer loyalty not only enhances your sales figures but also ensures sustainable, long-term growth for your business. For this reason, you should factor it into your plans for holiday promotions by rewarding repeat buyers with exclusive perks.

To increase sales, you can offer your loyal customers free shipping as a limited-time incentive. This way, you will remove the friction to the online shopping experience exclusively for returning customers, boosting the average order value in the short run. In the long run, similarly, the promotional tactic will nurture a group of loyal buyers and further increase their lifetime value. 

Feature Special Deals for Christmas

While free shipping has proven to increase average order volume by 97%, the possibilities of shopping incentives don’t end here. To boost sales this Christmas, you can offer product bundles, value packs, and various limited-time deals to your customers. 

Given that, we have compiled 3 promotional ideas that will increase your sales:

Buy One Get One Free (BOGO)

“Buy One, Get One Free” is a form of sales promotion, where customers receive a free discounted product if they purchase another product. While this traditional tactic may come off as too promotional or ‘salesy’, you can put a unique spin on it and make it more captivating.

Particularly, you can craft a BOGO deal that’s relevant to the holiday season or is personalized. Seasonality and personalization will ensure that the promotion resonates better with the target customer and their purchasing intent.

Besides, you can introduce different variations of this deal, such as “Buy X, Get Y in Return”, “Buy X, Get a Discount Coupon for X’s Value”, etc. Regardless of the variation, the BOGO deal will carry the sense of urgency needed to fuel last-minute holiday purchases. 

Holiday Product Bundles

To clear out old inventory and generate more sales, many businesses opt for product bundling, combining several products into a single package. The bundle offers products at a lower price than if purchased individually. When accompanied by a sense of holiday urgency, it instills the ‘fear of missing out’ in your target audience, urging them to grab the limited-time opportunity.

To create a successful product bundle, experts recommend finding a secondary product that compliments your best-selling product. Alternatively, the bundle can feature winning product combinations, which are frequently purchased together.

“12 Days of Christmas” 

‘12 Days of Christmas’ is a promotional campaign, in which an exciting deal is unveiled every day for the span of 12 days. Think of this tactic as an advent calendar – the campaign builds anticipation until the holiday, adding a countdown element to your Christmas marketing campaign.

The ‘12 Days of Christmas’ campaign entices the consumer with fleeting discounts – whether it’s a piece of content or a discount coupon, every offer disappears within 24 hours. So, if your online store visitors are interested in the offer of the day, they will have to purchase it on that day, as otherwise, it will expire.

Some of the daily ‘12 Days of Christmas’ campaign offers could include:

• Limited-edition product lines
• Surprise giveaways
• Loyalty points for purchases
• Christmas wish lists

Optimize Your Pinterest Account

Holiday shoppers are turning to for gift ideas when they don’t have a specific gift in mind. Luckily, Pinterest offers thousands of curated collections, product pictures, and visual search options, which are at the heart of every Christmas purchase. These elements make the platform a crucial element of any successful e-commerce paid media campaign.

Besides, gift hunters turn to Pinterest because of its simplicity. If a user is looking for a particular gift idea this Christmas, the platform will pop up multiple options in a matter of a quick search.

In fact, the platform exclusively attracts those looking for shopping inspiration, since Pinterest users are 90% more likely to report that they’re always shopping. They’re also 30% more likely to express their love for shopping. This molds Pinterest into a hidden goldmine for e-commerce stores like yours that seek to boost their holiday campaigns.

Here’s how to leverage the power of Pinterest to maximize sales this holiday season:

Tap Into the Power of Rich Pins

Rich pins are an SEO-oriented element of Pinterest, which gets overlooked by many. They can be used to hold metadata, such as keywords, phrases, and even logos, from your online store. Rich pins automatically sync information from your website to your Pinterest pins and are available in different categories like product, article, recipe, movie, and place.

Put simply, rich pins communicate what your products are about. That is, they provide context for purchases and grant your e-commerce business a competitive edge. They not only equip consumers with helpful, informative, and compelling copy about your products but also bring relevancy to your online store. 

Rich pins help your online business get searchable with niche-specific keywords, ranking your products higher for relevant search queries. They also direct your Pinterest visitors to your online store in the least possible steps. 

Given that, make sure to optimize your rich pins with up-to-date metadata. This way, your product pins will feature the most recent information on pricing, stock availability, and product variants, making it convenient for customers to purchase your products. 

Prepare Holiday-Themed Digital Assets

When it comes to Pinterest, the adage, “a picture is worth a thousand words”, is especially true. So, before you embark on the Pinterest marketing journey, ensure that your graphics are sophisticated, targeted, and seasonal.

This holiday season, your content is more likely to get pinned by users if it’s Christmas-themed. Similar to search engine queries, users will enter phrases like “Christmas recipes”, “Christmas ideas”,  and “gift ideas for…” to obtain helpful information. For this reason, you should prepare content ideas that will fulfill your audience’s needs.

