Calling all service-based businesses! Christmas is just around the corner and we’re here to help you develop your Christmas advertising strategy! With COVID-19, Australians are planning ahead sooner than normal this year so it’s even more important you devise a plan ASAP. 

It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day of running your business that prioritising a marketing strategy for this time of year can easily be forgotten. Most service-based businesses think that they don’t need a marketing plan for the holidays. This is simply not true. During the Christmas and New Year Holidays, most people are on a break from work, they are online more than usual and with our mobile phones and smartwatches literally attached to us, they are consuming content and advertising material all the time. 

Further to this, with the impacts of COVID-19 this year, people are planning for Christmas a lot earlier than usual, their holiday plans will look a lot different to other years and therefore businesses need to cater to this change in the market. Here are our best tips for service-based businesses for this period

Google Ads

Google Ads are powerful for service-based businesses. There are many campaign types you can implement with Google Ads. The main campaign you need to have active is a keyword-based campaign using the Google Search Network. This type of campaign is based on keywords relating to your services. When people are looking for your service via Google, your ads will be triggered and appear to these users.

Depending on the service you offer, demand might increase or fall during the Christmas period. If demand increases, then you should make sure you look at your impression share and increase your budget and bids to help maximise this metric. If demand decreases, this is not a reason to stop advertising. You still need to be advertising to get in front of those people who are searching, it just means your search volume and ad spend will be less than normal.

If you’re closing during the Christmas/New Year period, it’s still worthwhile having your ads active. A lot of your potential clients expect businesses to be closed during this time. It doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t search for your service or even enquire about it. This is a great time to start building a pipeline of leads for 2021.

Use your ad text to explain if you are open or closed, and make sure your landing pages and website also reflect this information. This will make the user experience much more congruent and pleasant.

Facebook Ads

Facebook campaigns are a great way to attract new customers and also re-engage existing customers. This is the platform to advertise on to make the most of the extra time people will be on their mobile devices. 

Branding campaigns are an excellent choice, as people might not necessarily need your services at that point, but an ad that they find valuable will help improve brand awareness and potentially increase engagement on your Business Facebook Page or website. 

Video ads are more effective than regular image ads - they have much higher reach and more engagement, giving you a better bang for your buck. If you have a video for your business, use it! If not, there are many tools and apps that can create these for you. Need a hand with it? Get in touch and we’d be happy to point you in the right direction.

Anyone that engages with your videos, ads, Business page or website can be remarketed to via more Facebook ads, so by having any ads active over Christmas and New Year you’re helping your 2021 marketing efforts by building a list of potential warmer prospects.

To make an even bigger impact, you could secure leads for 2020 by running a lead generation campaign through Facebook. You can do this by offering something of value (for example, a discount, a free consultation, an e-book) to these people in exchange for their personal contact details. This works even if you are closing up for the holiday period.



Website

Make sure your website clearly states your movements over the Christmas period. If COVID-19 has taught us anything, communication is crucial to maintain a positive experience. Ensure you are in control of the expectations you set for your customers. If you’re open, make it clear as it will avoid confusion. Use it to stand out from the competition if your industry generally closes up over this period (or the ones that didn’t make any updates at all to their site).

If you’re closed, make sure you specify the dates that you will be unavailable. Set expectations on response times to ensure that potential leads aren’t deterred from making contact. People won’t mind enquiring if they know you are on holiday and will get a response in the new year. They almost expect it.

Conclusion

People spend more time online during the Christmas and New Year period. This means it is a key time to advertise your services regardless of whether you are “on holidays” or not. You can generate business for now and/or the year ahead.

Get ahead of the competition by implementing our campaign recommendations. If you’re not advertising you’re simply missing out on exposure to your potential clients. If you need assistance with any of these campaigns please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team here.