💰Holiday Hustle 2024: The holidays end, but your work doesn't (Part 2)

Ho Ho Ho, marketing wizards!

And in the spirit of holiday giving, we’re serving you an early festive treat—a meticulously crafted guide to ace your holiday marketing game in 2024. 

If you've diligently followed the 7 essential steps I shared with you in our previous email, you likely understand that the conclusion of the holiday season doesn't mark the end of your marketing efforts.

So, it’s time to move on to part 2 of our comprehensive Holiday Hustle Playbook, where we'll explore:

8. After the Holiday 🎊

9. Measure and Refine 📈

10. Practical Insights: How to set up and optimize your holiday campaigns 💻

11. VidTao 2.0 🥳

12. Holiday Ads Breakdown 🧑‍💻

(Oh, and if you missed part 1 by any chance, we got you! Just shoot us a quick email, and we’ll share it with you.)

Let’s dive in…

8. After the holiday 🎊

The end of the holiday season is not the end of your marketing efforts. It’s a transition into a different phase of customer engagement. Expressing gratitude, gathering feedback, and introducing post-holiday sales or loyalty programs can help maintain the momentum. It's about building long-term relationships and turning holiday shoppers into loyal customers. A simple thank-you note or a feedback survey can go a long way in showing appreciation and understanding of their shopping experience.

The holiday may end, but the relationship-building continues.

Example: Sending personalized thank-you notes post-Valentine’s Day sale.

A quick tip: Use this time to gather feedback and insights for future campaigns.

AI prompt: "Design a post-[insert holiday] customer engagement and feedback survey."

Action steps:

• Express gratitude to your customers.

• Seek feedback to understand areas of improvement

Useful tools 🦾

• Mailchimp: Send personalized thank-you emails and gather feedback through post-holiday surveys.

• SurveyMonkey: Create post-holiday surveys to collect feedback and insights from customers.

• Zendesk: Use customer service software to address any post-holiday inquiries or issues promptly.

9. Measure and refine 📈

Every campaign is a treasure trove of insights. Analyzing the performance metrics of your holiday campaign will reveal what resonated with your audience and what fell flat. Tools like Google Analytics and Facebook Insights can provide a granular view of your campaign’s performance. Understanding the click-through rates of your New Year’s email campaign or the engagement levels on your social media posts can help refine your strategies for the upcoming holidays, turning insights into actions for better outcomes.

Every campaign is a learning curve. Glean insights, refine, and get ready to dazzle again!

Example: Analyzing the click-through rates of your New Year’s email campaign.

A quick tip: Tools like Google Analytics and Facebook Insights are your pals in dissecting campaign performance.

AI prompt: "Analyze the performance metrics of our [insert holiday] campaign to identify successful elements and areas for improvement."

Action steps:

• Set clear metrics for success beforehand.

• Post-campaign, delve into analytics to understand what worked and what didn’t.

Useful tools 🦾

• Google Analytics: Analyze website traffic, conversions, and user behavior to refine your strategies.

• Facebook Insights: If you use Facebook for marketing, analyze post performance and audience engagement.

• Hotjar: A tool for website heatmaps and user behavior analysis to identify areas for improvement.

📊 Expert tips for holiday campaign success🎄

No comprehensive guide is complete without some practical insights. So, here are some top tips from our Senior Media Buyer, Jovan Simic, who is responsible for over $30M in profitable ad spend in Inceptly. He will help you set up and optimize your holiday campaigns:

• Ad copy and creatives: Ensure your ad copy and visuals (videos, images, headlines, descriptions...) match the holiday spirit and specific occasion. 🖼️

• Landing page optimization: Design your landing page with a holiday theme and crystal-clear calls to action (CTAs) related to the specific holiday. 📑

• Leverage ad extensions: Enhance your ads by including extra information like location, phone numbers, and site links using ad extensions. 📞🌐

• Audience targeting and segmentation: Divide your audience based on their behavior and preferences. Explore various options like Affinity and In-Market audiences, and proactively create custom segments tailored to your offer and the holiday season. 🎯

• Remarketing campaigns: Develop remarketing campaigns to reconnect with previous site visitors, gently reminding them about your products or services as they embark on their holiday shopping journey. 🛍️

IMPORTANT: Create these audiences (like Landing Page visitors, Add to cart, Checkout page visitors, and customers) in your ad account well ahead of the holiday season. This ensures they're ready and waiting for retargeting.

