Creating content that’s relevant to your consumer should be a key focus of any savvy marketing campaign. When you’re studying your marketing calendar, it’s a given that ‘special days’ and their accompanying social celebrations will leap to the fore as obvious focus points to base your content around – but is this truly necessary for your company? Zebra 360 Online Marketing takes a closer look at the niche area of ‘special day’ content creation, and how (and when) to harness it for your business.

Holiday marketing does matter!

Firstly, it’s important to make one thing clear – holiday period marketing does matter, and it’s typical for companies to see an upswing in sales during holiday periods. There’s a few good reasons for this, which we go into detail on in another blog. In summary, however, holiday times are a period where it’s normal for people to want to spend more, where a positive mood tends to be in play, and where people tend to make faster, larger purchasing decisions within a constrained time period.

Does it matter to you, however?

This, then, creates an atmosphere that’s very receptive to buying and consuming, hinging around key dates in the calendar. It’s always worth a little acknowledgement of ‘the season’, then, whatever the season may be. How much is too much, however? Firstly, it’s key to remember the golden rule of any content marketing strategy:

Quality, relevant content is king

When it comes to how much (or how little) emphasis your own brand places on specific ‘special days’, it’s important to bear relevance in mind. Does the holiday tie in well with what you do? Take Valentine’s Day as an example. For those in industries such as:

  • Catering and restaurants
  • Gifts and edible goodies
  • Flowers and events
  • Beauty and romantic industries

Valentine’s Day is obviously a key role-player in your target market. You’d expect to become extra-relevant to consumers at this time anyway. In these industries, not only is Valentine’s-focused ‘special day’ content going to be important, it’s going to be a key part in your marketing strategy. For those in other industries- cleaning industries, for example- the date will be slightly less relevant.

So, I should ignore some special days?

Not at all! Remember there’s more to modern marketing than just pushing your product. It’s about creating a sense of community with your audience, and humanising your brand. People want to feel included and relevant, part of a larger community not simple ‘targets’ you’re selling to. Part of this is celebrating our commonalities, and ‘special days’ give you a chance to do this. The wise marketer, however, will choose the most relevant ‘special days’ to focus larger, heavy-hitting campaigns on, and leave the others for milder, community-building efforts.

Our florist, for example, may devise a smart, savvy Valentine’s based campaign that begins long before the special day and involves tons of romance-focused content, where our cleaning company may instead opt for a simpler content phase close around the date that celebrates their fans and includes a soft-sell for their services to allow consumers to ‘take a break’ on the special day. Both have value, while remaining relevant and interesting to consumers.

Don’t leave it too late

As a digital marketer, it’s important to remember that the day itself is far too late. If you’re planning to deploy ‘special day’ focused advertising efforts, this needs to be as a well thought out, holistic part of your overall marketing efforts and needs to roll-out in time to harness the build-up to the event and make you relevant at a peak time for sales. The ‘special day’ itself should mark the end of your campaign, not the totality of it!

‘Special day’ content, artfully used, can be a fantastic lynchpin in your marketing efforts, giving you targeted dates and a positive sales atmosphere to harness for your brand. If you’re still unsure how to develop a skilfull content calendar to enhance your digital marketing efforts, be sure to get in touch with the Zebra 360 Online Marketing team today, and let us help you reach your digital marketing goals this year.