Tag: affiliate marketing

Top Holiday Marketing Trends for December and Beyond: 2025/2026 Guide

nitantialur

Written by Shannon Purcell

  • Content
  • Performance Marketing

The holiday season represents one of the most significant periods for brands to connect with customers, drive sales, and build brand loyalty. With the increasing importance of early shopping, mobile commerce, and data-driven strategies, staying ahead of emerging trends is crucial. Here’s your ultimate guide to holiday marketing trends for the 2025 and 2026 season, including actionable strategies to help your brand stand out during the festive season.

1. Leverage Early Holiday Shopping and Record E-Commerce Growth

The holiday shopping season is starting earlier each year, and consumers are beginning their shopping months in advance. In 2024, U.S. holiday sales grew by 4.3% to a record $1.343 trillion, with more than 20% of those sales coming from e-commerce. This trend is expected to continue into 2025 and beyond, making it essential for brands to act early and capture those early-bird shoppers.

Actionable Tips:

  • Launch Early Campaigns: Start your promotions as early as October or November to capture early-bird shoppers. Use teaser campaigns, exclusive pre-holiday deals, and early access offers to build anticipation well before the busy December rush.
  • Create Sneak Peek Content: Generate excitement by giving consumers a preview of your holiday collections with behind-the-scenes looks or early product reveals.
  • Expand Gift Guides: Curate gift guides based on specific demographics or interests, such as “Tech Lovers” or “Eco-Conscious Shoppers,” to target different consumer segments early in the season.

Why It Works:

With more consumers beginning their shopping earlier, you’ll capture a larger share of the market by acting proactively. Early promotions help build momentum, ensuring continued engagement through the entire holiday season.

2. Optimize for Mobile Shopping: The Rise of M-Commerce

Mobile commerce (M-Commerce) continues to dominate, with mobile sales expected to make up 56.5% of U.S. holiday e-commerce sales in 2025. As consumers increasingly turn to their smartphones to shop, optimizing your campaigns for mobile is non-negotiable.

Actionable Tips:

  • Mobile-Optimize Your Website: Ensure your site is responsive, fast, and easy to navigate on mobile devices, particularly for product pages and checkout.
  • Leverage SMS and Mobile-Optimized Emails: Reach customers on the go with SMS marketing and ensure your email campaigns are designed for mobile users.
  • Create Shoppable Content: Use platforms like Instagram and TikTok to make your content shoppable, enabling consumers to buy directly from your social media posts.

Why It Works:

Consumers are increasingly shopping on mobile, and making your content mobile-optimized will ensure a seamless experience, improving conversions and reducing friction in the purchasing process.

3. Full-Funnel Marketing: Engage Consumers from Discovery to Purchase

Holiday campaigns must go beyond simple sales pushes. A full-funnel marketing strategy engages consumers at every stage of their journey — from awareness to consideration, and ultimately, conversion.

Maintaining a balance of upper- and mid-funnel marketing drives better results, ensuring visibility throughout the entire customer journey.

Actionable Tips:

  • Top of Funnel: Focus on awareness by using social media ads, influencer collaborations, and video content to introduce your brand to new audiences.
  • Middle of Funnel: As shoppers move into the consideration phase, provide value with product reviews, demos, and comparison content to help them make informed decisions.
  • Bottom of Funnel: Post-purchase, foster loyalty with thank-you emails, loyalty rewards, and personalized offers to encourage repeat business.

Why It Works:

A well-rounded strategy keeps customers engaged, moving from initial interest to purchase and beyond, which is crucial for driving long-term brand loyalty.

4. Personalization: Meeting Consumer Expectations for Tailored Experiences

Personalization remains a key driver of customer engagement. By delivering individualized experiences, brands can build trust and foster stronger connections with their audience. With the rise of AI and data analytics, this trend will continue to grow in importance.

Actionable Tips:

  • Leverage AI Tools: Use AI-driven product recommendations, dynamic website content, and personalized email campaigns to offer tailored suggestions based on consumer behavior.
  • Target by Behavior: Use browsing history and previous purchases to send customized offers, making your messages feel more relevant to each customer.

Why It Works:

Personalized content boosts engagement, increases conversions, and enhances the customer experience. By giving your audience what they want, you build stronger, long-term relationships.

