Five Digital Marketing Trends For The Festive Season

  Amidst celebrations, individuals are happy to spend substantially more than they would on regular days. This directly converts into enormous opportunities that brands can explore by strategically redesigning their marketing plans. It is 2020 and the power of social media and the requirement for brands to refocus their strategies through digital means has already been established. Along with the trio of food, fun and family, the festive season also brings fresh trends that brands can explore to give their marketing strategies a boost.

#Discount, discount and More discount

Undoubtedly the primary way to entice customers is through discounts. Although consumers already have a clear buying intent, they will be more inclined towards brands with better offers and maximum discounts. Leading brands like Amazon, Myntra, Flipkart have already announced their annual festive sales, almost a month before the festival actually begins. Marketers must closely audit consumer patterns, buyers’ personas, prospective buyers, cart abandoners and purchase signals. They could then use tools like Google in market, Google AdSense, etcetera to remarket to the target audience and may also send customised advertisements to re-lure them.

#People want more? Innovate.

Discounts and sales are a very common incentive used by every brand. Giving your services an innovative twist is the key to being more lucrative. Amazon came up with a special offer whereby festive goers could order last minute items they had overlooked earlier and Amazon promised to deliver it that same weekend with no additional cost. Businesses can also take a step further and turn into part-time bankers to lure in more sales. They can provide financial offers such as EMI’s on expensive purchases like television, laptops; down payment options; buy back options and others. E-commerce businesses like Amazon and Flipkart have accelerated their sales by broadening their payment options.

#Go Local

One way to fuel up your marketing efforts would be by connecting with the audience on a deeper level. A cultural-brand connect is a smart and personalised way to interact with the audience. If you genuinely want to join in the festive celebrations with your audience, it is important to speak their language. Going local and communicating with vernacular content is sure to make a great impact. Pantaloons customised its advertisements for its Bengali viewers- ‘Pujo maanei Pantaloons’. Pantaloons got talking to its consumers with a digital montage capturing a perfect blend of the Pujo sentiment and brand offers.

#Campaigns

The festive season is the perfect time for brands to switch up their social media plan. Brands could launch a campaign keeping in mind the celebratory mood and their target audience. They could use appropriate hashtags, run contests and conduct giveaways. Cadbury captured the merry mood in its #BadiFamilyBadiDiwali where the brand encouraged the audience to capture and share moments with their big family and incentivised them with an opportunity to be featured in an outdoor advertisement. Anil Viswanathan, the marketing director commented, “Over the years, Cadbury Celebrations has become synonymous to festivities in India. With an aim to reinstate the joy of gifting, we are encouraging the audience to celebrate festivals and share delightful moments with their loved ones because happiness shared is happiness multiplied.”

#SOS Influencers

Brands may have neglected the impact of social media influencers earlier but they must hop into the bandwagon during the festivities. Partnering with content creators may seem like an overdone trend but the reach capabilities of these influencers is unparalleled. Moreover, getting influencers on board with your campaign can further extend your audience base. HDFC Bank along with its marketing agency Kinnect executed ‘Make Every #WishComeTrue with #HDFCBankFestiveTreats’. With this strategy the brand got in touch with trendsetters on Instagram who were promoting other brands and capitalised on these advertisements. Almost every sponsored ad by Instagram influencers was followed by a HDFC story on how to purchase that product with a HDFC offer. Like the chief marketing officer, Ravi Santhanam said, “An Ad for and ad. This campaign is an ingenious way to create brand affinity and talkability amidst the over-cluttered festive space on digital. All our marketing efforts focus on being native and non-intrusive to users. This campaign did just that through the clever takeover of Instagram through influencers.”

So, is your business ready for the festive season? Following these trends would surely guide your business to build an alluring marketing strategy.

Three Ways To Revive Your Business Amidst COVID

As upsetting as it may sound, it took an entire pandemic for businesses to begin focussing on relationships over social media. Brands have recognized the volatile situation in the post-COVID or post-lockdown scenario where the internet still seems to be the only space not bound to quarantine. “We are witnessing what will surely be remembered as a historic deployment of remote work and digital access to services across every domain,” remarked one tech CEO. With no apparent cure to the virus, times may seem hopeless but the new normal brings new opportunities to explore.

