4 Takeaways for Your Marketing Strategy from Facebook’s Holiday Report

September 9, 2020 | lora reuther

By: Amanda Green

2020 may be the strangest year ever, but one thing remains the same: people plan to shop this holiday season. However, their buying habits may look a bit different. They may spend more money on themselves, older generations that previously shopped brick & mortar retail are now shopping online, and nearly everyone is looking for the absolute best deal (though not necessarily on Black Friday).

It seems the pandemic isn’t dampening anyone’s holiday spirit and that’s great news for business owners of all sizes. In a year when every penny counts and the key word in business is “pivot” – it’s time to do the same for holiday PR and marketing plans.

Facebook recently released its 2020 “Facebook Holiday Package” that includes insights into how consumers plan to spend their money this holiday season. Here are 4 key takeaways for business owners to consider when developing their seasonal PR strategies and social media marketing plans:

People are shopping for themselves
The theme of self-care has been big since the pandemic started in the spring and it appears that trend isn’t going away anytime soon. According to Facebook, “this trend of self-gifting affordable luxuries is likely to be pronounced this season as more people normally self-gift at this time – with an average of 74% of global shoppers surveyed researching gifts for themselves during the holiday season.”

Ecommerce reigns supreme
Generations that previously preferred to browse store aisles in-person are now shopping online due to the pandemic. Facebook’s report notes, “of the surveyed Gen X and Boomers who shop online, on average 44% and 30% respectively said they are spending more time shopping online.” That’s important as brands decide where and how to market to shoppers.

‘Black Friday’ has a popular cousin that global brands shouldn’t ignore
No surprise here – Most people want a deal. According to Facebook, “nearly 1 in 3 global respondents say they’ll wait for products to be on promotion, discount or sale before purchasing.” Here in the U.S., ‘Black Friday’ is the obvious choice for brands to offer consumers some sort of incentive to buy. But as more brands increase their online presence and become global, there are other major shopping days to consider. Across Asian-Pacific countries 11/11 is the largest mega sales day of the year.

The story behind your company matters
This trend has been growing for a while now, especially amongst younger consumers. This year’s Facebook holiday report solidifies it, “Beyond competitive prices, people care about the businesses they love, the people behind them and the actions they take, especially now.” The story behind your brand – the how/why it exists — can be especially difficult to market. A strong public relations strategy that focuses on story-telling and editorial press coverage, rather than simple product advertising, is a great way to get these types of deeper messages across to consumers.

Here at Orca Communications, we’re staying on top of these trends and capitalizing on them as we work to secure national editorial media placements for our clients. We do this through our unique style of PR, working together as a team with our Orca “pod” approach to pitching, fusing our PR messaging with deliberate social media content, and targeting the press in a way that makes sense for today’s consumer needs. Brands that are able to perfect the art of the pivot when it comes to marketing are sure to make a big splash this 2020 holiday season.