5. Embrace Sustainability and Ethical Marketing

Sustainability continues to shape consumer purchasing decisions, especially during the holiday season. Brands that demonstrate a commitment to eco-friendly practices and social responsibility can build strong connections with environmentally-conscious buyers.

Actionable Tips:

  • Promote Sustainable Products: Highlight eco-friendly items, sustainable packaging, or carbon-neutral shipping in your campaigns.
  • Support Green Initiatives: Partner with environmental organizations to donate a percentage of your sales to sustainability efforts, and communicate these actions clearly in your marketing materials.
  • Showcase Transparency: Be open about your sustainability practices and the impact of your initiatives.

Why It Works:

Consumers are more likely to support brands that align with their values, particularly those that prioritize the environment. Sustainability builds trust and can help set your brand apart during the competitive holiday season.

6. Maximize the Power of Short-Form Video and Live Shopping

Video content, especially short-form video, is thriving across platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. These platforms allow brands to connect with consumers in an authentic, engaging way during the holiday season.

Actionable Tips:

  • Leverage Short-Form Video: Create quick, impactful videos that showcase products, share behind-the-scenes moments, or offer tutorials and unboxings.
  • Host Live Shopping Events: Engage your audience through live-streamed events where customers can ask questions and purchase items in real time.

Why It Works:

Video and live shopping events are interactive and entertaining, making them highly engaging and effective at converting viewers into buyers, particularly during the busy holiday season.

7. Capitalize on New Year’s Resolutions and Wellness Trends

Once the holiday season winds down, many consumers focus on self-improvement and wellness. Brands can seamlessly transition their messaging to align with New Year’s resolutions, capitalizing on this shift in consumer mindset.

Actionable Tips:

  • Promote Wellness Products: Market fitness equipment, organizational tools, and self-care products as part of consumers’ New Year’s resolutions.
  • Incorporate Motivational Messaging: Update ad creatives to inspire action and goal-setting, reflecting a forward-thinking tone that aligns with the start of the year.

Why It Works:

As consumers set new goals and embrace wellness, aligning your products with their resolutions can increase sales and customer engagement as they look to start the year strong.

8. Utilize Data-Driven Insights for Predictive Campaigns

AI and data analytics are revolutionizing the way brands approach holiday marketing. By leveraging predictive analytics, brands can forecast consumer behavior, optimize inventory, and personalize campaigns to better align with demand.

Actionable Tips:

  • Use Predictive Analytics: Leverage AI to forecast trends, predict consumer preferences, and tailor campaigns to meet demand.
  • Optimize Campaigns in Real-Time: Use real-time data to adjust your advertising spend and messaging, ensuring your campaign is always aligned with consumer behavior.

Why It Works:

Data-driven marketing helps brands make smarter decisions, ensuring campaigns are optimized for maximum impact and higher conversion rates.

How GeistM Can Elevate Your Holiday Marketing

At GeistM, we specialize in creating high-impact holiday marketing campaigns tailored to your brand’s unique needs. From strategic planning to multi-channel campaign execution, our expertise ensures that your brand stands out during the holiday season.

  • Custom Solutions: Tailored strategies to meet your brand’s specific needs.
  • Expertise in Trends: A deep understanding of consumer behavior and emerging trends.
  • Proven Success: A track record of delivering successful campaigns across social media, email marketing, and affiliate marketing channels.

Get in touch with GeistM to make your holiday marketing season unforgettable and start the new year on a winning note.

Personalization doesn’t have to be expensive. Segment your email list based on past customer behavior and offer tailored product recommendations. Use dynamic email content and affordable social media tools to target specific audience segments.

Engage early with social media giveaways, “early access” sales, and interactive content like polls or quizzes. Encourage customers to share their holiday shopping plans to help you build organic buzz.

Integrate both approaches into a cohesive strategy. Use short-form videos to build awareness and excitement, backed up by more detailed content on your website or via email to guide consumers through the consideration phase.

Avoid focusing too heavily on discounts alone — offer value beyond price. Ensure your website is optimized for mobile devices and avoid generic, impersonal messaging. Tailor your campaigns to specific needs and preferences.

