Why Seasonality Matters in Digital Marketing
The seasons are always changing, and with the autumnal equinox just around the corner, now is the perfect time to dive into the significance of seasonality in digital advertising.
Advertising itself is influenced by the changing seasons, and riding the waves of seasonality trends can greatly empower your campaign performance. However, it is crucial to grasp why different seasons hold different weight and how to navigate your digital marketing strategies accordingly.
Seasonal Advertising: To Embrace or Not to Embrace?
Seasonal marketing offers a opportunity to align messaging and tactics to shifting seasonal trends. Don't be afraid to step out of the comfort zone and do something distinctive to make your brand stand out. Whether you're matching your advertising with the seasons themselves or with specific — whether well-known or obscure — holidays, adhering to seasonal trends can yield remarkable results. But is it truly the most effective strategy for marketing your agency, brand, or product? We'll delve into that below.
Advantages of Seasonal Marketing
Seasonal advertising seamlessly lends itself to scarcity marketing. By promoting limited-time offers, you can tap into consumers' inherent fear of missing out on an exclusive opportunity. Crafted effectively, these ads can compel audiences to make a purchase.
Keeping up with seasonal marketing trends signals to consumers that you're attuned to their evolving needs. Audience preferences and desires are in a constant state of flux – what appeals to them in summer might differ from what resonates in winter, for instance. Consequently, seasonal marketing conveys that your business isn't stagnant but continually adapts from season to season.
Depending on their performance, some seasonal ads can be recycled year after year. Make minor tweaks to the messaging for A/B testing if necessary, discern what resonates with your audience, and discard the rest. Repurposing successful ads is a cost-effective approach to staying competitive.
Disadvantages of Seasonal Marketing
The seasonal advertising arena is fiercely competitive (Q4 is quickly approaching folks,) It's already a challenge for smaller agencies and creative shops to contend with larger competitors, and this holds particularly true in the realm of seasonal advertising.
Seasonal marketing inherently promotes seasonal business. A well-executed campaign should convey compelling, relevant messaging and, ultimately, drive sales. However, avoid over-reliance on seasonal marketing – adopt a strategic approach and devise a plan to cover all marketing gaps during other times of the year. Additionally, metrics can be highly dependent on seasonality too. This means it can be harder to ascertain if a certain ad set or target drove meaningful results or conversely was a dud. Exactly how much of that is the strategy and how much is season-dependent, at times it can be hard to tell.
How to Manage Seasonal Messaging
There are several strategies to make seasonal advertising trends work in your favor:
Plan Ahead: Initiate your marketing efforts a few weeks prior to the actual season or holiday. Ensure your materials and media are ready for launch just as consumers start preparing for the season.
Promote Relevant Seasons: Not every season or holiday aligns with every brand or product. Ensure your agency's seasonal messaging aligns with the products, services, goals, and overall mission you're promoting.
Piggyback on Seasonal Engagement: Engage with relevant audiences and align with seasonal content. Cultivate relationships with new and interested audiences to drive interest and action during peak seasonal growth.
Analyze Past Campaigns: Monitor all seasonal marketing efforts and analyze metrics after each campaign concludes. Use these insights to refresh your seasonal messaging for more targeted and effective assets in the future.
Diversify Media Assets: Avoid limiting your efforts to one type of media. Consider how your business can integrate seasonal advertising across multiple channels and platforms to maximize your reach.