  • Recheck your goal

The new normal demands a new course of action. Campaigns that would have otherwise been a hit will probably be a miss now. It is time that brands recheck their goals and create a fresh mindset. An adequate plan to action with steps to resolve and reimagine their business model will not only place businesses in a better position to confront the challenges but also explore the upcoming opportunities. The most favourable move as stated by McKinsey would be, “action over research, and testing over analysis.”

 The most important change that all businesses must incorporate is shifting to e-commerce. This shift was inevitable but the virus has hastened the process. “Every business is now a technology business, and what matters most is a deep understanding of the customer, which is enabled by technology,” remarked a retail CEO. Adaptability is the key and companies must be quick to adapt to the digital platforms and come up with digital solutions. For some retailers, it may mean coming up with a smooth e-business experience, enabling clients to explore, research, purchase, return and avail all other services over the internet. For the aviation industry, it would include enabling safety measure with contactless and possibly online check-in, boarding and other experiences.

  •  Optimism is the Key

It is only natural that in such trying times, people seek positivity and upliftment. More mindfulness and empathy are expected from businesses rather than being insensitive opportunists. One would expect that as opposed to depending on product push strategies, brands will incline toward sympathetic communication. It is unethical to exploit the situation, hoard and sell essential goods. Brands must reach out to their audience and offer clear and systematic method of how the current situation will affect the manner in which they avail your products/services. The easiest channel to address any myths or rumours and communicate supportive words is digital platforms. A number of brands have launched missions to support the ones in need. Offering back to the society is truly a positive development and with social media platforms these charitable acts reach out to a larger base of people. Providing aid in whichever way it relates to your business will surely leave an impact.

Audiences are definitely avoiding anything related to risks, infections and sanitizers. Instead are looking to cheer up with fresh positive content. John Krasinski’s YouTube series ‘Some Good News’ had over 70 million views in mid-May. As the actor himself puts it, “It was so much fun to celebrate good things during this really weird time.” A digital marketing strategy incorporating optimism is sure to go a long way.

  • Create a community

With no social contact, people are desperate to connect with others in any way possible. A digital community allows brands to connect with their consumers on a deeper level. Google trends shows a spike in ‘watch party’ searches since mid-March which further shows people’s desire to connect with each other. Marketers would do well if they can create a community with innovative content. It would generate comforting spirits and overcome the feeling of loneliness during tough times. Statistics by Marketing Dive show that 42% of the millennials are “bored” and looking for content described as “fun”. Marketers must explore innovative ways to engage with the community rather than being a constant reminder of the morose circumstances.

There is an abundance of technological facilities on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Zoom, Google and LinkedIn that brands can utilise to connect with the audience. Collaborating with popular content creators over these digital platforms has become a popular trend. Many restaurants have come up with virtual cooking classes and tutorials. Sharing recipes and live cooking shows is a wonderful way to engage with the audience. Although gyms have reopened, many are still not willing to enter a gym. This apprehension may continue until a vaccine is developed. However, many fitness institutions have come up virtual training sessions and yoga classes over Zoom.

 In moments of crisis, what genuinely matters becomes clearer- health. Although the economy has started to recover and business operations have already begun, adequate safety measures must be kept in mind which still involves social surveillance. Social media marketing remains effective during this time of crisis and will also remain at the forefront of post COVID. If you are a business unable to cope with the circumstances, now is the best time to hire a professional digital marketing agency.

Contact us and learn how we can help you scale up 🙂

Social Media Marketing & COVID19!

Unless you are living under a rock, you already know about COVID. With physical contact not being an option to socialize, the only mode of communication that is left is social media. The Akamai reports show a 30% increase in global internet usage. Although the lockdown has been lifted in most of the countries around the world, statistics show that we are still spending more time on social media as compared to the beginning of 2020. As mentioned in Forbes by Kathleen Bisset, social media director at SSPR, “Social advertising is one of the most effective ways to drive traffic to your website, and becomes easier by the day with social platforms’ ever-evolving targeting abilities.” The pandemic has made all advertisers re-evaluate the sort of campaigns that they run.