Ensure your website is mobile-responsive and create quick-loading, mobile-friendly ads. Use SMS marketing and mobile-optimized emails to reach customers directly on their phones.

Encourage customers to share their holiday experiences or product unboxing through a branded hashtag. Feature UGC on your social media, in email campaigns, or even in your ads, making it authentic and relatable.

Highlight eco-friendly products, sustainable packaging, or charitable donations. Create a “Gift with Purpose” campaign that promotes environmentally responsible gifting options.

Track key metrics like engagement rates, website traffic, and conversion rates in real time. Use A/B testing to optimize ads and emails based on performance data.

Try new formats like live shopping or gamified promotions. Focus on unique aspects of your brand, like customer stories or behind-the-scenes content, to keep your messaging engaging and innovative.

Yes! GeistM specializes in crafting tailored holiday marketing strategies that align with your brand’s needs. Our expert team ensures campaigns are optimized across all channels, delivering real-time results and maximizing ROI.

Affiliate Marketing vs. Performance Marketing: Which One is Right for You?

nitantialur

Written by nitantialur

  • Content

All set to catapult your digital marketing strategy to the next level, but stuck in a dilemma? You’re not alone. With affiliate and performance marketing being two of the most potent revenue streams — each with its unique flavor and finesse — the landscape is more complex than ever.

Both sound like results-based ROI,?yet have radically different operating principles. Knowing the differences between both is key, whether you’re a start-up on a tight budget or an established brand wanting to get your money’s worth out of your marketing budget.

Well-known performance marketing agencies, like GeistM, will tell you there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The best approach for you depends on your budget, timeline, and growth objectives. This guide demystifies the marketing jargon to give you a straightforward comparison of both?approaches — their mechanics, strengths, weaknesses, and what scenarios make each approach shine. 

What is Affiliate?Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a form of partnership in which you (the merchant) connect with relevant publishers and content creators to promote your products using unique tracking links. You?pay them a fixed commission when their audience clicks through and converts.

The beauty? You only pay for actual results —?typically sales, leads, or clicks.

Affiliate marketing has come a long way since Amazon started its program in?the 90s. Today’s affiliate ecosystem includes everything from influential bloggers and social media stars to coupon sites and comparison websites: trusted go-betweens between your brand and potential customers.

What Is Performance Marketing?

Performance marketing is an all-encompassing digital strategy in which you only pay once specific?actions or results are achieved. That means a data-driven solution across multiple KPIs and channels — from paid search to social media ads, display ads, native ads, and affiliate marketing.

The common thread? Payment is based on specific performance metrics. Whether it’s cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-action (CPA), or cost-per-impression (CPM), you pay for real stuff.

Never before has performance marketing granted you such control. It’s marketing with performance-based accountability built in — every dollar spent maps back to clear results.

Canva Studio for Pexels

Let’s compare these two:

Channel Focus:

Payment Structure:

Strategy Control:

Data Visibility:

Affiliate marketing can be seen as a specialized tool in your marketing arsenal; performance marketing, on the?other hand, is your entire toolbox.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Each Approach

Affiliate Marketing Pros:

Affiliate Marketing Cons:

Performance Marketing Pros:

Cons of Performance Marketing:

Which One Should You Go With?

Affiliate marketing is a fantastic, low-risk entry point for those on a shoestring budget.

Are you starting out with only $5,000-$10,000? Then, affiliate marketing is the ideal way to?break in and get your feet wet. You’ll take advantage of the “pay for performance” model that makes upfront risk a thing of the past. Your marketing?dollars don’t leave your pocket until sales happen.

To lump high speed, scalability,?and data-centric growth, performance marketing gives an edge.

Andrea Piacquadio for Pexels

Why The Best Brands Use A Hybrid Approach To Maximize Results

The marketing geniuses don’t make a choice; they make a fusion. Big-name brands such as Sephora,?Nike, and HelloFresh harmonize both strategies. They provide sustainable revenue through trusted partnerships with their affiliate programs, while performance campaigns will drive targeted growth initiatives.

This mix breeds a marketing eco-system where various channels supplement rather than compete with one another. Performance marketing insights can help shape your affiliate strategy, and vice versa — affiliate success stories can inspire your next ad campaign.