Whether it’s blog articles, infographics, or rich pins, you should incorporate holiday symbolism into your regular product pictures and assist Pinterest users with gift shopping.

Experts recommend switching up your product pictures with lifestyle photography, demonstrating your products in alternate environments, and featuring them with seasonal ornaments. So, make sure that your images radiate the holiday spirit, taking pictures of your products with Christmas lights, in front of the fireplace, or simply embellished with holiday clipart. 

Utilize Keywords

Using the right keywords on Pinterest can improve your search ranking and drive traffic to your online store. To leverage the power of organic searches, you should use keywords across your Pinterest profile, pin descriptions, board titles, and image alt-texts. This way, your products will be matched with common search queries and get more exposure.

To choose the right keywords, simply search the platform for products in your niche or use the plugin Keywords Elsewhere for search term rankings. Once you delve into the popularity of your niche-specific keywords, you can insert them strategically and maximize the visibility of your products. 

As a paid media strategy, you can reach your target audience through Pinterest ads that allow for keyword targeting. Whether they’re holiday-related or niche-specific, you can meticulously format keywords to target your ideal customer. To illustrate, you can narrow down on specific searches using exact match keywords, while incorporating broad match ones to reach a wider audience.

Conclusion

Christmas is around the corner, and it’s about time you launch a festive paid media campaign for your e-commerce store. From shipping policies to keyword optimization on Pinterest, you can market your products to your audience with seasonal, niche-specific, and visually appealing deals. With the right strategy, you can rank your e-commerce business higher in relevant search queries and generate more sales. 

To build up anticipation for the holidays, we recommend revamping your Pinterest account, offering last-minute shipping incentives, and launching special deals. While implementing these promotional strategies, keep in mind the psychographic data of your audience members – knowing their gender, age, location, hobbies, likes, and dislikes will help you launch personalized offers.

Are you ready to further enhance the digital presence of your online store? At Fortis Media, we help e-commerce businesses boost their visibility online and stand out from the competition. To learn more about our paid media services, click here.

In this fast-paced digital world, customers make choices quickly. They get bombarded with a myriad of companies, brands, and influencers online. Yet, they commit only to a few. 

Users grapple with information overload every day. They filter out inauthentic messages, only engaging with stories that resonate with them. Traditional advertising tactics no longer sway them, as they demand captivating content before they make a purchase. 

To connect with your audience on a deeper level, you need to ask yourself – is your content worth talking about? 

This is where content marketing comes into play, as it helps you captivate your audience and stand out from the crowd. With the right strategy, you can craft content that answers your customers’ key questions, builds trust, and ensures healthy brand growth.  

After all, numbers don’t lie. Content marketing generates 3 times more leads than outbound marketing, which makes it more than a popular buzz phrase.  

Whether it’s for your blog, social media, or SEO, content marketing can meet your buyer at every stage of their journey. It equips them with valuable knowledge that helps them make informed decisions.  

Most importantly, the right content marketing plan can help you cultivate genuine relationships with the audience. It can instantly turn casual strangers into brand ambassadors.  

Here are our hand-picked tips for letting your content thrive:  

Assess Your Content With a SWOT Analysis 

Before you start producing content from scratch, you need to look at your past work. 

Running a SWOT analysis helps you identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of your existing content. It allows you to filter the good and the bad, identifying potential gaps – both internal and external – that you can target in your future goals.  

The top half of the SWOT analysis entails Strengths and Weaknesses, which center around your company. The bottom half, Opportunities and Threats, focuses outwards to the market – namely your competition and general market trends.  

Here’s how to identify the 4 components of the diagram:

Strengths

What do you do well? What content do your customers come back to? List 3-4 major strengths of your current content efforts, identifying winning campaigns, tactics, and skills.  

Think about a specific type of content that your audience enjoys to drive this conversation. Examining specific goals that you’ve reached is a great starting point.  

To expand on the strengths, determine how you managed to hit your target projections. Examining top-performing content, ask yourself which commonalities you see among them and what readers have positively reacted to. 

Based on what has already worked already, you can write valuable blog posts in the future.  

Weaknesses

Whether it’s improperly targeted audiences or poorly executed campaigns, your weaknesses prevent you from achieving your marketing goals.  

So, think about content initiatives that are either unsuccessful or underperforming. You can identify the weaknesses by asking the following questions: 

• What can be improved? 
• What resources or tools could improve our performance? 
• How do we stand out from our competitors? 

Opportunities

How do you differentiate yourself from your competition? The real goldmine of content opportunities can be found within your existing pages.  

Simply peruse your top pages and rank them by organic traffic. Once you do that, ask yourself how you could transform them into greater opportunities.  

Connecting your top-performing content to larger trends, consider how your company fits into today’s digital landscape. You may consider new tactics that are widely recognized in the industry or tap into emerging content channels that your audience relates to.  

