How to Be Top of Mind on Thanksgiving

 

Autumn is officially here, and the holiday season is just around the corner. How’s your holiday marketing plan taking shape? If it’s not quite there yet, worry not, because we’ve got a few ideas to fire up your campaign beginning with Thanksgiving. Here we go!

Start with the Right Data

For businesses that have been around for more than a year, look through your customer activity for this time last year. There are three specific areas to look at, according to Francesca Nicasio over at the Vend Blog. These are historical (What did customers buy around the same time last year? What promos did they respond well towards?), behavioral (What did they look at in your store? Which of those did they buy or not buy?), and direct feedback from your customers about what they want or need help with, via actual conversations in person or through social media exchanges.

Begin Marketing Efforts Early

Take a look at Christmas. In some parts of the world, Christmas songs start playing on the radio as early as September, as if there are no other holidays to celebrate on the days in between. Marketing activity aimed for Thanksgiving can start weeks before, too. The most accessible way to do this, as well as get a feel for your audience’s anticipation level for this holiday, is through your social media pages. Nicasio suggests you shouldn’t miss out on filling your social networks with gorgeous autumn visuals and posts that ultimately lead to Thanksgiving and the rest of the holidays that cap the year.

Send Snail Mail

Doing things a little differently? We love it! In a time when practically everyone else is online, sending out cards through snail mail might be a breath of fresh air. Do one better and make it personal. Entrepreneur has this among five tips on how to do holiday cards right.

Enable Giving Thanks

Be an instrument for spreading gratefulness and good vibes all around through your digital platform, program, or store-based contest. Beyond asking the question “Who are you thankful for?” encourage your audience to write inspiring, thoughtful messages to those who are dear to them. For instance, that card you send out in advance can come with a blank postcard with prepaid stamps that they can use to send a thoughtful message themselves.

Help Make Preparations a Little Easier

Now that you know from data what your customers might be interested in buying from you, it’s a good thing to think about your campaign effort as a way to bring more value to them. For example, just about everyone who runs a household while working full time can definitely use some help with planning holidays at the least. Why not send out a Thanksgiving cookbook? Alternatively, you can create a checklist for Thanksgiving dinner preparations and offer it for free on your website, as a feature in your regular newsletter, or packaged with your products.

Be the Brand that Saves the Day

Thinking about giving a little more to your loyal customers? Thanksgiving isn’t the time to be shying away from delivering thoughtful gifts, like this contest idea from ShortStack  that offers Thanksgiving dinner delivered to the winner. Or, why not give them gift packages that they might just use on the day itself, like cooking spices, a bottle of wine or cider, or a charcuterie board meat and cheese set? For all you know, that delectable gift might have been the one thing they forgot to buy for the family dinner. Disaster averted, thanks to your gracious gift.

 

 

Excited to make any of these ideas happen for your brand? Impact Marketing & Design can help. Call us today!