So you've got some marketing budget earmarked for the holiday rush. Now comes the tough part: deciding how to spend it. It's an ever-growing problem for marketers. New marketing channels, social networks and ad types pop up every year. The pressure is on to chase opportunities without wasting money.
We pulled together some insights to help you plan your holiday budget for maximum impact.
Give social a bigger place in the marketing mix.
In 2012, 40% of retail marketers reported an increase in social marketing holiday spend over 2011. Retail CMOs said that 10% of their holiday marketing spend would be allocated towards social marketing. As social marketing spend trends upward overall, we'll see both numbers grow this year.
Keep in mind that these numbers vary significantly from brand to brand. If you're spending money on national TV ads, social is probably a small share of your overall budget. But if you're an SMB or ecommerce brand, it's cost-effective to divide your money across digital channels like email, search, social and mobile.
Put your money on Facebook.
A whopping 99% of retailers said they'd focus on Facebook for their social marketing efforts last holiday season. Just over 50% planned to spend on Twitter, while 20% planned to invest on Pinterest. This holiday season, we predict Facebook will still attract the majority of budget while other networks gain ground.
Put the bulk of your dollars in Facebook, but don't neglect the other channels. Spend money on the networks that have performed best for you historically. Set aside 10-20% of your budget to test something totally new - maybe a Vine video series or a Pinterest contest. It's the time of the year when experimenting can really pay off.
Mix offers with engagement campaigns.
Many retailers spend money getting the word out about holiday deals and discounts. 81% of retailers use Facebook to alert shoppers about their in-store holiday deals.
Free shipping is the most popular holiday promotion, offered by 9 in 10 retailers. And promoting coupons and discounts on social is a popular, smart way to spread the word.
But don't focus all your time and budget on promoting offers. You'll only attract the shoppers who are ready to convert. Social is a great channel for awareness and engagement campaigns that attract early-stage prospective customers, like holiday-themed photo contests and sweepstakes.
According to our own research, 90% of shoppers said following a brand on social made them likely to consider them when holiday shopping. Growing your fan count can impact your bottom line.
Spend money all season.
Start spending early. Last year 43% of consumers started their shopping around Halloween.
Plan a big spending push behind Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But make sure to save some budget for December. Last year, Comscore reported that 4 days during the week of December 10th topped a billion dollars in e-commerce spending. And don't forget those last-minute shoppers! Keep promoting your campaigns until Christmas Day.