ClickThrough
Marketing is a conversion-optimising specialist and they’ve put together a
guide to the best ways to promote your business at Christmas.
The
first thing the agency’s Ali Harris confirms is that quality content is now the
big thing in online marketing and this should be kept in mind whatever you do.
The good
news is that taking PR online makes it a lot easier for businesses, even small
businesses, to use. Online PR lasts longer, there are a multitude of platforms
on which to spread your message and many of these are highly specialised and
therefore provide better access to likely spenders. It’s also a lot easier to
measure the effects of your efforts in likes, page views or retweets.
But
don’t neglect the traditional media, which still has a lot of power, and
remember that a good idea is a good idea on and offline.
Some of
Ali’s tips for good Christmas press releases include:
- Top 10s or end of year lists, which are beloved of both the traditional and new media.
- After you’ve summed up the year just about to pass, try to predict what’s ahead – it doesn’t have to be accurate but make it fun and likely to start conversations. And don’t forget the future includes your own New Year deals.
- Shout about any seasonal charity linkups and get a link back from the charity.
- Even a Christmas competition is worth a press release, and any business can do this.
When it
comes to your social media marketing, consider sharing some advice that will
get shared. Make your profile useful: Christmas gift-wrapping advice is always
handy. Make sure potential customers are in no doubt about your Christmas
opening hours, delivery deadlines and when you’re back in business for the New
Year sales. If the snow does come down, make sure you’re prepared and that your
worried customers know the latest news too.
Social
media is all about talking to people so engage in interesting conversations
with your followers. Don’t forget to let the Scrooges amongst them get involved
with some fun chatter about the downside of the season of singed tinsel and
dropping needles.
Harris
also spends a good deal of time talking about correctly tagging the images on
your site to make sure they show up in Google image searches. This is
particularly important if you work in a visual or design-orientated business.
Tagging images as Christmas gift ideas will help them show up when the world is
desperately searching for something to spend on. .
Harris
warns that the window for online Christmas shopping seems to be getting
shorter. You need all your Christmas content up and running by the first week
of December. However, there are two new shopping days thanks to the Internet.
Shoppers log on with their shiny new gadgets on Christmas Day and Boxing Day
and start buying all over again – particularly good news if you sell add-ons
and accessories for their new phone or tablet.
There’s
an awful lot more in ClickThrough’s webinar, which you can listen to in full
here.
But,
there seems to be a strong, consistent message coming through on online
marketing and SEO at the moment, summed up by Harris as: “People share stuff
they think is good, or interesting, or unusual, and Google rewards originality
and relevancy, as well as interest in your content. Don’t cut corners.”
Link to
webinar:
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