Seasonality has a significant influence on digital marketing; consumers' purchasing habits shift based on the seasons, and your digital marketing strategies should too. Seasonality goes beyond marketing during the holidays - it entails consumer trends and habits, which are vital to online marketing.
Consult Google Trends
Google Trends holds a wealth of information for digital marketers who are looking for information on consumer search behaviors. Google Trends reveal insights into what consumers are searching for, who they are searching for, and when they are searching for it. Marketers can use these insights to pinpoint peak times when their product is trending and use it to their advantage by adjusting paid advertisements and SEO to reach the broadest audience possible.
For example, take the dieting and fitness industry, when is the best time to digitally market your product? You guessed it, the beginning of January when everyone is busy making New Year’s resolutions. By identifying the times in which your target audience is most interested in your product, and adjusting your marketing efforts accordingly, you ensure the greatest exposure for your business, and in turn, an increase in profits.
Plan ahead
Consider your product and the time it takes a consumer to make the decision to purchase the product. Certain products take a considerable amount of time and forethought before consumers will make a purchase. Take for example the difference in time it takes a customer to purchase a boat versus a swimsuit. Both are used during the summer, but the risk involved in buying an item as expensive as a boat means the customer will have a longer decision-making process. Therefore, the boat must be marketed well before the swimsuit is due to the increase in the decision-making time.
Consider costs
The peak marketing season for your product may also mean an increase in advertising costs. If you are in retail, for example, during the holiday season, the cost of online advertising and pay per click views increases because you are competing with other advertisers for those clicks and website views. Although the internet may appear to have unlimited space for every retailer who wishes to join, front page real estate is limited and expensive. This means marketers must take into consideration the rise in advertising costs during the peak seasons for their product and adjust their budget accordingly.
Marketers can capitalize on their niche by adhering to the tips above and developing a seasonal marketing strategy that caters to their specific product. Tracking the ebb and flow of your consumers' buying season will give you a great place to start the following year. At KJMdigital, we track these metrics to ensure our strategy leads you to higher profitability.
Hannah Jackson is a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University. She currently lives in Drammen, Norway and is a regular contributor to the Digital Millennial. Visit her on LinkedIn to connect!
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