Why You Need GeistM

At GeistM, we’ve mastered the art and science of each marketing strategy. We also know that the brand journey is different for everyone. We create an ROI-maximizing, risk-minimizing affiliate program for you. Our premium publisher network can instantly get your products to engaged audiences.

We’ve built a proprietary technology platform to provide unbeatable targeting precision and optimization abilities to brands willing to spend?aggressively in performance marketing ($100k+ budgets). We don’t just run campaigns; we build tailored marketing strategies designed to deliver customer acquisition at profitable costs.

Eventually, the most successful brands?we work with adopt our hybrid methodology, addressing the wholly constructive lifetime relationship between the two categories of affiliate relationships and performance campaigns. With this comprehensive approach, you don’t miss any revenue opportunities in the?digital landscape.

Want to revolutionize?your marketing strategy? Contact us today. Whether managing early-stage affiliates or scaling toward market domination in performance marketing, GeistM delivers the smarts to get the best possible ROI from your marketing. Together,?we will create something great!

Written By: Brent Barnhart

Key Elements to Building a Powerful Content Marketing Strategy

nitantialur

Written by nitantialur

  • Content

Businesses use content marketing as a way to engage their audience and build brand loyalty. Content marketing can take many forms, from blog posts, articles, and social media updates to infographics and videos. With the right strategy in place, content marketing has the potential to drive traffic, increase conversions, and enhance brand recognition. 

Whether you’re working with a performance marketing agency or handling your marketing efforts in-house, understanding the key elements of a content marketing strategy can help you achieve long-term success.

Quick Tip: Content marketing nurtures organic growth over time and can generate significant results at a low cost.

1. Define Your Goals

The first and most important step in building a powerful content marketing strategy is defining clear and actionable goals. What do you hope to achieve with your content? Do you want to grow website traffic, improve brand awareness, generate leads, or boost customer retention?

Your goals should align with your overall business objectives. Say you’re looking to increase sales, your content might include product-focused articles, videos, or affiliate marketing initiatives. If your goal is brand awareness, consider producing UGC (User Generated Content) engaging videos or blog posts that highlight your company mission and values. Defining specific goals will allow you to measure success and calibrate your strategy as needed. 

Quick Tip: Don’t waste resources creating content that has no value for your company.

2. Know Your Audience

Once your goals are established, it’s time to dive deep into understanding your audience. Successful content marketing strategies always focus on the target audience—what they want, need, and how they consume content. Without knowing your audience, you can’t create content that resonates with them.

Start by creating buyer personas—fictional characters that represent the different segments of your audience. These personas should include demographic details such as age, gender, household income, job role and interests, as well as psychographics like their motivations, challenges, and pain points. The more you understand your audience, the more effective your content marketing will be.

3. Create High-Quality, Relevant Content

At the heart of any content marketing strategy is content itself. Creating high-quality, relevant content is key to building trust and engaging your audience. Content can come in many formats, including blog posts, articles, podcasts, or videos — and can be written in both the 1st or 3rd person. It’s important to choose the right format for your message and audience.

Incorporate topics that matter to your target audience. If your goal is to educate and inform, long-form blog posts and articles are an excellent way to take a deep dive into meaningful topics. If you’re looking to entertain, consider creating more dynamic content such as videos or interactive posts. 

Consistent, first-rate content can help you build authority in your industry—critical for both short-term and long-term marketing success.

4. Optimize for SEO

While content is king, without proper optimization, it may not reach your target audience (or any audience at all). Search engine optimization (SEO) is an approach focused on making your content discoverable in search engines like Google. By including appropriate keywords and ensuring the content is well-structured, you can boost its visibility.

Start by conducting keyword research to understand what your audience is searching for. Use these keywords naturally within your content to improve your chances of ranking higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). Make sure your content is fast-loading, easy to navigate, and mobile-friendly. This will enhance both the user experience and SEO performance.

5. Leverage Video Advertising

Incorporating video advertising into your content marketing strategy can significantly strengthen your results. Videos are a powerful tool to connect with your audience. Whether it’s a short ad, a cooking tutorial, or an explainer video, video content often performs better than other types of content in terms of engagement and conversion rates. In fact, statistics show that viewers retain 95% of a message included in a video compared to 10% when reading it in text.

