Roughly half the world is on social media. Almost 3.8 billion people use social media in 2020. Once you’re online, you have the power to target markets like you never could before. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, and even TikTok are frequented by millions of users every day. A #Hashtag campaign is an inexpensive yet extremely useful way to market your brand to millions of users. If you plan your online marketing strategy correctly, then launching a successful hashtag campaign isn’t as hard as you may think.

You could own a small business, and maybe you’re trying to expand your market reach and influence online. Your business could also be well-established and capable of launching large advertising campaigns. Irrespective of this, social media marketing is necessary if you want to survive in the contemporary business environment.

Hashtags are simple unspaced words, always placed next to a ‘#’. Ex: #WonderfulWednesday, #TravelTips etc.

On social media channels, these are used as hyperlinks that lead to aggregates of information. The subject of the information is the same as the text on the hashtag. So, if you were to clock on a hashtag that said #HappyCaturday, you’re very likely to find thousands of content pages on cats.

Businesses have already begun to realize the massive potential that hashtag campaigns can have. In an era where every brand is especially dedicating time and space to developing social media strategies, you can’t fall behind.

Hashtags create links to easily searchable information. It’s a great way for businesses to launch new products, gain consumer insights, and develop customer engagement and loyalty.

Before you can sit down to strategize on your social media digital campaign, you need to gather data. Research your competitors to see what they’re doing online. What kind of social media strategies are they employing? Have these been effective for them? did they created any hashtag campaigns? And were they successful?

Knowing what your competition is doing helps you learn from their successes while avoiding their pitfalls. At the same time, there’s other information you should be thoroughly researching – and that’s about your brand.

Pore through influencer social media accounts, blogs, YouTube accounts and online articles to gauge what the online commentary about your brand is. If you’re still a small and upcoming business, don’t fret! This just means that you have to build a hashtag campaign around increasing your followers.

But if there is an online conversation happening about your brand, then you need to know about it. If you can isolate the keywords that are being used about your brand, then these could make for great hashtags later on. For example, if someone refers to your products as ‘so totally sustainable’, you can use that to create a hashtag called ‘#sosustainable’ for your brand.

Social media is relevant when it comes to target marketing nearly 50% of millennials and 42% of Gen Z. Online marketing is the easiest way to generate traction and increase conversions today.

Once you’ve gathered your data, the next step is to determine which social media platform should be right for you. The platforms your target market frequents will differ from brand to brand. If your business deals with other businesses, then LinkedIn is where you need to place your focus.

If you want to target the Baby Boomers, then Facebook can help you. Facebook is also great for targeting a specific audience that gets to see your ads. Instagram and Twitter are where Millennials and Gen Z frequent. These are also great places to sell direct-to-consumer products.

It’s expensive, time-consuming and largely moot to try and make a social media account on every major channel. Instead, place your focus on specific social media platforms.

Your hashtag campaign should include influencers as well as your key marketing partners.

Nearly 49% of consumers revealed that they take into consideration what their favorite social media influencers say when making purchasing decisions.

The hashtags themselves should be created keeping certain things in mind:

• Keep it small.
• Make it emotive.
• Choose something that represents your brand.
• Be original.

You don’t want to pick a hashtag that’s too generic, otherwise, it may already be popularly used for something else. Using a hashtag that’s too unique poses problems as well. Your hashtag could be hard to remember, leading to less engagement and an eventual fadeout for your campaign.

Go for a short and catchy hashtag. The more fun, the better. And finally, decide why you’re creating the hashtag campaign.

• Are you trying to launch a product?
• Are you trying to gain followers?
• Are you trying to develop customer loyalty and engagement?

Your online marketing strategy should be aimed at reaching a certain target. Without a target in mind, your hashtag campaign may not provide real results.

Hashtags can be used in various ways, from selling a particular product to creating an online contest. The more consistent you are in creating content relevant to your hashtag, the more traction and customer engagement you’ll witness.

71% of consumers who have a positive experience with a brand on social media report that they’re likely to recommend that brand to friends and family. This is exactly the kind of exposure you want if you’re looking to expand your consumer base while developing customer engagement and loyalty.

