Don't get beat out by your competitors for the holiday season, here's why it's time to ramp up your PR Campaign

For most fashion houses and fashion brands, the holiday season boasts the largest amount of sales throughout the year, compared to any of their other quarterly valuations. The holiday season is actually the ideal time to put the pedal to the metal and shift your public relation campaign efforts into overdrive, from the months of November through February. Believe you me, many of your competitors are definitely hitting the media hard with their products to get them front and center for Christmas, New Year's and Valentine's day, so if you are not pushing right along side of them you may actually feel the pain of a drop in sales. Boosting awareness through a variety of public relations initiatives will help to keep your brand top of mind for consumers and also broaden your customer base through gift giving. This PR campaign variety should include social media and actual die hard media outreach so that the press does not forget to include your product within holiday gift guides, specifically online digital outlets. The PR campaign efforts should include phoning and emailing segment producers for mornings shows to see if your products can make the cut for spotlights on their shows, a strong social media presence and more. If it is too much for you or your in house team to do alone then obtain the assistant of a freelancer or a PR Agency.

Below are four tips to and reasons why you should not miss out on promoting your products via the Public Relations train from Thanksgiving all the way through Valentine’s Day.

1) Beating out the Competition

Everywhere you turn during the holidays you see your competitors. Why? Because they know that its show time. Its the prime time within the year that people are purchasing en masse. They have geared up their PR campaigns to place their products within the pages of well known magazines and online news. So what about you? A worthwhile PR campaign can cost anywhere from 5K-10K per month. However being placed within just a few worthwhile news outlets can really show some return on investment for those numbers. You also place your product in front of buyers and merchandisers at this time and ensure that they sit up and say “ Hey…why don't we currently carry that product?.” If you are simply hoping people will find your products, or fashion lines you are definitely doing it wrong. Offer to send media contacts that have covered your competitors samples of your product to compare and run a story. There is no better way to topple the competition than having a better quality selection and letting the world know about it via a stellar PR campaign.

2) Best Timing for Brand Visibility

It is no industry secret, the holidays are best time to get your products seen. November through February are largest times of the year for media placements, from online coverage to TV segments. Holiday media coverage spans Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza, New Year’s Eve, and Valentine’s Day. This is the time when web and print editors roll out gift guides on a practically daily basis, highlighting their best gift picks from accessories and jewelry to footwear and ready-to-wear.

It’s not just the editors of top-tier publications that are dishing out buying guides, consumers now look to their favorite bloggers to give them advice. Being featured on a blogger’s Instagram or website is now just as coveted as being featured in Vogue’s holiday gift guide. Furthermore, TV producers often look for the best products to highlight, particularly during large purchase periods. Having your PR team secure you a spot on national television will surely help you meet your sales goals.

3) Increase Sales & Grow a Large Fan Base

The key to having a successful fashion brand is growing your repeat customer base. Brad recognition is key. It is not enough to have a one-time purchase client, you need to ensure they return to you season after season. Nothing says growing your brand recognition than having hundreds and thousands of your customers actually do the work for you. Press placements during the holidays leads to sales for gift giving and voila you have just reached a new customer base that more than likely had no idea that you previously existed. If they love your products then they will return throughout the year when their favorite product wears out, as they gain or lose weight, as seasons change and they want to revisit the brand to see what's new and more. They will discuss their gifts with friends and it will ensure that your holiday PR campaign and name distribution efforts were not in vain.

4) Mobile & Social are Important Parts of Your PR Campaign

Most surveys show that almost 57% of online shoppers prefer to shop via mobile or apps linking through social media. That's a pretty large number! That being said you should ensure that your website is both responsive to show on all mobile devices making it easier for your consumers to shop, but also that are you promoting your brand on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. If not it's time to kick up that social media dust, and ASAP. Many brand managers fail to realize that social media is an integral part of your company's Public Relations campaign and communication strategy. Brands should drive traffic to their websites with promotional offers, comparison side by sides, customer testimonials, cute tributes to the holidays and really promote their best products. If you have a Facebook fans page you should be updating it 3 times daily and keeping customers engaged. It may also be time to bump up those likes by running a daily facebook ad campaign. It is essential part of the sales process that your growing web presence stays true to your brand’s identity and presents carefully crafted messages that your fan base can identify with. If you aren't promoting via social and ensuring that customers can shop your products online then you are missing out on a huge chunk of holiday business.

Interested in running an immediate PR campaign for the holidays? It's not too late. Visit us at http://www.beautifulplanning.com, call 1.877.841.7244 or email [email protected].