3 Reasons to Start Planning Your Christmas Social Campaigns Now

In the last quarter of the year, the social Campaigns marketing stakes grow increasingly high. Not only are consumers busy shopping for Christmas gifts and decorations, but they’re also snapping up bargains on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, they’re locking in holiday plans, they’re planning for 2020, etc.

With its growing user base of engaged fans, and improving eCommerce features, Instagram has become an essential part of the marketing mix. Yet many brands will miss out on maximizing their return on investment with their Instagram campaigns by simply leaving their preparations too late.

With shoppers starting and finishing their purchasing process earlier than ever – and influencers getting booked up by competitors – there’s no time to waste.

If you want to make the most of your end of year push, you need to establish a clear plan of action – now.

Here are some more notes to get you thinking:

• Shoppers start early – ‘Last-minute Christmas shopping is a thing of the past’ declared The Australian Retailers Association last year, citing research that 9 in 10 Aussies had already done their Christmas shopping by 13th December. Around the world, shoppers are getting organized earlier every year, hitting the shops in November and earlier. In the UK, a third of people say they have started their Christmas shopping by mid-November (35%) and one in 10 have finished the majority of their Christmas shopping (11%).
• Social is your shop window – This Christmas, many shoppers will swap the busy stores, long queues and obligatory festive soundtrack, for shopping from the comfort of their homes. With this shift, a customer’s primary experience of a brand will take place online and on social media. Your presence there should benefit from the same attention you give your visual merchandising. Your social feed is your new shop window.
• Influencers are in high demand – Influencer marketing is a powerful channel to optimize this Christmas. Having brand partners mention and tag you boosts brand visibility – as well as your place in the algorithm – introducing your products to new audiences. Plus you can benefit from authentic, high-quality branded content, which can be reused elsewhere in your marketing efforts, amplifying your ROI.

The evidence all points to the fact that you need to start planning your Christmas strategy right now, in order to ensure you get the most out of your end of year push. We’ve reiterated the key points in the graphic below.