A good way to start off your hashtag campaign is to ask influencers and your content marketing partners to promote your hashtag. Look for influencers who have a large following and are also likely to use your products.

You can also create a hashtag campaign around your products. Ask your consumers to post a picture or video of them using your product and to use your hashtag on it. You can also include a giveaway where a lucky winner gets a great reward. These are some ways to launch your hashtag campaign on social media.

The final step comes after the hashtag campaign itself. Throughout the campaign, you’ve been consistent with making quality posts regularly, replying to customers as soon as you could, and even participating in conversations around your hashtag. Now it’s time to analyze the results.

Use metrics and analytics to gain insights on how successful your hashtag campaign was. Did you gain new followers? Increase conversions? And your hashtag campaign have any bearing on sales and purchases?

This information will help you develop future hashtag campaigns. Many of the tools you need are already available through these social media platforms itself. Look at the numbers and if there’s a noticeable difference after the hashtag campaign, you know your online marketing strategy worked!

The Chinese New Year is the perfect time for seasonal marketing. Chinese consumers spent around $149 billion in 2019, and the number is only on the rise with each passing year.

Online marketing and seasonal advertising ideas will help you take advantage of the season and rake in the same profits that many big businesses already do. Brands like Gucci and Apple regularly use seasonal marketing to reap the harvests of the Chinese New Year.

What is the Chinese New Year?

The Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival, is roughly a two-week celebration that takes place at the beginning of spring.

The strong tradition of gift-giving and merriment makes the Chinese New Year an unmissable seasonal marketing opportunity for any business.

Create an online marketing strategy that’ll help you increase sales during the next Chinese New Year!

10 Seasonal Marketing Ideas for the Chinese New Year

Your seasonal marketing ideas for the Chinese New Year must be carefully drafted not to affect the cultural sensibilities of the Chinese citizens. To do this, you must integrate the traditional customs of the Lunar New Year with your own seasonal marketing strategy.

Here are ten good marketing ideas for the Lunar New Year:

The Lunar New Year is all about tradition and family. Your content marketing strategy should make use of these feelings of home and warmth to market to the audience. Apple does this very well. Every year, they release a digital advertisement that focuses on a story the people can resonate with.

Pros: 

• Keep customers happy.
• Showcase brand awareness about the Lunar New Year.
• Specifically target people looking to purchase products during the Lunar New Year.

Cons: 

• Potential to hurt sensibilities if done wrong.
• Collaterals from digital marketing campaigns can only be used once.

When people travel to their homes during the Chinese New Year, it’s known as ‘Chunyun’. It typically takes place a few days to a few weeks before the Chinese New Year begins. This is a time where you can take advantage of the increased spending in retail shopping, especially among expats.

Pros: 

• More people who celebrate Lunar Year are online, increasing the number of the target audience.
• Potential to increase brand visibility.

Cons: 

• People are busy and looking through multiple options.
• Less lead conversions despite heavy traffic.

Integrate the animal the year is themed after in your branding. In 2020, it was the ‘Year of the Rat’. Brands were quick to bring in the famous Mickey and Minnie Mouse to celebrate the year, a great example of seasonal marketing ideas that are relevant and enhance the customer experience.

Pros: 

• Potential to create viral content.
• Increases engagement with customers.

 Cons: 

• Unless you have a deep knowledge of the zodiac animal and Chinese traditions, it’s best to stick to simple concept designs.

During the Lunar New Year, families gift younger members with ‘lucky money’ in red envelopes. Red and gold are considered the symbolic colors of this festival. A simple way to include the Chinese New Year colors into your marketing campaign is by introducing a ‘limited season only packaging’ with red packaging for products. You can even add the option of a gold bow or other decoration. This will really enhance the customer experience.

Pros: 

• People will immediately associate the colors with the Chinese New Year.
• Is advertising in itself as it shows consumers that your brand is also celebrating the Lunar Year.
• Improves customer engagement and builds brand loyalty.

Cons: 

• Can be confused with Christmas if you only use red packaging. A gold accent can make all the difference.

The Chinese youth are also known as big spenders. In recent years, healthy lifestyles and sustainable living have become popular. Not only that, the youth enjoy gifting themselves as well. This is different from older generations who retain a more conservative and community-oriented approach to celebrating. Understand your target market so you can sell to them better.

