As spooky season approaches, we’re collating some halloween marketing ideas to help you make an impact with your next campaign.
You might be wondering why this is such an important time, but halloween falls just before one of the biggest shopping events on the year.
Black Friday.
For any ecommerce business, planning and preparing effective campaigns is key as consumers are on the hunt for the very best deals. During this shopping bonanza which pretty much lasts the whole of November, consumers are actively trying to find bargains which gives you lots of opportunities to get your product in front of them.
This is especially important in todays current financial climate made worse by things such as the cost of living. This pushes customers to seeking even better deals and discounts as they want to save big.
However, this season creeps up on you quicker than you might expect, so pay attention to our halloween marketing ideas below to help you capitalise on this surge in demand.
Why You Shouldn't Ignore Halloween For Your Marketing
Did you know that Halloween is one of the biggest shopping events of the year?
A major driver of this spending surge is the increase in Halloween-related content. YouTube reports a 31% rise in viewership for such content, providing businesses with a prime opportunity to connect with potential customers through targeted marketing campaigns.
As we mentioned in the intro, Halloween also falls just before Black Friday. There’s also Cyber Monday too which follows closely and extends the shopping frenzy. This means that by leveraging the excitement generated by Halloween, businesses can promote their products and lead into the rush.
Here are some other reasons why marketing during Halloween is key:
- Brand visibility: Heightened consumer activity during Halloween allows businesses to reach a bigger audience, creating lasting impressions that translate into customer loyalty.
- Seasonal promotions: Halloween gives businesses a chance to launch themed promotions or discounts to boost sales during this competitive shopping period.
- More insights into customers: Analysing customer behaviour over the Halloween period provides insights into preferences and trends, informing future marketing strategies for upcoming seasonal events.
Halloween marketing is about building long-term relationships by strategically positioning your business during this season, improving visibility and driving more sales.
Halloween Marketing Ideas & Top Tips
From testing campaigns early to adding some scarily good discounts to your products/ services, we’re helping you take advantage of increased customer demand.
Take a look at our halloween marketing ideas and top tips below.
Start Testing and Optimising Now To Avoid Scary Surprises
Before heading into the Halloween and Black Friday season, refine your marketing strategy and start testing now.
You don’t want to enter peak season without understanding how your marketing campaigns are working or if they’re contributing towards your business goals. It’s like launching a new product on your online store without knowing what it is, how it works, or even if your customers will like it.
Launching a new marketing campaign that you have limited knowledge about can lead to it underperforming meaning you could loose out on important sales.
For example, if you run paid campaigns and you’re trying something new with Google Ads, they are lots of campaign types that can help you achieve different goals. This means it’s important that you understand the products that are going to work for your business before heading into peak season.
When testing something new, analyse the results to identify what works and what doesn’t ahead of time. This allows you to focus your marketing efforts on campaigns that generate the best results.
Add Spooky-Themed Deals and Discounts
Halloween gives you the perfect opportunity to offer themed discounts that align with the holiday spirit and capture people’s interest during this season.
Consider using simple slogans such as “scarily good deals” as this this plays into the halloween theme and grabs attention. You could also give away limited-time bundles or freebies for orders made on or around Halloween.
This allows you to capitalise on an audience who are more engaged in seasonal content around this time. It also adds some humour and personality to your brand which is an effective tool when connecting with your audience.
Get Creative On Social
Customers love a Halloween-themed social media contest as who doesn’t like the idea of winning a freebie?
You could ask your followers to share their Halloween costumes or spooky home decorations and offer a prize in return. Again, this another great way to connect with your audience on a more playful level, rather than them just viewing your brand as a distant source.
You can also increase your reach on social media through likes and comments, and you can collect user-generated content that can be shared in future campaigns.
Include Halloween-Themed Subject Lines In Emails
Trying to stand out when it comes to email marketing can be tricky, as consumers receive so many emails every day.
One way to make an impact is by giving your email subject lines a Halloween twist. For example phrases such as “Trick or Treat Yourself to These Spooky Savings” or “Our Scariest Deals Yet—Only Available Until Midnight!” can grab attention and increase email open rates.
To make sure your emails are a success, align the content inside with the theme for a cohesive, spooky experience that guides customers through to your website.
Don’t Upload Content At The Last Minute
Although you might not be launching your marketing campaigns until Black Friday, this shouldn’t be your deadline for getting your content finalised and uploaded to the relevant platforms.
We recommend finalising and uploading content 1-2 weeks before you want to launch. For example in the context of Google Ads, it can take twice as long for content to be reviewed because there is a significant increase in advertisers uploading new ads to the platform for Halloween and Black Friday.
The last thing you want is to spend time meticulously refining your beautiful, glossy image and video content only for it to be stuck in the approval stage when your deadline hits.
Avoid Conflicting Cross-Channel Messaging
Choose your offering and messaging and stick to it.
This means that each piece of content you create for each of your marketing channels (PPC, social, email etc.) should be communicating the same message.
This might seem simple, but many businesses find themselves in pitfalls when their messaging becomes conflicting, muddled or unclear when they start adapting their content for their different platforms.
We all know that our customers consume content across lots of channels, so they’ll most likely see your ads across multiple platforms.
For instance, they might see your ad when they’re scrolling on their social media, and then again when they’re streaming videos on YouTube, and then again when they receive an email from you.
Then if they click on a Google Ad, they’re landing on your website where your messaging also has to follow the same thread. If they find your offerings are unclear or your messaging is conflicting, you could be losing crucial customers.
Don’t Forget Your Website During Peak Season
You can create the best ads with campaign strategies that are fully optimised and a healthy budget, but if your website isn’t providing a smooth customer experience, you could be throwing money down the drain. So make sure your site is working and fully optimised before your campaigns are ready to launch.
Again, this might seem obvious, but when was the last time you put yourself in your customer’s shoes and went through the whole customer journey?
Think of all the different avenues that a user can take on your site before they convert – including all of the pages that your driving users to with your paid ads.
Are there any hurdles along the way that stop users from converting? Are they able to browse products easily and find what they’re looking for? Does it work equally as well on mobile as well as desktop? Is the checkout process smooth or clunky? Identifying and resolving these issues before peak season is crucial.
Halloween Marketing Ideas: Top Tips For Spooky Season
Halloween gives you a chance to get creative with your marketing while tapping into the seasonal excitement.
Customers are actively looking for deals and discounts as they prepare for Black Friday and the upcoming festivities. This means you have a captive audience who are better placed to engage with your offering.
From spooky-themed deals to fun social media contests, there are lots of ways to connect with your audience and make the most of this peak shopping season.
Regardless of what halloween marketing ideas you choose, it’s important to plan ahead, test and optimise your campaigns, and ensure your messaging is consistent across all channels.
If you need any help with your marketing strategy, get in touch with our team! We’ve worked with lots of companies on their seasonal content, ensuring they see great results.
