It should come as no surprise given the way digital marketing has exploded over the last few years, but all signs point to this holiday season being the biggest yet for digital and content marketing across nearly all industries.

The following are a few examples of companies making big digital marketing efforts heading into the holidays:

• Target is running a major campaign across Facebook, along with Instagram, Snapchat and various other mobile apps. Social media alone will make up 12 percent of the brand’s media spending—a 30 percent increase from 2014. Target is making particular use of Facebook’s new Canvas e-commerce ads to push Wonderpacks, which are activity packs themed for the holidays. It’s also overhauling its website content with holiday-themed designs.

• Macy’s is planning a social media onslaught as well, with plans to bring its ads to Facebook and Instagram. It is splitting up a three-minute holiday-themed brand film into 30- and 15-second videos, and users who follow the brand across various platforms will eventually see the full story.

• Crew is banking on Jimmy Fallon’s star power on its website and via social media by featuring the late night personality in a variety of branded images. The company is banking big on social media and e-commerce more so than it ever has.

• REI made big headlines for sending out press releases and statements speaking to how not only would it not open its stores on Thanksgiving Day, but that it would not open on Black Friday, either. The announcement put a lot more attention on the brand than it would typically get during the holiday season.

Content marketing and the holidays

So what is the state of content marketing looking like this year? A variety of data firms and marketing agencies have already performed some interesting studies. Here are a few particularly compelling numbers:

• 77,000: The approximate number of tweets using the hashtag “#BlackFriday” between November 1 and November 22 of this year, according to a study performed by DataRank. The study went a step further and examined the tone of these tweets. An astounding 82.8 percent of tweets with the #BlackFriday hashtag were negative in tone, compared to only 14.4 percent positive and 2.8 percent neutral.
• $352: The amount of money the average Millennial is expected to spend on holiday shopping this year, according to a study performed by Ypulse.
• $885.7 billion: The total amount of money expected to be spent at U.S. retail locations in the 2015 holiday season—a 5.7 percent increase over 2014, according to eMarketer.
• 38 percent: The amount of tweets about retailers in which big-box retailer Wal-Mart is mentioned. Best Buy took second place with 26 percent, and Target was mentioned in 23 percent. These numbers came from DataRank, as well.
• $79.5 billion: The amount of money projected to be spent by online shoppers during this holiday season, according to eMarketer.
• 46 percent: Purchases this holiday season that will be made online, according to the National Retail Federation.
• 20 percent: The amount by which total social conversions for Black Friday via sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube went up this year over 2014.

With numbers like these, it’s no wonder businesses are so focused on developing hard-hitting digital marketing strategies for the holidays. What have you done as a company to make the most of this important season?