Wait, what?! It’s almost Father’s Day?!
Poor dads. Every year Mother’s Day gets all the press – the sappy commercials, the springtime brunches and flowery tea parties planned months in advance, the sentimental gifts for sale everywhere you look.
And then June rolls around, and someone happens to look at a calendar, and – oh no! Father’s Day is right around the corner!
Luckily, your company can be the salvation of panicked Father’s Day shoppers everywhere, simply by marketing your products or services the right way in those last days before the holiday. Wives, sons, and daughters across the country are already looking for the perfect quick gift – all you have to do is put it in front of them.
So how can you do that? What’s the magic formula that will get your online marketing efforts seen by your target audience in time for the big day?
We’re so glad you asked. Here are our tips for successful last-minute online marketing for Father’s Day.
1. Get onto those search engine results pages.
What’s the first thing most people do when the realization hits them that they need a gift fast? They start searching through Google, of course! So you need to make sure that your website shows up when they start looking for “Father’s Day gift ideas” or “best presents for dads.”
Now, organic SEO is definitely not a last-minute type endeavor – sure, you may be able to boost your rankings somewhat in the next few days by using Father’s Day gift-related keywords in a couple of blog posts, but in order to really make a difference, you’d need more time and a more intensive SEO strategy. So what can you do last-minute? PPC advertising!
Setting up an Adwords campaign is your best bet when it comes to getting quick access to people searching for specific keywords. Yes, you’ll need to pay for the privilege, but only when someone actually clicks on your ad. Simply choose the keywords you want to be found with, write the content of your ad, set a budget, and then track your results in real-time.
2. Hype it up on social media.
For those who aren’t even googling gifts yet, you’ll need to remind them of Father’s Day impending arrival with some well-placed social media posts – and yes, paid ads again, as well. To get traffic from your followers, share blog posts with unique Father’s Day gift or activity ideas, with titles just begging to be clicked, like “How To Make Up For All Those Ties: Father’s Day Gift Ideas That Your Dad Won’t Have To Pretend To Like” or “This One’s On Me, Dad: Top Ten Places To Take Your Dad Out For a Beer on Father’s Day.” Once they click through to your blog, it’s only a short trip to your product pages.
To reach an even bigger audience on social media, however, paid ads are again the way to go. You won’t have to rely on your existing audience – you can customize the group you’re targeting from among all of the platform’s users. And those ads will guarantee that people see your post in time, unlike organic posts, which can be iffy.
Hashtags are another great way to make sure your posts get seen by people searching social for gift ideas. Try including #FathersDay or #Dad in your tweets and posts to expand your reach, as well.
3. Create urgency in their email inboxes.
If they’re not actively searching for gifts, and even social media posts don’t sway them, then it may be time for a more dramatic approach. Use the direct access you have to your email subscribers to create the needed sense of urgency that will compel them to buy. Send emails announcing “last-minute” deals and specials, urging recipients to order before a certain date for guaranteed on-time delivery, and maybe even including a countdown to the big day.
Include an eye-catching image, and focus the attention on just one or two call to action buttons or links that bring readers right to the page where they can buy. The easier you make it, the more likely people will be to convert.
(From an American Girl email)
4. Be sure you’re optimized for mobile.
Regardless of whether you’re using PPC ads, social media, or email to get the word out about your Father’s Day gifts, there’s one factor that remains constant – your target audience will probably be using a mobile device to view your messages. And what do you do when an email looks jumbled or a site doesn’t load a usable mobile version on your cell? You move on immediately. And that’s just what your potential customers will do as well, if you’re not optimizing all your content for mobile.
Make sure those emails will look good on a smart phone screen, and if your site isn’t responsive yet, get that taken care of right now. Google is already penalizing websites that aren’t mobile-friendly, so this is an investment that needs to be made anyway – why not get it done in time for the Father’s Day panic?
So don’t worry – Father’s Day may be just around the corner, but there’s still time for you to get a piece of that last-minute spending. Jump on those PPC ads, post some fun blog posts and create a few social media ads, send some emails, and double check everything for mobile responsiveness. And if you need any help, don’t hesitate to give us here at Zen Media a call. Happy Father’s Day!
