St. Patrick’s Day is almost here. And while everyone is busy celebrating the occasion, online business owners should focus on increasing engagement and boosting sales. This is the perfect time to take advantage of St. Patrick’s Day marketing tips and ideas.
Top St. Patrick’s Day Marketing Ideas for Your E-Commerce Business
As an online business owner, you should see every occasion as an opportunity to market your product or service. Traditional holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve are widely used by marketers. But, there are several other special occasions that you can use to your advantage. One such occasion is St. Patrick’s Day.
Here are the best St. Patrick’s Day marketing ideas for your online business:
1. Go Green
One of the most popular ways people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day is to wear green. The tradition is believed to have stemmed from Ireland’s nickname as “the Emerald Isle” and the color of shamrocks. And if everyone is wearing green, so should your business.
Going green is a simple enough concept yet one that can work for your business immensely. Think about changing the color scheme of your site to green for just one day (or a few days before and following St. Patrick’s Day). Use the color on your social media posts and other marketing materials. You can also use some typical St. Patrick’s Day imagery, such as shamrocks and pots of gold.
Make sure to tailor your green campaign to your business. For example, the green motif presents an interesting opportunity for online clothing stores. You can either release limited edition St. Patrick’s Day products or offer a discount on any green-colored items.
As with a lot of things, though, make sure not to go overboard with this one. A splash of green here and there is okay, but coloring everything green is a bit too much and can make your website look cheap.
2. Launch a Social Media Campaign
Social media is an effective tool for enhancing brand awareness and improving engagement. Running a social media campaign is a good way to get more people to follow your page or spark a conversation among your followers.
A proven method is to launch a user-generated content campaign. Encourage your followers to post a photo of them using your product on social media. Come up with a hashtag specific to your campaign that people can use. Then, ask them to tag their friends to spread the word.
You can set your own mechanics, but the general gist is to pick a winner who will receive a prize from your business. The prize can be as small as a free item or discount to as large as a trip to Ireland.
To give your campaign a St. Patrick’s Day digital marketing spin, hold an online costume contest. Followers can post their best St. Patrick’s Day costumes to their Instagram Stories and tag your brand.
3. Organize a Raffle or Giveaway
St. Patrick’s Day is often associated with luck, so why not have your customers test out theirs by organizing a raffle? Customers can earn a ticket to the raffle if they purchase a specific item or if their purchase reaches a certain dollar amount. You can pick one sole winner to take home a grand prize or spread the luck by picking more winners to win smaller prizes.
If you want everyone to feel like a winner, offer a discount or promo code they can use at checkout. Good discount codes to use include “shamrock” or “lucky” to really nail that St. Patrick’s Day spirit.
4. Partner With an Environmental Charity
Going green doesn’t always have to be literal. In line with St. Patrick’s Day, online businesses can partner with an environmental charity as a way of “going green.” Let your customers know that a portion of your sales this St. Patrick’s Day will go to a charity like The Nature Conservancy or The Greenpeace Fund. You can also go local and find an environmental charity in your local community.
Another St. Patrick’s Day marketing tip is to shift to being a more eco-friendly business. Stop using single-use plastics and maybe even go paperless. Of course, this type of shift will take more time and planning. As such, make sure to prepare early, then make the announcement of your initiative on St. Patrick’s Day. This is not only a good way to help Mother Earth but also gives your business a more positive reputation.
5. Focus on Email Marketing
Emails help your customers and subscribers remember your business. It’s also a great tool to encourage leads to convert and turn one-time customers into lifetime customers.
For an effective St. Patrick’s Day online marketing campaign through email, use the green motif in your content. Make sure to mention St. Patrick’s Day and how it relates to your promo.
Don’t cram all of the details into the body of the email, though. Keep it light and breezy. And, if customers want to know more, you can redirect them to your website.
Of course, you will also need a captivating subject line to push subscribers to open your email in the first place. Use buzzwords like “savings,” “discount,” and “giveaway.” You can also take advantage of emojis like shamrocks and rainbows, though it is important not to use too much or that would be overkill.
A Respectful Marketing Campaign
While there is nothing inherently wrong with running promos on St. Patrick’s Day, it is important to keep your campaigns respectful. This is a special day used to commemorate the Feast of Saint Patrick as well as Irish heritage in general. As such, your St. Patrick’s Day marketing campaigns should never exploit, tarnish, or stereotype Irish culture. Market your business while still keeping things classy, and you’re all set.
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