Pros: 

• The younger demographic spends more on themselves.
• They also tend to be more loyal to brands they like.

 Cons: 

• Missing out on the other demographics.
• Gift buying in bulk for large groups of people absent.

According to the China Internet Report, China has over 904 million internet users. That makes the country and its citizens largely digital. Introduce international shipping, as well as free shipping above a certain checkout amount, to encourage more people to buy from you.

Pros: 

• Gain new customers.
• Compete against local Chinese brands.

Cons: 

• Low return on investment unless the order value is enough to justify free shipping.

Your social media strategy shouldn’t be restricted to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. When it comes to China, the platforms WeChat and Weibo are the most important. At the same time, Chinese nationals living in other countries often use Facebook and Twitter. The Lunar New Year is also a major celebration in places like Singapore, Hong Kong, and many others. That’s why your social media strategy should be two-pronged – one for those celebrating inside China and another for those celebrating outside the country.

Pros: 

• Communicate with millions of Chinese customers.
• Specifically target Chinese customers.

Cons: 

• Good knowledge of Mandarin as well as Cantonese Chinese required. Mainland China speaks Mandarin, and places like Taiwan and Hong Kong use more Cantonese. Your digital marketing campaign should come in two sets – one  Mandarin and one in Cantonese. Remember to hire a qualified expert if you don’t speak these languages.

Luxury brands make serious profits during the Lunar New Year. People don’t just like to spend money – they prefer to spend on quality items. Searches for ‘gift deals’ or ‘CNY deals’ are more common than discounts. Focus your online marketing strategy on showcasing deals and bundle packages. Personalized packages are also popular during this time.

Pros: 

• Products will sell faster.
• Good opportunity to clear out old stock.

Cons: 

• New and in-season products make less sales.

Introduce games and events to increase engagement and enhance customer experience. These could be in the form of tagging your brand in pictures with your products to get a prize, for shoutouts, giveaways, and more. You can also introduce products and offers specifically for the Chinese New Year. A bakery could introduce bread or cakes shaped like the zodiac animal of the year. These really increase social media engagement and help brands build a loyal customer base.

Pros: 

• Opportunity to present quality digital marketing content.
• Enhance customer experience through direct engagement on social media.
• Generate brand awareness through content.

Cons: 

• WeChat may be an unfamiliar platform.
• Communicating in a foreign language.

You should roll-out your digital advertising campaign for the Lunar New Year by late-October to early-November. Many people prefer to shop earlier, especially the younger generation.

Pros: 

• Sell stocks earlier and gauge what people are interested in.
• Time and opportunity to modify the online marketing calendar if advertising campaign isn’t working.

Cons: 

• People may get confused with other year-end celebrations like Christmas and New Year’s.

The Lunar New Year is one of the most abundant sales periods and is unavoidable when it comes to seasonal marketing.

Data shows that consumer spending between 2011 and 2019 during the Chinese New Year witnesses a continuous upward trend. Use these seasonal marketing strategies to take advantage of the upcoming Lunar New Year.

The year is about to end and the holiday season is just around the corner. Every year, the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s brings in huge profits for businesses across the globe. But how do you catch the customer’s attention at a time when every other business is trying to? The answer is through digital marketing and using the right marketing strategies. New Year’s shopping is a celebration where people get ready to say goodbye to the present year, and bring in the next one. For most people, this is done in style, and that means sales for businesses.

Stay ahead of your competition by learning about consumer shopping habits. Develop exclusive New Year’s shopping deals and online marketing strategies that will bring all the customers to you!

Research on consumer shopping trends in recent years show that almost 63% of shoppers start their journeys online. This means that most of your customers are likely to prefer e-commerce portals over retail shops, at least while they’re browsing. Turning to e-commerce portals to make sales will give retail businesses a huge opportunity to make profits. The number of people using the internet to shop is roughly over 2 billion now. With access to worldwide shipping and willing consumers from across the world, now is the time for businesses to go online.

You can expect large numbers of local as well as international customers around New Year’s – especially if you’re actively digital marketing your products using social media.

