Over the years, we've seen countless brands work from the same Q4 playbook: Begin advertising holiday deals on social media in October, pull out all the stops across multiple channels for Black Friday in November, and then mothball any and all promotions the second the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve.
This, friends, is not the way – especially during uncertain economic times when customer retention and other efforts to build brand loyalty become top priorities.
And while it's true that the week between Christmas and New Year's Day typically signals the official end of conspicuous consumption's high season, it's not the time to abruptly abandon your promotions – or ghost the relationships those deals helped to create earlier in the year. In fact, the smartest marketers know that January is a great time to strengthen customer relationships with "always on" sale campaigns – especially on social.
If you need data to prove it, here's a recent stat: A 2023 seasonal insights report from Pinterest shows that 57% of the network's holiday shoppers continue to buy from brands they discovered there during the festive season.
So, instead of focusing every marketing dollar on Black Friday, which may only net short-term gains, the wise bet could be to sit out the deal-day madness – or at least deprioritize it – and create a full schedule of great sales and special offers throughout the year. These provide real, lasting value to your most loyal customers and help to build retention along with brand trust, two must-haves during uncertain economic times.