• Budgeting: Allocate an appropriate budget for your holiday campaigns, and be prepared to increase it during the peak holiday periods when competition is fierce and consumers are actively spending. 💰

• Campaign setup: Timing is crucial. Start creating your campaigns at least 3-4 days before the launch to allow for approvals and to ensure you're fully prepared for the campaign launch when the specific holiday season kicks off. 📅

• Campaign pause: After setting up your campaigns, promptly pause them to prevent premature spending. Google will continue to review and approve your ads within campaigns, even when they're paused. 🛑

When the big day finally arrives, simply enable your campaigns, and you're all set to capture the holiday magic! 🎉✨

🍰 And here's the real icing on your Christmas cake…

For those who haven't heard yet, brace yourselves for the upcoming launch of VidTao 2.0, your ultimate marketing advantage. It's like VidTao but with a turbocharged suite of new and improved features:

🔍 Seamless ad, brand, and advertiser search: Effortlessly discover trending ads, brands, and advertisers you need for inspiration.

💰 Discover profitable offers: Quickly uncover lucrative offers to incorporate into your campaigns.

📊 Analyze offer performance: Dive deep into offer analytics to optimize your strategy like a pro. Track the life cycle of winning ads. Stay on top with rankings pages.

📺 Explore top ads, landing pages, and funnel insights: Easily access high-performing ads and landing pages for reference.

🌎 Filter by category, country, and time: Conduct in-depth category searches to understand market trends and opportunities.

📊 Visualize data with charts and metrics: Utilize visual data representation for actionable insights and informed decision-making.

Plus so much MORE. 

If there's anything you add to your marketing arsenal - let it be VidTao 2.0 (more info to come!)

Through VidTao's search capabilities, we've effortlessly identified three standout holiday marketing ads.

Let's explore why they're killing it and use their success to supercharge your campaigns! 🚀🌟

1. Online shopping tools, Christmas

And here's how it’s doing on VidTao 2.0:

This direct-response ad shows how any successful ad can become a holiday sensation.

How? Just add a holiday-themed hook in the first 5 seconds. 

As you can see here - simply adding: "Before you kick off your holiday shopping, here's a game-changing money-saving tip for online shopping." at the start is a quick, cost-effective way to give the ad a festive touch. Then you can mix and match depending on the holiday.

The key is to smartly link the holidays to your product and keep the audience engaged throughout the ad. 

And you can discover awesome ways to do this by checking VidTao's eCommerce YouTube Ad Checklist HERE 🎁🛍️

2.  Manscaped, Christmas & Black Friday

According to the VidTao 2.0 database, this ad had the highest ad spend of all Manscaped’s holiday ads:

This is a fantastic ad with much more to unwrap and a prime example of how to sleigh your holiday marketing efforts and leave your competition in the snow.

🎁 Holiday hook: This ad grabs attention right out of the gate with a captivating hook. It taps into the festive spirit and creates an immediate connection with the audience.

🎯 Clear targeting: It speaks directly to its target audience - those looking for unique and thoughtful gifts during the holiday season. The message is crystal clear: "This is the perfect gift for your loved ones."

💡 Highlighting benefits: The ad doesn't just talk about the product; it highlights how it can enhance the holiday experience. It's not just a gift; it's a solution to a common holiday challenge.

💬 Engaging copy: The ad uses engaging and relatable language. It's like having a friendly chat with a trusted friend, making the audience feel comfortable and connected.

📣 Social proof: There's a sprinkle of social proof in the form of reviews or testimonials. This reassures potential buyers that others have already found value in this gift.

🌟 Emotional appeal: It taps into the emotions of the season – love, joy, and the desire to make loved ones happy. Emotions sell, especially during the holidays.

✨ Call to action: The ad ends with a clear call to action, making it easy for viewers to take the next step - purchase the product and make someone's holiday brighter.

And if you check this ad by Manscaped, you'll see the same clever strategy we discussed earlier. They started with a Black Friday-themed hook within the first 5 seconds, seamlessly transitioning into their proven high-performing ad. It's a simple and cost-effective way to tailor winning ads for any holiday season.

3. Blender Jet, Black Friday

Here are some VidTao 2.0 stats for this ad:

As we've seen before, the Black Friday deal grabs your attention right from the beginning. It showcases the portable blender as a "Game Changer," backed by Forbes, and a gift of convenience. This compelling copy not only builds trust but also positions it as a valuable solution that can make a real difference.

Like all exceptional e-commerce ads, it continues to highlight its key features and benefits while presenting the product as the "ideal gift for everyone." This only enhances its appeal for Black Friday shoppers.

With VidTao 2.0, you can quickly discover winning strategies to supercharge your holiday marketing. It's the ultimate tool to stay ahead of your competitors and understand what's hot and effective all year round.

And that wraps up our guide to crafting a successful holiday marketing campaign. We hope it helps!

Now, it's your turn to shine this holiday season. Use these tactics to craft a winning holiday marketing campaign and make your brand the gift that keeps on giving! 🎄🎅🎁

If there's anything you're curious to learn more about, let us know!

Until next time, happy campaigning!

Holly

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