When it comes to building brand awareness, video advertising is especially effective as it allows for a more dynamic and personal connection with your audience. You can showcase your products, tell stories, or even educate your audience, basically be an influencer. Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube are ideal spaces to share these videos. Plus, they offer targeting options to ensure your content reaches the right people.

6. Promote Your Content

Creating great content is only half the battle. To build a successful content marketing strategy, you need to promote that content across various channels. Don’t rely solely on organic traffic—leverage social media, email marketing, and even paid advertising to amplify your message.

Affiliate marketing is an exceptional way to expand your reach. By partnering with affiliates who have their own audiences, you can tap into new customer segments without spending significant amounts on ads. Affiliates promote your content or products, and in return, you can earn a commission for any sales generated. This mutually beneficial arrangement helps grow both your audience and revenue.

7. Measure and Analyze Performance

A powerful content marketing strategy is not static—it evolves over time. To optimize your content and refine your strategy, you need to measure and analyze your performance regularly. Use analytics tools to track key metrics like traffic, engagement, lead generation, and conversion rates.

This data will help you identify what’s working and what needs improvement. For example, if you notice that video content is driving higher engagement than blog posts, it’s smart to invest more resources into creating videos. If certain keywords are driving traffic, optimize future content by including similar terms.

8. Build Relationships and Trust

The most effective content marketing strategies build long-term relationships and trust with your audience. Consistency, transparency, and authenticity are key to creating a loyal following. When your audience feels that they can trust your brand, they’re more likely to become repeat customers and even brand advocates.

Engage with your audience on social media, respond to comments on your content, and ask for feedback. This two-way communication can help you improve your content and solidify your audience relationship.

9. Keep Current With Industry Trends

The digital marketing world is in constant flux. Innovative technologies, tools, and strategies are constantly evolving. Remaining current with the latest trends in digital marketing, content creation, and SEO can give you a competitive edge and keep your strategy fresh.

Consider following thought leaders in the content marketing and digital marketing space. Subscribe to relevant blogs, participate in webinars, and attend industry conferences to stay informed. The more you know about the latest developments, the more effectively you can adapt your strategy and stay ahead of the competition.

Final Thoughts

Building a powerful content marketing strategy doesn’t happen overnight. It requires planning, consistency, and ongoing refinement. By defining your goals, understanding your audience, creating high-quality content, optimizing for SEO, and promoting your work, you can lay a solid foundation for success. Add video advertising, affiliate marketing, sponsored content and regular performance analysis into the mix, and you’ll create a content strategy that helps you build long-term relationships with your audience and achieve measurable results.

Whether you work with a performance marketing agency or handle things in-house, these core elements of content marketing will guide you toward creating a strategy that drives engagement, growth, and success.

How GeistM Can Help Accelerate Your Content Marketing Strategy

At GeistM, we specialize in helping brands accelerate their content marketing strategies and turn key components into results-driven actions. With our in-house team of content experts and extensive industry experience, we collaborate with you to create outstanding engaging content that amplifies your brand’s voice and connects with your target audience. Whether optimizing for SEO, developing video campaigns, or enhancing your digital marketing efforts, we ensure every element of your strategy works seamlessly to fuel growth.

As we venture into 2025, partnering with us is your opportunity to build a content marketing strategy that truly delivers. Contact GeistM today to see how we can make a real impact on your marketing goals.

Written by: Honor Molloy

Unlocking the Power of Performance Marketing: A Complete Guide

nitantialur

Written by nitantialur

  • Performance Marketing

Businesses constantly seek ways to optimize their marketing efforts and ensure that every dollar spent yields measurable results. That’s where performance marketing comes in. 

What is performance marketing? 

According to Medium, “Performance marketing is a digital strategy where advertisers pay only when specific actions are completed. These actions can include clicks, leads, sales, or other measurable results.”

Other forms of marketing usually ask businesses to pay upfront without guaranteeing results; that is where performance marketing stands out. It’s no wonder performance marketing is quickly becoming the go-to approach for businesses looking to maximize efficiency and ROI in their campaigns.

How does performance marketing work?

