The holiday season is quickly approaching and brands are finding it more difficult to get budget-friendly and effective campaigns for their products online. If your gift guides aren't live yet, here's what you need to know to launch!
The holiday season is quickly approaching and brands are finding it more difficult to get budget-friendly and effective campaigns for their products online. The Covid-19 pandemic caused a major shift in the way we consume, spurring a massive increase in online shopping. However, traditional options, like inclusion in gift guides from major publications are getting more and more difficult.
Given the difficulty of getting into gift guides in major publications with traditional PR methods, creators may become viable options for brands looking for product placements for the holiday season. Regardless, with affiliate options, creators need not even seek new brand partners, rather they can focus on simply sharing the products they love and plan to gift this holiday season.
Where are shoppers looking for gifts? According to Fohr Co and their "The Holidays" report, Instagram reigns supreme, with 71% of respondents indicating they would be searching the platform for gifts. Consider creating a holiday gift guide via Instagram stories and an Instagram highlight to optimize your page for the holiday season. Alternative options include story posts and Instagram guides which may help with search discovery on the platform.
To create a profitable gift guide, you'll need to make sure you are set up with at least one major affiliate platform. Common options are Shareasale, LTK, and MagicLinks. Learn more about affiliate platforms and get started in our post here!
Willa Tip💡: Gift Guides are also a great time to focus on specific brands, so you have analytics to share on the results of sharing their products when sending pitches next quarter!
If you are looking to create graphics for your gift guide to share on Instagram, your blog, or at the end of your videos, Canva is a great option. Using canva pro you will be able to remove the background for easy graphics for your gift guides that match your branding! There are tons of templates available online as well if you would rather opt for a premade template.
If you know your way around photoshop, this is also a great spot to create your gift guide graphics. Templates are also available for photoshop on Etsy and Creative Market if you are looking to save yourself some time!
Issuu is a paid service that allows you to create virtual magazines and link out to specific items that are in the image. Check out the example below from Melany of @melanycecilia.
The obvious choice is to host your gift guide on your blog, that way you have a single location to drive traffic to when sharing your gift guides across your social platforms! This also offers the advantage of using some additional features like banner ads and LTK features that allow you to embed scrollable shopping to include various price points in your guides.
www.stylewithnihan.com
https://www.stylewithnihan.com/2018/12/holiday-gift-guide-2018-gifts-for-the-beauty-obsessed-in-your-life/
Once your gift guide is created, it's time to promote it across your social channels. You can easily share your gift guide across your social media channels in different formats so that you can maximize the reach of your guide. Some platforms we recommend sharing to are directly on your affiliate platforms like LTK and Obsessed with It (by Magic Links). Additional options include Instagram stories, Facebook pages or groups, Pinterest pins, YouTube, and TikTok!
Now is the best time to start writing and publishing your holiday gift guides. Ideally, your holiday blog posts should be published 45 days in advance. This ensures it is discoverable for the holiday. You also have the option to backdate your content as well. However, when it comes to promoting that content, keep in mind that some shoppers will be looking early this year! It will also be helpful to share with your audience when deadlines are to buy certain items depending on shipping!
Willa Tip💡: If you use Pinterest or are writing a blog post, be sure to update your gift guide posts next year to continue ranking via SEO.
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