Mobile-Native Formats for Seasonal Promotions: Strategies to Maximize Holiday Sales

It’s almost that time of the year! The holiday season with all its beauty brings joy to many and is very important, if not crucial, for businesses of all sizes. At that time people are more likely to spend and buy the perfect gifts for their dearests or themselves. So, naturally, that is the time for online businesses, like e-commerce to thrive and maximize their sales.

The question is: How to do that? How can you maximize holiday sales and get the most out of seasonal promotions? One is for sure — among many tactics, mobile-native formats stand out for many reasons which we will explain in this blog post and go into further detail to explore the key strategies.

How you can make sure to maximize holiday sales using mobile-native formats

There are many ways to leverage mobile-native. Whether we’re talking about web or in-app stories, the possibilities are limitless. Whether those are single-image stories, shorts, ads, or snaps — engagement rates are guaranteed. We mentioned many things here, so let’s explore all of those formats and how you can make use of them for the purpose of increasing your holiday sales.

Why exactly mobile-native?

First of all, let’s answer that question. It all has to do with habits in the modern era… People’s behaviour as complex as it is, can be studied. It has been studied constantly and intensively since the twenties of the 20^th century, and partly it always remains an enigma. Anyways, for the purpose of this blog post, it is important to note that human behavior has drastically changed during the last two decades.

The emergence of new technologies has had an effect on that, and the way that we have received and perceived those also impacted further changes. One is for sure — we are so accustomed to new media that a single day cannot go by without us using technology. Smartphones are glued to our hands, and that isn’t a bad thing (how it is usually described). Our senses and minds have expanded with the help of new media and we cannot change the course of time, and why should we if it has made our lives easier?

So, these abovementioned are the reasons why mobile-native is the go-to option when trying to reach the audience of the 21^st century. It is oftentimes easier to get the message across when you use the channel your target is accustomed to. Furthermore, that is one of the basic principles in marketing — to study the places the market segment you're trying to reach can be found, the channels they use, and the way they consume content and inform themselves.

How exactly to make use of mobile-native formats during holiday sales

Now the pragmatic part — what mobile-native formats will suit your business the best and how to properly use them? That is a good question when we’re talking about seasonal promotions, but in general too. Well, there are many formats to choose from. When and how to use each, we will explain next by going over some of the stages your, at first potential and later definite, customer goes through.

Catch the attention of your target

Firstly, there’s the awareness stage, which is the stage of a promotion where you try to get the attention of your target. During the holiday season, traffic is increased and information clutters the communication channels. That is the moment for stories to shine! A quick, eye-catching snippet can do miracles. Short and sweet mobile-native short formats won’t overwhelm your audience but are enough to grab their attention and get your message across. It is all about making the right thumbnail — the first story of a widget (a set of stories displayed on your app or website).

That first story should be made with the viewer in mind. It should be noticeable, with an aesthetic note to it, and above all — appealing to the target audience! To know how to make such a story, you should know your audience very well. Market research is key here! Then it is easy to know what would draw the attention of your desired market segment, what will make them stop and take a look at your content, and what they are generally interested in. When you have all this information it will be easy to make stories to their liking.

Make your ads equally appealing as regular content

Seems impossible, right? Well, when you combine stories and native advertising that becomes very much possible!

Unlike those overwhelming types of ads that are pushed into people’s faces, native advertising is a form of paid media that blends in with its surrounding content, making it appear as a natural part of the user experience. StorifyMe Ads enable non-disruptive, consistent mobile-native content where ads can stand out by their interestingness and not by how they’re not aligned with your regular content.

They’re intended to match and better the user experience of the platform, making it less interruptive even though they’re presented with something that can fulfill their customer needs. That way people don’t have to search for the perfect product too long. With just a glance they can see the characteristics of your product or get the gist of your service. Moreover, your business doesn’t have to spend too much time on making appealing ad content, there are platforms that can help you make a mobile-native ad within moments. Also, you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to get such software if you choose the right platform to use.

Shorts are the go-to for a seasonal promotion

Short video formats have gained popularity not by accident. Easily produced, inexpensive, and with high engagement levels, short-form videos are one of the best marketing tools for many reasons. As hypnotizing as they are, they are the ideal way for you to carry out your seasonal promotion. What better way to promote your sales than to utilize the most life-like format for communicating with your audience?

It is so important to build brand awareness, and even more to maintain a good image. Your customers' trust in your brand is one of the most important aspects to pay attention to. This is crucial during the holiday season. It is paramount to represent your business's values in its authenticity. The best way to do that is to show the faces behind the brand and how your staff prepares for the holiday season. Nearly real, face-to-face interaction can build the trust needed for seasonal promotions.

Let the festive spirit help you out

It is a joyful time, and people are in the mood to share with each other and strengthen their community connections. Just that you can make use of by leveraging user-generated content (UGC). Here are some important facts that you have to take into consideration if you’d like to build a community of your own. Firstly, your customers have the need to be seen. If you are open to their needs and actively work on fulfilling them, they will gladly support you. Secondly, people love to give their opinions on various topics. That is, only if those are relevant to the audience in question. And if your brand truly values their opinions and If their views are valued as important, they’d love to participate.

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Now, how can you make this happen when you know the basic principles? Thankfully, there are Snaps — they allow your users to make UGC in a mobile-native format, in a story format. What better time for your audience to snap the moment than the holiday season when everything is shiny and sparkly? It is on you to make the best setting for UGC. Bring the holiday spirit into your business whether it is the online surrounding of your platforms or a physical one. Make sure that it can be found within your product and the seasonal promotion. Such will lead to your customers making UGC that can be shared within the community. UGC is a great way to promote your products or services and snaps especially because of their mobile-native format. And with all of this being said, you should definitely make UGC an active part of a broader marketing strategy and focus on it while having holiday sales.

The More the Merrier

Let’s have a quick recap. We have gone over some tactics and basics of strategies you can use this holiday season. Also, we included the explanation for mobile-native being the prevalent format which you should pay attention to.

We talked about the ways to establish your brand and gain the trust of your target audience. There can Shorts and Snaps (a UGC format) be very useful. It's very important to be familiar with the ways in which you can connect with your users and how to draw the attention of your customers to your sale. Given the information overload during the holiday season, your marketing strategy should be focused on using stories and utilizing mobile-native advertising.

Then, what are the key takeaways? People are used to glamour that time of the year. We all expect decoration and that everything is exaggerated. You should find the right balance between that — the holiday spirit, and on the other hand — the seamless approach. But, one is guaranteed to have a great outcome: don't hold back on ideas and try out new things! Experiment with mobile-native formats. Integrate different strategies. Combine the market search results in various ways to get the best insights so that you can make the most of your seasonal promotion and maximize holiday sales.