How to Fight Through the Competition and Be Heard This Holiday Season

The outlook for this year’s holiday retail season is very optimistic, with sales expected to grow 5.1%, nearly a percentage higher than 2017’s growth, according to a Kiplinger forecast. Online sales are expected to grow 15% while in-store sales climb 3.5%, which is better than the last several years.

Of course, some will do better than others – those that see the most success know how to fight through all the competition. If you’re a business owner, no matter which type of business you’re in, you know the competition can be rough, which means even if your time is tight, perhaps searching for that perfect property among the homes for sale in Charleston or simply busy due to the usual holiday commitments, you’ll need to do all you can to stand out and be heard this season.

Differentiate Yourself

The best way to stand out is to personalize your message, differentiating yourself whenever and wherever possible. Remember that every shopper out there is up for grabs – and there are billions of devices connected worldwide, with thousands of hours spent on those devices every day. A lot of that time is spent shopping. If you can focus on the user, personalizing your message as to how you can get their attention, convincing them to choose your site over a competitors’, everything else will follow.

Update Product Copy with Gift-Giving In Mind

The holiday season is the perfect time of year to refresh copy for product listings. Even just a few small changes can make it more relevant to those who are doing their holiday shopping. Think about who would most enjoy your products – who they’d be a great gift for, and perhaps even include some recent customer feedback. You may want to note season-related benefits, perhaps clothing for chilly weather or even fun cooking gadgets for holiday dinners. For lower priced items, you might note that they would make a perfect Secret Santa gift.

Hold Social Media Contests

The more you can engage and interact with your audience the better, and social media contests are a great way to do that as everyone loves the opportunity to win. If the contest is fun and exciting, your viewers will want to share their experience which improves the chances of it going viral. Your immediate sales are not only more likely to pick up, but your future sales as well. Contests are a great form of lead generation, helping to build your email address list as followers are more likely to comply with the possibility for a reward.

Use More Videos

Videos are one of the best attention-grabbers. Using video marketing, when done well, can get an emotional reaction out of your audience that encourages them to share. It can tug at their heartstrings or be used as an opportunity for humor. Once you create a powerful video, promote it on your social media sites and through email marketing campaigns, using “video” in the subject line to improve click-through rates.