7 Ways to incorporate Halloween into your marketing campaigns

 Halloween marketing party tricks - you are never too old

The holidays are coming. However, holiday shopping no longer waits until Black Friday or even the month of November to get underway. Instead, to get ahead of this holiday season, smart businesses must consider their marketing kick-offs much earlier. This makes Halloween an excellent starting point for the 2014 holiday season.

Halloween isn’t just for kids anymore whichever country you're planning your Halloween campaigns for. In fact, according to the US National Retail Federation, 71.5% of adults plan to celebrate or otherwise participate in Halloween-related activities this year. This means that there’s no specific demographic for Halloween, and chances are you can profit from this knowledge.

Ideas for marketing Halloween

Is your business ready? Looking for ways to incorporate Halloween into your company’s marketing strategy? Look no farther. Check out these 7 options and get started today.

• 1. Start a holiday loyalty program

Perhaps you’ve been looking for a way to create a loyalty program with your customers. Why not test the waters with a holiday-related program that’s shorter in duration than one that goes on indefinitely? Offer double reward points on holiday-related purchases or offer gift cards on purchases made in a certain time frame. The options are endless.

• 2. Give away freebies with purchases

Why not help your customers celebrate without any extra effort? Create a 'mystery' package that will be included with all holiday-related purchases. For example, if your company is a part of the auto industry, you could take advantage of the Halloween festivities to make seasonal car decals for new and returning customers.

• 3. Consider a site facelift

Get your site ready to display the true spirit of the season! Work with your web designer to incorporate small web design features – cobwebs, new 'spooky' font, a darker colour scheme or something else – that get your customers in the Halloween mindset. A few design alterations can go a long way.

• 4. Reach out

If your customers don’t know about your holiday specials, they’re not likely to make an effort to seek them out. Instead, bring your marketing to them. Use social media channels and email marketing campaigns to make your customers aware of any holiday specials or promotions and to wish them a happy Halloween. This reminds them that you exist and will help to get them into the holiday spirit.

• 5. Create a scavenger 'Trick or Treat' Hunt

What’s more fun than an interactive online activity? Even adults enjoy a little trick or treat action here and there. By setting up an online scavenger hunt that rewards participants with digital 'treats,' you’re encouraging visitors to browse your site and adding an extra perk for doing so. It’s a simple step that could have measurable payoffs.

• 6. Host a Halloween-related contest

You could up the ante on your Halloween scavenger hunt by turning it into a contest. Allow those that complete the hunt to be entered into a drawing. Or, create another type of giveaway that requires visitors to 'like; or follow your social channels or to share your posts for additional entries.

Be sure the prize is something worth a little effort – gift cards for your company, a free product collection or something else that will attract interest. You’ll attract new customers through the power of social sharing and could win long-time loyalty from winners, all in the name of Halloween.

• 7. Allow your customers to help you 'treat' others

Any time of year is a good time to give back; as a brand, you probably believe this and it’s a given that your customers do as well. You could use Halloween as an opportunity to raise awareness for a specific charity or cause.

Designate a specific Halloween-related product as part of your 'Treating others' campaign. For every purchase of that product, donate a set amount to a charity that you highlight on your site. Or, allow customers to make donations with a match promise. You could go in multiple directions with this, but, the bottom line is that you’re doing more than profiting from the holiday, you’re treating others.

Now is the time to start thinking about how your brand will use Halloween in creative online marketing strategies. Think about where you’d like to start and which options above fit your business model and take action to put them into play today.

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