Problem? WhatsApp.

Social media has come to the frontline as the major platform for customer communication and building relationships with the customers. In the situation of lockdown and even post lockdown when face to face interactions is still risky, it becomes a major hindrance for companies to provide assistance to their consumers. Samsung came through by providing customer support, tracking and repairing services over WhatsApp. Moreover, it came up with various online consultancies and solved approximately 70,000 queries.

Do you still stream offline?

One of the major changes that is expected in the future is the decline in pay-tv advertisements. With the advent of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, television consumption is declining at a rapid rate. Netflix got 16 million fresh registrations, which is nearly twice as much as it had seen towards the end of 2019. On the other hand, India’s leading pay-tv service Tata sky lost 15 lakh users. It is evident that the future of pay- tv is jeopardised. Along with this, tv style advertising may also be in jeopardy but it is far from being extinct since most of these offline tv channels are shifting online, the most recent and popular is Zee5.

Just do it right

Undoubtedly the sales of many companies have reduced. However, companies have tried to maintain their image through social media. Nike took the lead here when it made its Nike Training Club free for all users. The application which previously costed approximately 120 dollars per annum was made completely free to all under Nike’s “play inside, play for the world” advertisement. Nike gained 25 million new members and half of these have converted to customers accelerating its online sales. As Heidi O’Neill, President of Nike’s Marketplace, says “converting sweats to sales”. Although it does not cover Nike’s usual sales, it definitely builds a relationship that will boost future growth. Nike didn’t just do it, it did it right.

Influence with Influencers

 The best way to engage with the maximum number of users is through social media influencers. These content creators have strong bonds with their followers and majorly impact the buying decisions of the viewers. The effort of developing a devoted base of followers is already been done by these influencers and brands can directly take advantage of it. About two-third of advertisers have increased their spending on promotion through influencers. E-commerce, fashion, beauty, gaming and lifestyle industries have all collaborated with creators to market their products or services. Instagram has proven to be the most influential channel during this pandemic where over 1 billion sponsored posts are shared by millions of influencers. Covid-19 has made influencers even more influential.

Freelancer: to be or not to be

With millions unemployed around the world, freelancing has become popular. Since mid-March, Upwork, an American freelancing platform, has seen 50% jump in new registrations. However, spurt in freelancers has also led to decrease in charges. Moreover, many businesses have tried to cut down their expenses by cutting off freelancers or putting a hold to their contract. After surveying 1000 freelancers, Payoneer reports stated almost 32% have said that work has declined, 23% said it has remained the same and 17% said demand has risen. The same survey reports show that 53% are optimistic that demand will increase in the future especially when remote work is favoured.

Times are difficult and businesses are not doing very well. However, social media marketing is definitely the tool to help you pick up the rubbles and rebuild something stronger and better.

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Email Marketing

When, while the lovely valley teems with vapor around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees, and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by me: when I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and grow familiar with the countless indescribable forms of the insects and flies, then I feel the presence of the Almighty, who formed us in his own image, and the breath of that universal love which bears and sustains us, as it floats around us in an eternity of bliss; and then, my friend, when darkness overspreads my eyes, and heaven and earth seem to dwell in my soul and absorb its power, like the form of a beloved mistress, then I often think with longing, Oh, would I could describe these conceptions, could impress upon paper all that is living so full and warm within me, that it might be the mirror of my soul, as my soul is the mirror of the infinite God!

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Mobile Phone Advertising

When, while the lovely valley teems with vapor around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees, and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by me: when I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and grow familiar with the countless indescribable forms of the insects and flies, then I feel the presence of the Almighty, who formed us in his own image, and the breath of that universal love which bears and sustains us, as it floats around us in an eternity of bliss; and then, my friend, when darkness overspreads my eyes, and heaven and earth seem to dwell in my soul and absorb its power, like the form of a beloved mistress, then I often think with longing, Oh, would I could describe these conceptions, could impress upon paper all that is living so full and warm within me, that it might be the mirror of my soul, as my soul is the mirror of the infinite God!

