In this article, you’ll find
- The Importance Of Holiday Events on Shopify Platform
- Preparing For Holiday Events On the Shopify Platform
- Effective Dates To Consider In Your Holiday Events Planning
- Marketing Channels For Your Holiday Events
- 13 Tips To Promote Your Holiday Events Effectively On Your Shopify Platform
- Conclusion
- FAQs
The holiday season is perfection personified. It brings a burst of cheer, a sense of excitement, and, let’s not forget, the incredible rush of sales. It is the right time to forge a deep connection with your customers and help them with their last-minute gift purchases and holiday shopping.
Are holidays such a big deal? Absolutely! Holiday e-commerce sales are said to top $209.7 billion in the US alone. Even if your customers are not really into holidays, the buying spirit is definitely intact.
It is also the perfect time to curate and promote your holiday events on your Shopify platform. All you need are some enticing strategies, and voila! You create the desired buzz.
Ahead, you will find everything you must know about holiday events and a long list of how you can promote them on your Shopify store. Read till the end to learn all the tried-and-tested secrets!
The Importance Of Holiday Events on Shopify Platform
Holiday events can be a big deal for retailers. You can use them to advantage to churn out more profits, hit your yearly goals, and even clear out slow-moving inventory.
Remember, it is during the holiday season that people are willing to splurge. When you create alluring holiday events like Black Friday Sales, Christmas Promotions, or New Year’s Discounts, you spread the festive cheer and draw in shoppers.
A robust holiday event planning and promotion not only drive revenue but also help build customer loyalty, setting the stage for long-term success.
Preparing For Holiday Events On the Shopify Platform
Confucius once said a man who does not plan long ahead will find trouble at his door. We don’t know about trouble, but you may miss out on leveraging the holiday season to its fullest.
Did you know? People start searching for Christmas gift ideas all the way to the beginning of August. So, you must buckle up and start preparing early for your holiday events. After all, you cannot just wake up one morning and plan to hold an event.
Successful holiday events require meticulous planning. A strategy in hand is crucial to guide you in the right direction. From stocking up on popular holiday products to optimizing your website, there’s much to do!
Effective Dates To Consider In Your Holiday Events Planning
The holiday season begins from October till the 31st of December. Take a look at all the important dates so you don’t miss out!
| October | November | December |
| 3 – Yom Kippur | 11 – Remembrance Day (Canada) | 1 – Cyber Monday |
| 13 – Columbus Day | 11 – Veterans Day | 2 – Hanukkah |
| 13 – Thanksgiving (Canada) | 27 – Thanksgiving | 24 – Christmas Eve |
| 31 – Halloween | 28 – Black Friday | 25 – Christmas Day |
| 26 – Boxing Day | ||
| 31 – New Year’s Day |
Marketing Channels For Your Holiday Events
Choosing the right marketing channels ensures that your efforts are fruitful. Take a look at the best marketing channels for your holiday events that you can leverage.
Email Marketing
Emails are not dead. Almost 38% of shoppers found emails from retailers to be most helpful in learning about events and deals. You can use them to reach both new and old customers.
However, ensure your email marketing campaigns are attractive and enticing so your customers are compelled to take the desired action.
Social Media
Typically, we spend about 2.5 hours on social media every day. It can be scrolling through TikToks or enjoying Instagram. After all, social media is where all the action takes place.
So, the best place to market your event is on your customer’s favorite social media channels. You can also run targeted ads and engage with your customers through contests or giveaways.
Search Engines
Whether it is the recipe for your favorite dish or you are looking for a Christmas present, you turn to search engines.
Well, you are not alone! Approximately 68% of all website traffic comes from search engines. So, utilizing Google or Bing to create ads for your holiday events can be supremely beneficial.
13 Tips To Promote Your Holiday Events Effectively On Your Shopify Platform
Now that you know the importance of holiday events and the marketing channels you can use, you may be wondering how to promote your holiday events effectively on the Shopify platform. Here are the top 13 tips you can try this season!
- Plan Ahead
Picture this. You receive a handwritten thank you note with a recent holiday order. This small gesture, the personal touch, is heartwarming.
