Holiday 2013 is right around the corner. September, October, November…you’ll be slicing gobble-worthy turkey before you know it. The time to plan for end-of-year marketing campaigns is right now. Here are 10 tips to put your best foot forward this holiday season.

1. Dial your message

What do you have to sell or say? You’ll move more product if you decide specifically what you want to sell during the holidays, then focus your message. After you know what you’re saying, focus on episodic, consistent conversations.

2. Lock in Q4 revision goals

Do you want to increase sales? Do you need better brand awareness? Are you raising money for a charity? Set some benchmarks and make sure you can track your metrics. Otherwise, how will you know if you were successful?

Target basks in the glow of Neiman Marcus during holiday 2012 partnership

3. Align holiday partnerships

The good news is that other marketers are already thinking about their holiday plans. The bad news is that you’re running out of time to partner with them. Affiliation with other brands magnifies the reach of your message. Look for partnerships that will provide co-registration opportunities to build your email marketing database.

4. Research your competition

Everyone will be launching a holiday campaign this year. Find ways to differentiate and stand out. Look at what companies in your vertical did during the 2012 holiday season and identify opportunities to do something unique.

5. Identify and segment target audience

Whatever your message, it will be easier to connect with your audience if you know who they are. Men or Women? Young or Old? Your message will resonate better with a tight segment.

6. Choose the right vehicle for your campaign

Deciding the best way to communicate to your target audience will provide the highest conversion. Avoid the shotgun approach. Concentrate your largest budget spends on a few marks. Does Facebook still have traction for your brand? Are you getting a lot of response on Twitter? Do television commercials work? Whatever you choose, make sure it’s already proven successful for your brand. And don’t forget mobile.

7. Set your media plans as soon as possible

As previously mentioned, other marketers are also planning for the holidays right now. Inventory is quickly dwindling. If you already know which vehicle you want for your campaign, lock it in as soon as you can. Decide on your message and creative afterwards.

8. Optimize for holiday paid search terms now

You need to own terms before you want them to perform for you.

9. Release holiday content in SEO-friendly platforms

Organic search engine ranking takes time to build (especially for non-branded terms). You can pay a premium for your keywords at the holidays, or you can start building your free reputation now. Start weaving your holiday message into blog posts and anything else that gives you search engine equity.

10. Direct traffic to campaign landing pages

Use a clear CTA with a link to your own site content. Your promotion has the best payoff if you can track the results. The best way to do this is on your own website. You can track results from your site, right? Remember analytics tagging on your CTA links!

Read More:
Holiday SEO in July: How To Avoid Google’s Naughty List This Holiday Season
Mobile Expected to Drive Big Business in 2013 Holiday Retail
Retailers: How to Win in AdWords for Holiday 2013
Five tips to improve paid search over the holidays

Reference:
Retail’s New Odd Couple