The holiday season is right around the corner and now’s the time to start launching your holiday marketing campaign. According to the National Retail Federation, up to 40% of small businesses’ sales occur during November and December. And even if you aren’t in retail, the holiday season is the perfect time to take advantage of consumers’ open wallets.
Here are 17 ways to do just that.
17. Get involved in local events
Town events go hand in hand with the holidays, and they’re the perfect place to improve your brand visibility and show of the face(s) of the people behind the business.
16. Give your social media accounts a festive makeover
Get followers in the holiday spirit by updating your social media headers with seasonal images and utilizing holiday-inspired filters and fonts. And if you’re using YouTube for marketing, make sure your channel is ready with a snazzy seasonal intro and plenty of holiday-themed content.
15. Give out those coupons
Deals improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. Consumer spending skyrockets during the last two months of the year, and coupon users spend 24% more than regular shoppers.
14. Have customers help you create holiday designs
From creating a festive logo to jazzing up your branded products, getting customers involved in the design process is a surefire way to increase brand visibility and customer loyalty. Get them to share their finished design on social media and pick the best-of-the-best to use.
13. Team up with a local charity
Amp up your brand’s visibility and get involved in your community. Leverage the season of giving by helping a local charity raise money. Or, head out with your employees and work with a nonprofit together.
12. Throw a customer appreciation event
Whether you take clients out for a nice dinner or host a party in-store, investing in customer appreciation strategies helps keep your brand on their minds year-round.
11. Get in on gift guides
Nearly every blogger focuses heavily on gift guides this time of year. Take advantage of it and try your hand at influencer marketing by getting your best-selling products included on must-buy lists.
10. Go crazy with giveaways and gifts
Treat your social media followers to one substantial prize or host multiple smaller contests to keep them engaged and encourage more sales. Provide services for clients? Put together branded gifts to show your appreciation. A coffee mug decorated with your logo—and filled with hot chocolate—or a gift basket stuffed with treats and a few branded office supplies work beautifully (and won’t break the bank).
9. Be generous with extras
It’s the time of year to go a bit overboard. Offer complimentary gift wrapping, lower your free shipping minimum or surprise shoppers by including a complimentary stocking stuffer with every purchase.
8. Get followers to spread the word
Start a holiday-inspired hashtag on social media and ask your base to share how they’re using your products or services to enjoy the season and get ready for the next year.
7. Partner up with other businesses
Cross-promotions open you up to an entirely new group of prospects. Host a holiday sale with another business, team up with other brands to give out coupons to each other’s customers or host a holiday giveaway with a complimentary business.
6. Create branded calendars for the new year
Keep your business on customers’ minds and give them something useful with a fresh calendar for the upcoming year. Just make sure the design fits your bases’ aesthetic preferences and your brand—you don’t want it to end up in the trash can or throw off the image customers have of your business.
5. Spruce up your website
Make site visitors feel festive and ready to check out. Decorate your website for the season with seasonal tweaks to your logo, copy and site design.
4. Send out holiday cards
Skip the sales pitch and let customers and clients know you appreciate their business. A thoughtful card goes a long way to improve loyalty, and if you send the cards early enough they could net you a bump in sales.
3. Put together your own gift guides
It doesn’t matter if you sell physical products—blog readers and social media users love gift guides. And they’re great fodder for email marketing. Include a few of your own products as applicable, but incorporate products from other brands your base loves as well.
2. Create holiday checklists
Utilize a platform like Canva—or another graphic design product—to create planning and shopping checklists for customers to print. It’s a great way to fill up your content calendar for the rest of the year, and customers are more likely to share something useful on social media than a basic holiday post.
1. Snag last-minute shoppers
Believe it or not, only around half of holiday shoppers finish up their list by the middle of December. Amp up your marketing emails and paid advertising, and throw in a sweet discount to reel in procrastinators.
Try one or try them all—but don’t let the opportunity to improve customer loyalty, brand visibility and sales pass you by.