There’s no turning back from the fact that social media now occupies a powerful position in dictating consumer interests. But this also provides businesses with unique digital marketing opportunities. Through various social media platforms, you can actively encourage people to buy from you. Special year-end discounts and deals that are advertised using a digital marketing campaign can be a great boon to your business.

It’s also an affordable and easy way to reach large groups of people. Consumers regularly interact with popular hashtags. Add relevant hashtags like #newyears, #newyearsdeals and #newyearshopping to your posts to be able to target the right customers. Facebook lets you customize your target audience, so your content only reaches people within a limited area. You can use this to hone in on retail clients.

Remember that consumers will search through social media for content as well. So New Year’s themed content and visuals that generate engagement will be useful online marketing for your brand. The consumers sharing your content creates brand awareness, and this increases the likelihood of more people buying your products.

Not only are people starting their New Year’s Eve shopping online more often, they also use a specific search engine more than others. 35% of all product searches start with a Google search, and this is good news for your business. Ranking high in the Google search results, meaning appearing within the first few pages where consumers are more likely to visit your website, is doable. All you need is Search Engine Optimization. An expert can do this for you if you are unable to do it. SEO is when brands utilize certain keywords like ‘new years shopping’, ‘new years shopping deals’ or ‘new years eve shopping’. This is done so that the Google search engine algorithm leads people searching for those terms to the brand’s website by ranking the brand higher in the search listings.

Before New Year’s, the number of people searching for topics like ‘new year’s shopping deals’, ‘new year’s shopping discounts’, and ‘new year’s shopping free shopping’ go up by a large amount. If these keywords are SEO integrated into your website, your web traffic is more likely to increase.

Especially after Christmas, more people look for free shipping when purchasing products online. This isn’t unusual during off-season either, as 63% of the times, high shipping costs lead to people abandoning their shopping carts. But during New Year’s, this gains new importance as people are not willing to spend on free shipping. That’s why searches for ‘new years free shipping’ also increases during this time.

A surprising New Year’s search habit you can include in your digital marketing strategies is the use of ratings and reviews. Data shows that 53% of shoppers think that ratings and reviews are important when purchasing a product. If your website doesn’t have a system to use these, include them ASAP. The more a customer sees other people liking and enjoying your products, the more likely they are to purchase from you.

Around the New Year’s, people prefer to purchase products that lead to self-improvement, help them celebrate with others, and create plans around the New Year.

Over the past two years, 49.2% of all sales were made through mobiles, and this trend is only set to increase in 2021 (Statista). Use these insights to launch your digital marketing campaign and net huge profits this New Year’s!

Waiting for that WOW Christmas marketing idea to supercharge conversions and brand awareness without an unbelievable budget? Well, this is exactly what you need: 10 successful showcase ideas across industries.

One example we supercharged site traffic, conversion, and brand awareness was via content marketing. We managed to supercharge it by integrating content distribution channels, building a brand personality, and aligning the funnel to optimize the site traffic. As a result, the site traffic rose to 300% in 3 months. We believe we can help you achieve this too with our 10 innovation Christmas Marketing ideas.

Starbucks launched a DIY-friendly holiday cup, inviting amateur artists to share their unique artwork on Instagram with the dedicated hashtag #GiveGood. A hashtag campaign is an example of user-generated content (UGC), a good way to engage your target customers.

KPIs:

• Number of hashtag mentions
• Number of likes and comments
• Brand awareness

Pros:

• Increase brand awareness
• Increase engagement
• Easy to see how well your campaign is doing

Cons:  

• Hashtags are overused
• Hard to create a representative hashtag

“Elf Yourself® App” by Office Depot  [source]

Dress up easily with Facebook’s AR filter! Office Depot incorporated Facebook integration to its well-known festive app “Elf Yourself”, allowing users to “elf” themselves with their Facebook’s camera AR filter.  Users can then share the videos with friends and family.

KPIs:

• App download rate
• Number of video sharing
• Brand awareness

Pros:

• Increase brand awareness
• Highly engaging

Cons:  

• Requires creativity
• Costly production

“Getting Reindeer Ready” Snapchat Camera Filter by Mcdonald’s 

Similar to “Elf Yourself” but simplified, “Getting Reindeer Ready” allows users to transform into a reindeer through the AR face filters. Meanwhile, the AR Filter Creation tool is also available on Facebook and Instagram.

