What if Santa Claus was a Digital Marketer
Santa Claus makes lists and checks them twice. He’s got killer brand recognition and millions of families love him. No one is a better candidate to be a digital marketer than Old Saint Nick!
But what would it mean for Santa Claus to be a top-tier digital marketer? He’d use an array of marketing and business tools to make his holiday cheer available for every little boy and girl in the world.
How Would Santa Use Online Marketing?
And more importantly, why would he?
Let’s be real. For someone like Santa Claus, marketing and selling online is ideal. It’s much simpler to connect with people around the world through the internet. And this way, Santa wouldn’t need to continue his door to door method of handing out presents. It’ll save his old back from a lot of stress.
He may be magical, but back pain isn’t fun even for him.
As a digital marketer, what sort of tools would he use?
What’s a digital marketer without his marketing tools? Santa isn’t an exception. He’s the perfect type of marketer because he really gets to know his consumers. If he didn’t, he’d be out of business!
…although, keep in mind, Santa doesn’t make any profits. Sure, he gets milk and cookies. But you can’t pay rent with those! Since he’s clearly providing gifts out of the kindness of his heart, he’s easily the most likable guy in the world too.
The first thing he should do is create a marketing plan.
This plan will include his unique selling position (he’s the only guy giving away millions of gifts a year). And his goals (to ensure he gets the right gift to the right person). As well as his deadline (December, of course). He’d also need to decide where he’ll market online. And let’s be honest…
He’s perfect for social media!
Santa would be an Instagram celebrity. He’d have millions upon millions of followers before making a post. And likely, his posts would be glamorous shots of him and Mrs. Claus drinking eggnog inside his warm wooden home. And adorable pictures of yawning reindeers in the morning. For a more “business perspective”, he’d document his process of gift making and giving, featuring his helpful elves.
And he’d encourage his followers to participate. Users could share pictures of their happy children on Christmas morning. With their help, Santa could literally spread the cheer all over the net through Instagram, Facebook, and maybe even Snapchat.
Now, you may think he’d want to do ads. But a guy as beloved and well-known as Santa wouldn’t need to bother. Instead, he’d be better off sharing tips, tricks, and reminders about how to be a good boy or girl via content marketing and social media posts.
The closer it gets to December 25th, the less Santa will have to do in terms of marketing. You know what day it is. He knows. And he’s going to be ready. No need for Guerilla marketing techniques here. That’s only for lesser known brands who want to get noticed.
Fewer letters, more emails!
He’d also incorporate email marketing into the mix.
He’d connect with all of his fans through his inbox. No longer would children have to use snail mail to contact him and vice versa. It’s also easier on the environment since we won’t need to cut down trees for the letters.
And what if a letter gets lost? That’s far less likely when using email marketing. Santa will also send out emails, reminding children to be nice to their friends and family throughout the year. Perhaps he’d give them sneak peeks into what sort of toys he’s designing to keep everyone pumped during offseason.
The sky’s the limit with online methods of communicating and sharing.
Business Tips for Santa Claus
Santa Claus is the head of his own business. He’s got a host of elves building toys in his workshop. He has reindeer to be trained for sleigh-pulling. And someone has to take care of his star deer, Rudolph. The person who oversees all these “departments” is the big jolly man himself.
But he can’t look after everything at once. He’d assign certain elves to oversee the production of toys. They’d be his project managers. And for those who aren’t familiar with what project managers do, Mr. Claus will give them the means to learn. Maybe even some courses. These elves will manage the workers while Santa Claus can be elsewhere. And remember, without these elves, nothing would make it under the tree.
Remember, a digital marketer doesn’t just focus on marketing. That is just one tool for a successful business. Someone like Santa needs to focus on the entirety of his business but even he can’t be everywhere at once. Assigning certain people as leaders to delegate his workload is necessary for his business success. It’s the same for any business owner and who works with or manages a team.
Strategic Planning Tools for Saint Nick
On top of using his coveted naughty and nice list, Santa may bust out the ole SWOT analysis.
This analysis identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. In this case, he would check his naughty list and his nice list as he always does, but this time look into the strengths and weaknesses of each child. With a bit of Christmas wisdom and a quick email, he may teach these naughty kids the necessary characteristics to make it onto the nice list next year.
And then he could do a SWOT analysis for himself. Santa would look into how to better his business as well as how to denounce weaknesses. Then he’d think about opportunities for growth — and with digital marketing, there are plenty!
Finally, he’d assess any possible threats that could inconvenience him, his workers, and his fans. After all, Santa has been in this business for a long time now. He can think about any threats that popped up throughout the past many years. And this time, he can get rid of them for good.
As for risk analysis, it’s helpful to identity and manage possible threats. Whatever is uncovered during the last part of the SWOT analysis is applicable here. Maybe he’d be worried about his other reindeer who aren’t a fan of flying through changing weather. Santa could then assess how this may impact his job on the big day.
SWOT isn’t the only analysis to use as a digital marketer. There’s also PESTLE analysis and Risk analysis too.
PESTLE lets Mr. Claus know more about each country he visits. He can learn more about the people, government policies, and the economy. He’d learn about the latest laws, environmental issues, and changes in technology. It’s smart, proactive, and necessary. Because the more he can learn about a place and its people, the better off everyone will be.
He can even compare his SWOT and PESTLE results too!
Honestly…
Santa Claus would be the best digital marketer, so long as he keeps up with changing information and trends. He’s got it all — the popularity, the consumers, the means to deliver exactly what they want and expect from him. He’s the best businessman who doesn’t make a single cent from such a strenuous, year-round job!
Thanks Santa!
Photo by bruce mars from Pexels
