As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, retailers will be gearing up for the biggest shopping days of the year - Black Friday and Cyber Monday. And then before we know it, the 2011 holiday shopping season will be in full swing. While online marketers should have their holiday campaign strategy in place by now, it's not too late to make a few refinements. I've compiled three top tips for driving optimal engagement and ROI during this holiday season.
Daily Deals Go Cross-Channel
More and more retailers have had success with Daily Deals campaigns in early December. In fact, Chad White reports that about half of major online retailers sent Daily Deal campaigns last year. However, with the increasing use of mobile devices and social networking channels, it is time to start thinking cross-channel. For example, request permission to deliver these deals via SMS in order to reach consumers when they are out shopping. Retailers should also leverage these attractive deals to drive social engagement. For example, "like-gate" daily deals on your Facebook page to help grow the fan base. And, encourage fans to share links to deals with their social networks. These tactics can enable retailers to reach millions of consumers who might not already exist in an established database.
Make Your Emails Mobile Friendly
Return Path is reporting that the percentage of emails read from a mobile device this holiday season is going to double to 20%. Consumers are going to be referencing their inboxes to plan their in-store holiday shopping, so marketers need to ensure that people can easily read and interact with email from their mobile device. Key areas of optimization during the holidays include:
- Optimizing HTML code to ensure that emails render properly on the most popular smartphones;
- Using font sizes that can be easily read from a small screen (we recommend no less than 10 pt font);
- Including store locator links prominently in the email campaign
- Leaving about 10 pixels of empty space around main call-to-action buttons to avoid the 'fat finger' clicking
Increased Frequency - But Only To Some
On average, retailers increase email frequency about 40% during the holiday season. This year it is important to only target quality segments with that increased cadence as the ISPs are now considering engagement as a major part of marketer's reputation score. Increased frequency, especially to less engaged subscribers, increases your chances for bulking or even blocking. Marketers need to be thoughtful about who they are targeting with high frequency campaigns. Here are examples of segments that present high risk with increased volume:
- Subscribers with no engagement for over 12 months
- Users acquired from non-organic sources (i.e. appends, partnerships, list rental, etc.)
- Newly subscribed consumers
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and may your holiday sales be high!
-Heather