It can easily result in a flurry of positive reviews because it is thoughtful and in tune with the holiday’s theme. So, to come up with such strategies and make an impact on your holiday events, you must plan.
Start with a rough outline of your event calendar, which includes sales dates, promotions, content creation deadlines, and more. Jot down all the ideas at this stage. Even those that seem impossible.
Once you pour all your ideas into your notebook or a planning app, refine it further. You can also see what your competitors did last year and its impact.
The last step is to create a final outline and follow it to the T. Minor changes here and there are okay. But when you stick to the plan, you can execute it to perfection.
- Set Clear Goals
Do not let the fear of missing out get the best of you!
We are trying to say that you shouldn’t do what others do with their holiday events without clear goals. What is the outcome you are expecting? Do you want to increase your traffic? Are you looking to boost sales? Once the specific objective is in place, create a timeline for your campaign and set aside a budget accordingly.
Make sure your marketing efforts align with your goals.
Let’s say you want to increase brand awareness. But you choose PPC campaigns. They won’t help because PPC brings immediate sales.
Once the campaigns are rolling and live, monitor them regularly. Make any necessary tweaks along the way.
- Optimize Your Website
The biggest holiday sale is live on your favorite Shopify store. You plan to shop for holiday gifts during this sale.
But as you log in, there is no clear information about the holiday event. You cannot see any discounts, and going through the site feels cumbersome. The store not only lets you down but may even lose a customer. This is why optimizing your website before your big holiday event is essential.
Start by creating a visually appealing landing page. Prominently showcase special offers and themed products. Implement a responsive design and make room for seamless navigation.
Don’t forget to optimize your website for mobile phones as well. Today, more than 29% of global users make weekly purchases using their smartphones.
- Use Holiday Keywords
Use relevant keywords in your strategy and let them work their magic! This is because 44% of customers start their shopping with an online search. Therefore, your website must be SEO-friendly.
For your holiday event, use festive keywords, such as Holiday Gifts, Christmas Sales, or New Year Discounts, in your website content, product descriptions, blog posts, and more. It can be super effective in helping you boost your visibility on search engines during the holiday season.
You can also amplify it by curating holiday-themed meta titles and descriptions to lure potential shoppers while driving organic traffic to your website.
To help you with keyword research, you can use tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMRush.
- Create Special Offers And Discounts
Even if your holiday event is well-planned, it won’t make a mark if you don’t include enticing offers and discounts. Holiday sales are hard to resist. This is because when exposed to an idea repeatedly, your attitude towards it becomes much more favorable.
You must have experienced this with ads as well. Let’s say you keep coming across an ad for a handbag. It is something you like. You may ignore it once or twice. But the third time, you will probably check it out. If the pricing matches your budget, you may even make a purchase.
Also, fear of missing out plays an important role in pushing your buyer towards clicking on ‘Buy Now.’ But for this to work, your offers must be valuable. From limited-time offers to free bundles, come up with deals that are on par with the holiday theme.
You can also make it beneficial by rewarding your customers with free shipping or gift-wrapping services. Think out of the box.
- Email Announcements
As aforementioned, emails are an excellent marketing channel to promote your holiday events. It can be a powerful strategy. Almost 41.5% of brands say email marketing is crucial to success.
Your emails must be captivating, creative, and holiday-themed. Use it to inform your customers about your upcoming holiday event and make it good!
Ensure you segment your email list with specific customer preferences while maximizing relevance. Don’t forget an attractive subject line and a strong CTA.
- Social Media Content
By 2025, almost 56.7% of the world’s population will be on social media. So, if you still haven’t jumped on the bandwagon of using social media to your advantage, you are seriously missing out.
But wait, before you start posting, remember that they must hold value.
From alluring teasers to behind-the-scene reels, make your holiday event the talk of the town.
Generate excitement even before the holiday event. For instance, you can also run giveaways to encourage user-generated content.
Don’t forget to have unique hashtags and to keep things visually appealing. Finally, post holiday-related tips, tricks, and guides to provide value while subtly promoting your event. An engaging social media content mix will ensure your holiday events shine on Shopify.
- User-Generated Reviews
We have all checked user reviews before making a purchase. When someone raves about a product, it instills our confidence in it.
