It's the Season for Holiday Content

Once again, holiday season is upon us. We've already passed the first hurdle - Halloween - and brace ourselves for the heavier guns, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. Not to mention the "unofficial" shopping holiday, Black Friday. And with online shopping projected to surpass $120 billion, you need to have your holiday calendar all mapped out.

What's your content lineup?

The days where people have simply been looking for a good sale are long gone. People are looking for value, that extra je ne sais quoi with substance, optimized, so to speak, particularly for the holidays.

Once upon a time...

The main source of promotional holiday content was threefold: print, television and radio: you could not walk a block without stumbling into a smiling pumpkin (or scowling, depending if was Halloween or Thanksgiving), open a newspaper without getting bombarded by holiday sale flyers, or stroll on main street without passing by a store splashed with holiday decorations.

From the advertiser's perspective, things were rather simple: you prepared a sales chart, wrote up advertisements and "inserts" that would slip out of the Sunday newspaper, and if you had enough resources (nobody beats The Wiz!) also advertised on TV, radio and, for the true luxury spender, billboards. Nobody was looking for content. Everybody was looking for sales.

It's easy to write 25% off on our merchandise from November X to December Y.

The days of "one ad fits all" are gone: today it's all about personalization. People are no longer passive. They are actively searching for what they need. Everywhere. Around the world.

What shopping "on line" used to be.

Ease the holiday stress off the customers

Holiday season, stressful? no way....!

Joking aside, everyone has experience with holiday shenanigans. Which highlights the importance of understanding the consumer, client or user and providing them with much-needed content that makes life easier for them. We can use our own personal experience to understand and deliver a better, more resonating story to people. Holiday season guides, for example:

12 Christmas gift suggestions for the person/family you think already has everything

Holiday shopping secrets from the experts: get the very best holiday season deals

5 Black Friday Hacks you can't afford not to use

3 ways to prevent Thanksgiving dinner disasters

Holiday Travel? Avoid these 5 holiday travel pitfalls

10 mouth-watering recipes that will make your dinner the talk of the holiday

Noticed I used numbers. Numbers stand out, and give the reader an estimate on the length of the content. No one wants to click on a how-to guide and discover one long webpage and at the bottom, this: 1,2,3,4....next. The user is here for valuable advice, not a thesis.

Stains? what stains?

Sales and promotions are abound year round. What value can your product or service give your customers during the holidays? a new car is always nice, but kind of an overkill to transport a turkey. On the other hand, you could demonstrate how family & friends can enjoy your tablets or phones to shop (chat with Santa) or watch football on Thanksgiving, when they can't move after the traditional nine-course meal. Stain solution makers should have a field day - and take advantage of it. A 1+1 or sizable discount, along with a guide, how to get rid of/prevent food stains can be a bestseller.

Another reason why it's imperative to send your holiday promotions way in advance.

Free is always good

The holiday season, even pre-holidays, is a rush. Allowing users to download your Christmas shopping guide or Thanksgiving cooking receipts as a PDF file to read later and print is practically a must. An additional idea is to provide your content along with an opt-in window, so if the reader is interested in your full Christmas shopping tips (or other helpful tips), all he needs to do is type in his email.

Chestnuts roasting on social media...

Whereas once a shopper would simply ask a salesman "what would you recommend?" people are flocking to social media channels for shopping recommendations - and the statistics back it up. Holiday season is the fertile ground to get the most creative when it comes to creating visual, imaginative, holiday-themed content that has the potential to instantly go viral, and there's plenty of ways to do it. Encourage users/customers to be part of it with promotions and fun games, such as holiday trivia. Raffle a prize that can be useful.

Show the holiday spirit

People love a "holiday feel," even if they don't say it. There's nothing like walking down a bustling street with stores decorated for the times, and so should your online presence. It's not just a visual perspective, it's a sense that "it's the holidays, we want to give something to you to make it easier for you." So does your website need to show that you put in an effort, and not merely shoved in a mock-up Turkey or pixelated Christmas tree just for the sake of it.

Be mobile

It's no longer an option, but crucial for success - or survival - for your business, that the customer can find you on his mobile phone. According to studies, over 60% of searches are performed on mobile, including over 50% for retail. Your website needs to be optimized for mobile, customers should easily be able to find your location on mobile, or contact you directly.

Connect Probably the most important aspect in all this is being in contact with your customers/potential customers. It's starts with the introduction email, continues with social media, mobile (push notifications), email reminders (Reminder: Exclusive Pre-Black Friday Sale) and of course, post-sale contact.