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Influencer Marketing

When, while the lovely valley teems with vapor around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees, and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by me: when I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and grow familiar with the countless indescribable forms of the insects and flies, then I feel the presence of the Almighty, who formed us in his own image, and the breath of that universal love which bears and sustains us, as it floats around us in an eternity of bliss; and then, my friend, when darkness overspreads my eyes, and heaven and earth seem to dwell in my soul and absorb its power, like the form of a beloved mistress, then I often think with longing, Oh, would I could describe these conceptions, could impress upon paper all that is living so full and warm within me, that it might be the mirror of my soul, as my soul is the mirror of the infinite God!

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Affiliate Marketing

When, while the lovely valley teems with vapor around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees, and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by me: when I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and grow familiar with the countless indescribable forms of the insects and flies, then I feel the presence of the Almighty, who formed us in his own image, and the breath of that universal love which bears and sustains us, as it floats around us in an eternity of bliss; and then, my friend, when darkness overspreads my eyes, and heaven and earth seem to dwell in my soul and absorb its power, like the form of a beloved mistress, then I often think with longing, Oh, would I could describe these conceptions, could impress upon paper all that is living so full and warm within me, that it might be the mirror of my soul, as my soul is the mirror of the infinite God!

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Content Marketing

When, while the lovely valley teems with vapor around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees, and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by me: when I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and grow familiar with the countless indescribable forms of the insects and flies, then I feel the presence of the Almighty, who formed us in his own image, and the breath of that universal love which bears and sustains us, as it floats around us in an eternity of bliss; and then, my friend, when darkness overspreads my eyes, and heaven and earth seem to dwell in my soul and absorb its power, like the form of a beloved mistress, then I often think with longing, Oh, would I could describe these conceptions, could impress upon paper all that is living so full and warm within me, that it might be the mirror of my soul, as my soul is the mirror of the infinite God!

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Social Media Marketing

When, while the lovely valley teems with vapor around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees, and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by me: when I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and grow familiar with the countless indescribable forms of the insects and flies, then I feel the presence of the Almighty, who formed us in his own image, and the breath of that universal love which bears and sustains us, as it floats around us in an eternity of bliss; and then, my friend, when darkness overspreads my eyes, and heaven and earth seem to dwell in my soul and absorb its power, like the form of a beloved mistress, then I often think with longing, Oh, would I could describe these conceptions, could impress upon paper all that is living so full and warm within me, that it might be the mirror of my soul, as my soul is the mirror of the infinite God!

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Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

When, while the lovely valley teems with vapor around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees, and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by me: when I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and grow familiar with the countless indescribable forms of the insects and flies, then I feel the presence of the Almighty, who formed us in his own image, and the breath of that universal love which bears and sustains us, as it floats around us in an eternity of bliss; and then, my friend, when darkness overspreads my eyes, and heaven and earth seem to dwell in my soul and absorb its power, like the form of a beloved mistress, then I often think with longing, Oh, would I could describe these conceptions, could impress upon paper all that is living so full and warm within me, that it might be the mirror of my soul, as my soul is the mirror of the infinite God!

O my friend — but it is too much for my strength — I sink under the weight of the splendor of these visions! A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart. I am alone, and feel the charm of existence in this spot, which was created for the bliss of souls like mine.

I am so happy, my dear friend, so absorbed in the exquisite sense of mere tranquil existence, that I neglect my talents. I should be incapable of drawing a single stroke at the present moment; and yet I feel that I never was a greater artist than now.

When, while the lovely valley teems with vapor around me, and the meridian sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees, and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by me: when I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and grow familiar with the countless indescribable forms of the insects and flies, then I feel the presence of the Almighty, who formed us in his own image, and the breath of that universal love which bears and sustains us, as it floats around us in an eternity of bliss; and then, my friend, when darkness overspreads my eyes, and heaven and earth seem to dwell in my soul and absorb its power, like the form of a beloved mistress, then I often think with longing, Oh, would I could describe these conceptions, could impress upon paper all that is living so full and warm within me.