It's never a good idea to wait until the last minute to make plans. We've all been there. It's not fun. That's why now is the time to start preparing for the holiday season - especially since this year is shaping up to be unique.

In this week’s episode, Dan, Producer Matt, and Ivan talk about preparing your business today for the unique holiday season. How will you be shifting your content strategy for the coming virtual holidays?

Be sure to ask the Bees any questions you might have about how to get started before the Christmas rush, and how to work around roadblocks.

Check out the video or podcast above. Subscribe to our weekly live stream on Facebook, or take it on the go with a podcast, on your choice of platforms. Keep up-to-date on news, trends, and tips in the world of digital marketing and join in on the conversation.
What's New?
With quarantine still in place and no definitive end in sight, a virtual shift in how we approach the holidays is likely to happen.

Imagine Black Friday without the crowds stampeding brick and mortar stores. OK, so it's called Cyber Monday, but that's not where I was going, or was it?

Will we have Cyber Monday and Cyber Friday this year? Cyber week?

According to this article, Cyber Monday actually already outsold Black Friday in 2019 - before COVID-19 and the new normal we now live in, so it's probably a safe bet that this year will be even bigger.

This is largely thanks to the insane popularity of Amazon, as well as the rapidly rising world of e-commerce. Online shopping is becoming more common, and this year may prove to be the go-to for the majority of holiday gifts - almost certainly if we're limited in brick and mortar options.

So, how do we adjust our content strategy for this virtual shift and prepare for the holiday season? Let's get into it.
Set Your Goals
This is always going to be the first place to start, no matter the situation.

Before you choose your goals, it's a good idea to look back on the previous year(s) holiday posts. You may already have content that you could repurpose.

Consider:

* What worked and what didn't?
* What channels had the best ROI?
* What you should potentially do again?

Decide what it is that you're trying to achieve and write it down.

For example, if you're new to social media, you probably want to focus on increasing brand awareness and developing authority and an engaged community.

If you've been on social media for a while now, you'll probably want to focus on increasing conversions and getting sales - or even fine-tuning for better engagement.

We touched on the topic of strategic development and tactical execution in much more depth in this blog if you'd like to dig a bit deeper into this area.
Start Your Holiday Marketing Campaign Early
I know, I know, it's still summer - why are we already talking about Christmas? Too much time on our hands? Need something to celebrate? Well, ya, but no.

The truth is, if you haven't already started preparing for the holiday season, you're already falling behind, friends.

Setting up a marketing campaign is no easy task, and scrambling last minute to put something together is not where you want to be.

Once upon a time we only had 3 major holidays in the final few months of the year to contend with: Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Christmas.

Taking a quick look at