Tis (nearly) the season to be jolly. It’s the time for minced pies, eggnog and having to spend too much time with your in-laws. However, the festive season is the perfect opportunity to create a marketing campaign that drives new sales and draws in new customers. Here are 3 tips on how to create a Christmas marketing campaign that stands out from all the festive noise and ensures you finish the year off on the right note.

What a bright time, it’s the right time…

Timing is important for creating a killer campaign. Christmas campaigns aren’t just for the 25th of December. They can start as soon as other seasonal campaigns are over, such as Halloween or Black Friday, giving you the optimal amount of time for your campaign to run. Why do you think we’re writing about Christmas now? Start your campaign in November, and keep sending information throughout until the end of December.

But, in order for your campaign to be taken seriously and guarantee connections, it is crucial to make sure the information is relevant and useful for the recipient. Christmas is the best time to promote your brand to new prospects in a fun way, but if the information you provide is not clear and relevant, it will likely be ignored. Make sure you are contacting the right person with the right information at the right time. I.e. people who are looking for your services now!

I’ll be home for Christmas

Audience engagement has shown to be lower around Christmas as people start heading home and going on holiday. Emails tend to go through to Out of Office. Yet, people will still be on their phones, so make sure your marketing is mobile focused. Whether that’s creating an email design that works for a smartphone or focusing on social media channels you know people will still be keeping an eye on.

Just because it’s Christmas, it doesn’t mean your marketing has to stop. Social media, in particular,  is a great way of creating and keeping brand awareness over the festive period. Let your customers and prospects interact with you over the likes of Twitter and LinkedIn whilst they’re at home drinking eggnog (or a few mulled wines). It’s the perfect relationship building opportunity.

Let it snow, let it snow!

Your Christmas marketing campaign needs to encourage connections to flood in. You need to create subject lines that require someone to reply or take action.Emails that include phrases like, “Have a lovely Christmas” or ” Christmas Sale”  have higher open rates, which means you need to include the relevant call to actions.

Try not to sound too much like spam, though. Keep the email informative and relevant. Offer them what they are looking for, but explain why you are better than the competition. By using keywords in your campaign and personalising your emails, you can ensure that your customers interact positively with your Christmas marketing campaign.

Don’t let your customers get distracted by all the Christmas glitz this year, the message of your campaign is the most important thing. You need to make sure this is clear and promotes your brand. You can’t just hide behind GIFs of scarf-clad penguins, the message needs to do the talking. If you need more ideas, have a look at our 3 successful marketing campaigns and how to implement them.