User-generated reviews are 35% more memorable than copies written by a professional. So, use it to promote your upcoming holiday event. Showcase them prominently on your event pages or social media channels. Remember, authentic endorsements are super attractive.
Also, don’t let reviews go idle. If someone drops a review, it can be on Google or any other platform. Respond to them and express your gratitude. It helps create a sense of community among your consumers and can lead to high customer satisfaction.
- Consider Paid Ads
You can always opt for paid ads during your holiday event. It offers precise targeting and helps you reach your audience with a customized message.
PPC leads to quick action. When you do it right, you earn $2 for every $1 spent. Therefore, create attractive ads that highlight the holiday event’s specifics.
Use proper keywords and audience segmentation strategically. A well-managed PPC campaign can help you with a broader reach, drive traffic, and boost sales.
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- Collaborate With Influencers
Today, influencers are the real celebrities.
Almost 1 in 4 marketers use the power of influencer marketing because it is super effective. So, boost your holiday promotions, and see if you can collaborate with an influencer who resonates with your brand.
For instance, if you are into fitness equipment, go with an influencer into health and wellness.
They can help you run giveaways, host unboxing sessions, or even provide exclusive discount codes for your holiday event to their followers. This added endorsement can bring you credibility and help widen your reach.
- Contests Or Internet Challenges
Contests have a conversion rate of almost 34%. It is an excellent way to connect with your customers and promote your event. You can let your creativity flow here.
But remember, the essence of the contest must resonate with your brand and products. For instance, you can go with internet challenges like viral dance or holiday-themed puzzles. They must be interactive, engaging, and fun. That’s the main criterion.
- Live Events Online
Consumers watch live videos 10-20 times longer than regular on-demand content. So, if you still haven’t used the Live video feature on your social media channels, it’s high time you do.
Your virtual live gathering can include live product launches, Q&A sessions, festive tutorials, and more! You can also use it to drive anticipation by teasing exclusive holiday offers during the event and encourage immediate purchases.
- Track Performance Data
Tracking your performance is so important when you are promoting your event!
Now is the time to embrace analytics tools. It helps keep an eye on website traffic, conversion rates, and sales.
Take your time to analyze customer behavior and see which products or promotions they engage with the most. This data can be beneficial, and you can fine-tune your strategies accordingly.
You can also track the success of different marketing channels and adjust your budget and efforts.
You can even use apps like Evey Events to ensure your upcoming event goes on without a hitch. From planning to analytics, it helps you do your best.
Promote Your Holiday Events Right And Embrace Success Every Season!
When you use effective promotion strategies, it helps you create a memorable event, and you stand out from the competition.
Holiday seasons are crucial as they bring you a golden opportunity to connect with your customers. When you do it right, you easily convert a potential or a new customer into a loyal one. However, while the key is to boost sales and improve profits, don’t forget to spread festive cheer with your efforts.
FAQs
What is the best form of marketing for the holiday?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Remember, the best form of marketing depends on your customers and products. For instance, if you are a clothing brand, using Instagram can be beneficial as it is a picture-based platform. That said, the most popular marketing channels are email marketing, social media marketing, PPC, and content marketing.
How can I sell more on holidays?
Some of the tricks you can apply to sell more during the holidays are:
- Offer gift certificates
- Offer special discounts or deals
- Send personalized email campaigns
- Come up with customer loyalty programs
- Make use of cross-sell and upsell techniques
- Create gift guides to help your customers find the perfect gift
How do I create a holiday marketing plan?
Try the below tips to create your marketing plan for the holidays.
- Come up with a campaign theme
- Set your goals,
- Research your competition
- Choose the type of promotions
- Select dates
- Promote your event.
For a detailed overview, take a look at the above blog.
How do I create a marketing event on Shopify?
Here’s how you can create a marketing event on Shopify.
- First, go to your Shopify admin
- Then, navigate to the Sales and Discounts section
- Choose Create Discount or Create Automatic Discount feature
- Set up your event with specific rules and codes.
Finally, promote it through various channels to attract and engage your target audience.
How do I add an event page on Shopify?
To add an event page on Shopify, go to your Shopify admin and click Online Store, then Pages. Finally, click Add page to create a new page. Here, you can promote and host your event details.