For performance marketing to work efficiently, the interests of both advertisers and marketing partners need to be aligned. A successful performance marketing strategy involves the following:

Who are the leading players in performance marketing? 

Retailers

This includes both B2C and B2B businesses that are looking to promote their products or services through partners or publishers. Big Commerce states, “49% of consumers depend on influencer (via publishers) recommendations to purchase.” So, retailers who work with performance marketing agencies drive huge sales. 

Publishers

Publishers come in many forms, such as blogs, apps, product reviews, and more. Essentially, these act as an extension of the brand and have much more freedom than the brand itself. Here at GeistM, our in-house content and creative team helps create content to inform and educate consumers about the brand. In addition, we host this content across our network of publishers, fostering greater trust with users by providing valuable information in a familiar and reliable environment. 

Tracking

Tracking platforms are essential for both retailers and publishers — they are a one-stop shop for information. Setting up tracking is the perfect way to keep track of leads, users, conversations, and overall campaign performance. 

If you don’t use a third-party tracking system, our analysts at GeistM have the expertise to set up performance tracking and make the right optimizations to maximize your ROI. 

What are the different KPIs?

Depending on your needed outcomes, there are a few different methods: 

What are the main types of performance marketing?

Performance marketing goes beyond ads; it focuses on various areas.

Sponsored Content 

Sponsored content is a form of content marketing where a dedicated article or video is featured on a website that regularly publishes content. Unlike traditional ads, sponsored content seamlessly blends with the surrounding editorial material, offering value to readers while subtly promoting a product or service. Users typically land on these articles through external ad links, and retailers pay for the content to be created, hence the term “sponsored content.”

At GeistM, we specialize in crafting high-quality sponsored content hosted on our trusted network of publishers. Our team creates engaging, informative content designed to educate consumers about products, helping them make well-informed purchasing decisions. By combining educational value with strategic promotion, we ensure that sponsored content resonates with readers while aligning with brand goals.

Affiliate Marketing

This is a type of digital marketing where businesses partner with individuals or companies (affiliates) to promote their products or services. They earn a commission for driving traffic or sales through their unique referral links, often through blogs, websites, or social media channels. 

Native Advertising

This form of advertising doesn’t look like a typical ad; it can be banners or display ads. They can be neutral and function on any site that they are placed on. They fit “natively” on the page and can be dynamically based on each user viewing the content. 

Several different native networks facilitate these kinds of ads. Here at GeistM, we are experts at advertising on native networks such as Outbrain and Taboola. We manage everything for our clients on these networks straight from Kick-Off, with daily reporting, constant communication, and detailed insights. 

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

SEM is a strategy that promotes websites by increasing their visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs) through paid advertising. Advertisers bid on keywords relevant to their business and pay only when users click on their ads. At GeistM, we create result-oriented strategies tailored to our partners’ needs. We take the time to understand your business, perform our due diligence on competitors, and analyze all the data necessary to ensure we have everything we need to achieve your goals. Plus, since we use a third-party site (not the brand site), we have more freedom regarding brand promotion.   

Social Media Marketing 

We’ve all heard of social media marketing, which is when we use social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to gain traffic and increase brand awareness. We know that advertising across more networks is better; you can’t just stick to one. We specifically write content that is catered to each network and succeed in optimizing campaigns for them. 

At GeistM, we maximize media spending and strategically collaborate with a diverse range of partners to secure lower rates, providing unparalleled opportunities for testing and optimization. This approach delivers real value by enabling more efficient experimentation and quicker scaling across platforms, helping brands accelerate growth while optimizing performance.

What are the benefits of performance marketing?

Performance marketing is the future of digital marketing, and here are a few of the benefits.

Why GeistM is the Performance Marketing Agency You Need

Since performance marketing is growing exponentially, there are lots of agencies that offer it. But here at GeistM, we are experts at it. Our in-house content team is designed to create content and graphics that attract users and create conversions. And let’s not forget about our growth team that continuously tracks performance and optimizes campaigns to ensure your brand succeeds. 

We are a team that’s always innovating and thinking outside the box regarding how we create content, the graphics we use, and the audiences we create — we understand the user journey and know what makes them convert.

Are you ready to get started with performance marketing? Contact GeistM today!

Written By: Nitanti Alur