Remember when you were in high school, and your parents and teachers constantly reminded you to plan ahead, avoid procrastination, and get your work done early? As adult professionals, too many of us forget these lessons in early autumn when the holiday season looms. We feel pulled in so many directions year after year, we too often forget that marketing for the holidays actually begins months in advance.

This year, your customers will be more bargain-hungry than ever. According to an eMarketer 2010 report titled Online Holiday Shopping Preview: What Retailers Need to Know, nearly half of American consumers will be comparison shopping and only purchasing gifts that are on sale. And these days, consumers are especially motivated to make online purchases that come with free shipping or special holiday discounts.

But, that doesn’t mean a decrease in sales. In fact, according to a September 2010 article, Deloitte Development has projected a two percent (2%) increase in total domestic retail sales in 2010 compared to last year’s holiday season. In fact, for online sales, an even bigger increase is expected for 2010.

So, take advantage of the buying frenzy by staying ahead of the game with some tips from our experts here at EngineWorks:

1. Push promotions & gift ideas on all your social media channels

Your customers are looking for special offers everywhere during the holiday season, so make sure they find them on your social media profiles. Tempt them with all kinds of creative gift ideas, and they’ll see you as a helpful friend who’s on their side. This is also a good time to overdo it with extra tweets and posts about all your holiday-themed goodies, seasonal promotions, and more.

2. Give your PPC ads a “holiday” theme

Your year-over-year best-sellers should be promoted as gifts right now. Landing pages for your Paid Search ads should feature attractive, festive holiday themes. Choose from your best-performing keywords, and add holiday terms such as “Christmas” and “Hannukkah.”

3. Optimize your holiday content

If your website doesn’t already display fresh holiday content, be sure to create some and optimize it with holiday keywords. Find out which keywords are getting the most buzz and use them to your advantage. Terms like “gift ideas” and “holiday gifts” are always hot at this time of the year.

4. Offer – and advertise – free shipping

You can add your logo to the list of companies and websites that offer free shipping through December 17th, on www.Freeshipping.org and join the likes of Macy’s, Toys ‘R’ Us, Amazon, and many other top retailers. The site’s holiday traffic will undoubtedly have a positive impact on your conversions.

5. Optimize your website for mobile

Is your site ready for mobile customers? Today, more and more people are using mobile to find and buy what they want. Such purchases are increasingly high-end, and more people will buy items in stores that they’ve previously researched online.

So, don’t put off until tomorrow the holiday optimizations you can do today!

Interested in learning more?  Visit engineworks’ website and blog.

Many people think that branding is a logo, a website, and some stationery.  In actuality, branding is the feeling that people have when they come into contact with your business.  It is a combination of your company’s mission statement, core values, principles, philosophies, and reputation.  Your branding identity – the logo, website, etc. – is the imagery that represents your brand.  Branding identity can have a very powerful impact on the emotion of your customers and potential customers.

First Things First

When we are defining our company’s branding identity, we often create a design based on our preferences.  We like red and such our identity becomes a red logo.  Or, the trend color is turquoise and the website becomes turquoise.  The problem with creating branding identity based on these preferences is that it is built on the surface of a business.  This type of identity doesn’t represent what runs deep in our business.

Building Your Brand

Want to build a strong brand that best represents your business?  Sit down and define the following:

• What is your mission statement?
• Who are you?  What is your business about?
• What are you values and your company’s values?
• What do you want to be known for?
• What is your specialty?

From here, work to define the identity that will draw people to your company.  Powerful identity will work to link the customer’s eye with your business inside and out.

Go Beyond Branding Identity

Branding is so much more than your logo, website, and stationery.  It is in the way you answer the phone, the way you dress for a meeting, the way you present your porfolio.  Branding that is carried through all aspects of your business will create a consistent experience for your customer.  It is this consistent experience that makes your brand strong.  These factors are what makes a brand become instantly recognizable and highly valuable.

Wanna learn more?  Visit Sage Wedding Pros’ blog for more on mission statements, values, and branding.