KPI:

• App download rate
• Brand awareness

Pros:

• Engage a wide range of audiences
• Low-cost production

Cons:  

• Suitable for retail brands only

Instagram feed by Porsche [source]

You will see Christmas trees everywhere soon, but one made up of the world’s most luxurious automobiles? For instance,  Porsche has done a great job associating festive anticipation with the brand.

Pros:

• Keep fans and followers engaged
• Low-cost production

Cons: 

• Organic reach is in decline
• Keen competition

Instagram feed by Zara Home [source]

Make your products the effortless choice for Christmas gifts like Zara Home! For example, in the retail industry, a gift guide is a perfect solution for your fans who are currently searching for gift ideas. Moreover, a gift guide caters to more customers by creating a series of gift guides for different age groups and gender.

KPIs:

• Number of likes
• Number of comments
• Conversion rate

Pros:

• Engage a wide range of audiences
• Low-cost production

Cons:  

• Best used by retail brands only

Instagram feed by M&S [source]

Create a brand experience that lasts. M&S released a short video clip with music that sticks in the heads of the audience.

Moreover, apart from visual elements like text and still images, the use of animated video and audio will help get your audience in the seasonal mood with your brand associated with it. In addition, the goal is to engage the senses holistically to make your brand stick in the heads of your audience.

KPIs:

• Number of views
• Number of likes
• Brand Awareness

Pros:

• Enhance customer experience
• Connect with the audience emotionally

Cons:  

• More costly than feeds with still images
• There is sound only when it is turned on voluntarily

Youtube video by Samsung [source]

The details can be easily forgotten, however emotions last. Boasting over 4M views, this clip successfully associates the brand with positive emotions—by portraying the wonder, shock, and surprise of those receiving Galaxy VR set as a Christmas gift.

KPIs:

• Number of shares
• Brand awareness

Pros:

• High-quality videos can have a viral impact
• Connect with the audience emotionally

Cons: 

• Costly production
• The audience today has a lower attention span

Youtube video by Playlist Potluck from Sonos & Spotify [source]

Christmas is the time of coming together. Instead of everyone bringing a dish to share,  Sonos and Spotify are inviting us to contribute songs to a collaborative playlist. As a result, online events are great alternatives to offline campaigns in times of pandemics.

KPIs:

• Participation rate
• Brand awareness

Pros:

• Highly engaging
• Lower event cost
• Lessen the impact of pandemics

Cons:

• Suitable for brands with a large fans base only
• Requires advertising

WeChat H5 Campaign by JD.com [source] 

For those targeting the China market, the H5 campaign is a must-have. H5 is an interactive platform on WeChat with a range of interactive features including games, invites, animations, mobile shaking triggers, etc.

Furthermore, aiming to push holiday sales, China’s leading eCommerce site JD.com’s latest campaign features a cartoon character “Xiao Liu Ya” with engaging UGC content like customized avatar makers to encourage sharing among peers.

KPIs:

• H5 Page Traffic
• Number of shares
• Conversion rate

Pros: 

• Offers a range of interactive options
• Easy to share on WeChat, the largest social mobile platform in China

Cons:  

• Costly production
• Limited to WeChat users

WeChat H5 Game by Weiyun [source] 

Game creation sounds incredibly completed. However, Weiyun (Cloud Service by WeChat) makes it accessible for marketers. In addition to last year, Weixun released a series of H5 interactive games that allow customization of background and prize redemption.  Therefore, businesses can design their own branded games easily as if you are creating a Powerpoint.

KPIs:

• Game Traffic
• Conversion rate

Pros:

• Increase brand awareness
• Highly engaging

Cons:

• High cost
• Requires creativity

Market trends can help shape an industry. It enables businesses to get a new viewpoint on how they should proceed. While many trends come and go in digital marketing and online advertising, some trends stay relevant. These advertising megatrends are used by businesses to help themselves grow and flourish.

