Holly Jolly Holiday Trends
The holidays are a time to wind down, reflect and spend quality time with family and friends. However, this time of year also tends to be the busiest time for businesses. The holidays are pivotal for sales, brand awareness and overall growth so it is imperative for companies to take advantage of the marketing opportunities the holiday season provides.
Last holiday season, consumers adjusted their holiday shopping habits due to COVID restrictions, focusing more on online/mobile shopping rather than in-store. In a poll conducted by AdWeek, half of all shoppers surveyed reported they struggle with what to buy for gifts and turn to online sources for ideas. Of those individuals who found success shopping online, 45% said the product was a present for someone else. Facebook also reported that there has been 1.3x growth in mobile purchasing globally for the holiday season since 2018. Social platforms play a large role in this shopping trend, as consumers frequently use social platforms for discovery of new products and services. Moving into the 2021 holiday season, we can learn a lot from these trends and spoiler alert – Harmelin is expecting another eCommerce-driven season.
Timing is crucial for holiday social campaigns. Send your holiday messaging out too early, and users are less likely to engage with your content. Users are generally not in the mood to think about the holidays before October. Send your holiday messaging out too late and users have already made their purchases elsewhere. It is imperative to stick to a strict holiday timeline. Each business’ timeline will be different, and you can determine what is your best holiday timeframe by reviewing previous holiday campaign data.
Social platforms such as Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest are providing new insights into how advertisers can best reach their audiences. For Snapchat, it is crucial to start holiday campaigns early, as 55% of Snapchatters start shopping before mid-November. Twitter sees an increase in tweets on Cyber Monday, with a total of 560k total tweets that day last year. Facebook will also be launching new live shopping events for the holidays as well as a #BuyBlack initiative. Harmelin continues to monitor these key insights from previous years, as they are worth noting and incorporating into 2021 social media planning.
In terms of creative trends during the holiday season, video proves to be the most engaging form when advertising on social platforms. In a 2019 consumer survey, video was the most helpful way to learn about a new product when holiday shopping, making it essential to include video in holiday campaigns. To help your brand or business stand out, try including a seasonal sale teaser, holiday greeting or a how-to guide for the holidays. These are all great ways to engage with your audience and keep the brand top of mind.
Holiday music is on the radio already, which means the countdown to the holidays has begun in earnest. Now is the time to get ahead of your holiday planning by reviewing previous trends and taking advantage of the reach that social media platforms provide to advertisers. With this sure-to-be-busy 2021 holiday season, utilize social platforms to engage with your audience through discovery, personalized video, and timely campaigns.
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