You may even tap into new markets to extend your reach – the opportunities are endless! 

Threats

How well do you deal with the ever-changing world of content marketing? Can you keep up with the pace at which it’s evolving?  

In today’s content marketing landscape, what is trendy one year is out-of-date in another. This, alongside other threats, can undermine your marketing efforts, making it harder to break through the clutter.  

While you can’t necessarily control or remove threats, you must find a way to deal with them.   

Tailor your content to the buyer persona 

Your buyers come from various backgrounds and experiences – your content needs to reflect that.  

Many marketers underestimate the work involved in constructing a buyer persona. Yet, it is one of the most important parts of any content strategy. Generic content fails to speak to your target consumer, as it’s misaligned with their interests, backgrounds, and experiences.  

The buyer persona allows you to detect common trends, behaviors, and patterns among your customers. It helps you tailor your marketing strategy around their objectives, pain points, and roadblocks.  

Keep in mind that basic information, such as age and region, is only half the picture. To construct the ideal buyer persona, you should delve deep into buyer motivation – particularly, why your customers buy certain products, or rather why they refrain from them.  

To understand why your customers are buying, you can collect psychographic data, which includes your buyers’ values, beliefs, and attitudes. The data contains all the personality elements that make your customers who they are.  

Collecting psychographics is not hard – they’re already at your fingertips! Be it customer reviews, social media comments, or Q&A sessions, customers express themselves in many ways. Yet, you can go deeper than surface-level interactions with your audience.  

To obtain more information, you can launch surveys as a part of your email flow or host a focus group. This way, you can truly understand who your customers are, what they like to do, and what products they purchase or even dislike.  

Remember that people crave inspiration, humor, and excitement. Your content should account for your customer’s needs, meeting them where they are at. With psychographic insights, you can create distinct and meaningful content that resonates deeply with your customers.  

Given that, once you paint an accurate picture of your buyer persona, you are ready to convey relevant brand messages to each and every customer. Adapting your content to their interests will surely keep them coming back.  

Create Quality Content Your Audience Loves to Engage with 

We’re currently experiencing the content gold rush. To stand out from your competition, your content needs a unique spin. 

Here are some tips to make your blog content stand out: 

Keep The Buyer Persona In Mind 

When coming up with a topic for your blog post, think about your buyer’s interests. Does your blog post answer their questions or spark their curiosity? 

Focus on adding value for your audience – give solutions, provide answers, and forge meaningful connections. This way, you will build a community around your brand and boost genuine engagement.  

 Personalize Your Content  

Think of content as your brand’s spokesperson who meets your buyer at every step of their journey. What does your buyer think about when deciding what to buy? Does your content address their unique needs? 

It takes a whole lot of convincing to turn your visitors into customers. Yet, with the right kind of content, you can drive purchases without coming off as too promotional.  

Personalized content is key, as it grows you closer to the customer without using the same cookie-cutter content. In fact, 78% of U.S. internet users report increasing their intent to purchase after consuming personally relevant content.  

With that said, consider the buyer’s pain points and craft problem-solution content that equips them with helpful information. Make sure you research their goals and write like you’re a helpful friend.  

Alternatively, develop captivating content that grabs the attention of potential customers in the awareness stage. This way, you’ll retain the consumers who land on your website.  

So, whether it’s value-packed educational posts or well-detailed How-To’s, personalized content is exceptionally relevant to the user. Ultimately, it shows them how much you value them. Putting your buyer at the center, such content is sure to lead to that final click.  

Track The Metrics 

To measure your success, it’s important to check whether your efforts are working. Paying attention to the metrics and data will help you identify campaigns, channels, and tools that drive the most value to your business.  

Your visitors will show what they’re interested in based on how they interact with your content. As you watch how they respond, you can adjust your content to their needs, breathing new life into your existing marketing efforts.  

Here are some of the metrics we recommend tracking:

Tell Stories That People Relate To 

Some users are looking for information about your services. Some are looking for meaningful stories about your brand that grip them.  

According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing is the process behind “distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined target audience.” This makes storytelling the greatest differentiator for your online presence.  

Stories have the power to turn visitors into dedicated fans, boosting everything from brand awareness to conversions. They not only attract but also retain customers, creating long-lasting emotional bonds with them.  

With the help of the buyer persona, you can come up with stories that will move your audience. Creating in-depth, touching, and relatable content is sure to sustain long-term engagement and brand loyalty.  

Conclusion

The purpose of content marketing lies in establishing strong relationships with the target audience. It is an integral part of building brand loyalty and generating quality leads. 

A well-optimized content strategy provides customers with the right content via the right channel at the right time. 

Conducting a thorough SWOT analysis and tailoring content to the target consumer deliver significantly better results than traditional push marketing. With relatable stories around your brand, content marketing can amplify your digital presence.  

Are you ready to take your content to the next level? Learn how we help businesses scale their sales every day through content marketing at Fortis Media.