Planning your promotions or special events is not an easy task! First, you have to comb through different websites looking for holidays, special days or months to celebrate, etc. Then, you need to filter this list to choose the ones that best match your business personality, your products & services and the needs of your customers. Granted, it’s all very time-consuming!
But a well-prepared special offer, presented at the right time and in the right context, can make all the difference in your results. So it’s worth doing a few tests to see what works best for your company.
To help you out, we’ve put together a list of all the essential elements to consider and a calendar with some important dates to plan your next marketing events.
View the marketing event calendar [PDF]
How to plan your online advertising campaign
If you tend to place last-minute ads for certain events, you’ve likely noticed that your customers aren’t as eager to buy as you would like. In other words, this translates into less visibility and especially fewer sales than expected.
So how can you put all the chances on your side to be successful with your online ads and special offers?
By preparing yourself in advance!
Think about it… Don’t you start doing research several weeks before making an important purchase, to be ready for when prices drop on Black Friday? Guilty as charged? The big stores that make record sales during events like Valentine’s Day, Black Friday or Christmas plan their campaigns months ahead of time!
So why don’t you?
Define your offer
It’s important to clearly define the promotion or event. This will reduce such questions as “Which stores does this apply to?” or “On which products can the discount be applied?”, which can easily be answered through an FAQ. This way, you limit the doubts and hesitations of your potential customers that could refrain them from buying.
- What products or services will be featured?
- What is the price?
- What are the start and end dates?
- What is your target audience?
- What are the special conditions of the offer?
- etc.
Where and when will you run your ad campaign?
Once you’ve defined your offer, select the way you want to promote your ad.
Which platforms will you use? What are the best tools to reach your target? Be sure to select the publishers and media for your needs. Research the ad placements and formats available, the targeting options, their different features and benefits, etc.
Determine also the right timing. To help you target important dates, we’ve created a useful marketing event calendar. You can view it just below or even download a copy.
The earlier you get started, the more choices you’ll have regarding settings and options. Therefore, the higher your chances of running a successful campaign!
Prepare the ad’s content
As you can see in the article about managing your online ad campaigns, there are different formats and media you can use: a video, an image with several display formats, audio, a newsletter, social media, etc. Each medium requires that you adapt both the text and format.
It is important to craft your content so that it has maximum impact!
If you haven’t already created your ads, know that when you use a self-service Ad Center, you get access to a very easy-to-use tool within the platform that will let you create ads quickly and easily. It’ll save you lots of time!
Talk about it several weeks in advance
Perhaps you decided to keep it a secret until the end, telling yourself that it will be a “nice surprise” for your clients? Wrong! The problem here is that if the customer doesn’t know about it, they will most likely miss the opportunity and won’t be able to buy your product or attend your event.
So, try to tell them a few weeks in advance. For example: “Great news! On September 20, we are hosting a VIP event. Limited seating! Are you interested? Sign up now!”
Launch your ad campaign!
Depending on your budget, you can do this a few days to a few months before the event.
But don’t forget this: consumers need to see a piece of content several times in order to fully understand it and take action.
So, get your ad out there early and test it out!
To make sure you don’t miss any important events, we’ve included a calendar with the most relevant dates for Canada and the U.S. You can download it in pdf format and keep it on hand or print it for easy reference throughout the year.
Tip: Bookmark this page in your favorites as we will update it regularly!