If you are looking to upscale your business and incorporate the best online advertising strategies, here are five online advertising megatrends to take note of:

1. Conversational Marketing

According to Hubspot’s “Not Another State of Marketing” report, over 45% of businesses have included chatbots on their business websites. These chatbots have become an important part of digital marketing. Throughout the years, the idea of using conversational marketing causes minor issues that annoy customers. Some of these include missing information such as delivery charges, business details, and many more. As a result, this can have a bad influence on your business.

This is where conversational marketing comes in. It enables businesses to advertise themselves as a brand that values customers’ ease, convenience, and time. Chatbots have helped customers collect useful details from companies fast. In addition, if a customer feels stuck or confused, a customer service agent can quickly jump in and help. However, recent trends have also found that customers prefer live chats on certain occasions. This is why businesses need to identify when they should use a chatbot and when to use live chat.

2. Email Marketing

Email marketing is considered the most profitable form of digital marketing. According to the Data and Marketing Association, the return on investment (ROI) on every dollar spent on email marketing is $42. This means if one email marketing campaign costs you $1 to run successfully, you will earn $42. Clearly, email marketing offers quite a high return.

Other benefits of email marketing include low costs, instant income, wider audience, and ease of performance measurement. Moreover, if you run email marketing campaigns by carefully collecting email IDs with consent, you are sending out emails to your target audience. This will allow you to send relevant messages to people who are interested in your business.

3. Programmatic Advertising

One of the most powerful online advertising strategies is programmatic advertising. In programmatic advertising, a bidding system is used to automate the complete ad inventory. Different online advertising slots for TV, video ads, voice ads, streaming, digital out-of-home, and streaming ads are almost non-existent to people in this day of age.

One of the most obvious benefits of programmatic advertising is a wider audience reach. With greater targeting capabilities, programmatic advertising allows you to reach out to more audiences without having to put in a lot of effort. So consequently, it enhances the efficiency of your online advertising model. Programmatic advertising also provides marketers a better view of their marketing strategy, therefore you would need to know what type of audience is viewing your ad, and how much it is costing you to run a particular ad via a platform.

4. Influencer Marketing/Advertising

Another powerful digital marketing mega trend that can help upscale businesses is influencer marketing. Influencing your customers’ purchasing decisions is very important when it comes to making sales, and one of the best ways is using a notable public figure. In other words, Influencer marketing involves collaborating with a public figure and getting them to promote your product rather than doing it yourself. This public figure can be anyone who has a positive social media influence. For instance actors, athletes, writers, models, or musicians.

Most importantly, keep in mind that influencer marketing can be a costly digital marketing venture to undertake. So, you might need to set aside a substantial budget to allow this to happen. According to BigCommerce, 17% of companies spent half of their online advertising budget in carrying out influencer marketing for their business. Therefore, the biggest benefit of influencer marketing is the ability to build trust like no other online advertising strategy. As a result, when people watch their favorite public figures promoting a brand, they are compelled to make a purchase naturally.

5. Google and Facebook Advertising

In our previous blogs, we have talked about 3 must know Facebook advertising tips, as well as advertising at Facebook marketplace. Because it is so important, nothing beats the classic Google and Facebook advertising. Google advertising offers a trustworthy and profitable online advertising strategy. Users trust Google as an information king. The general belief is that if Google recommends something, it should be good. Thus, striving to run Google ads can be super beneficial for your business, instead of trying to rank higher when using Google advertising. Furthermore, Facebook advertising is another megatrend that won’t die down anytime soon. On Facebook, companies can micro-target their audience, reach a huge customer base, and run goal-oriented ads. All in all, the robust analytics enables businesses to model their digital marketing strategies to not only find good quality leads but also encourage customer loyalty.

Sources:

[1] https://www.hubspot.com/state-of-marketing/conversational-marketing

[2] https://www.convinceandconvert.com/online-customer-experience/conversational-marketing-statistics-in-2019/

[3] https://www.martechadvisor.com/articles/ads

[4] https://choozle.com/blog/five-benefits-programmatic-ads

[5] https://www.tapinfluence.com/blog-what-is-influencer-marketing/

[6] https://www.pure360.com/10-benefits-of-email-marketing/

[7] https://eclincher.com/the-benefits-of-facebook-ads-reasons-why-you-need-them/