Making the Most of Holiday Marketing

Image courtesy of Pixabay and Pezibear

For most of us, holidays are something to look forward to. They represent a few extra days off work, extra time to spend with friends and family, and an excuse to eat delicious food. Holidays are also an excellent time to breathe fresh life into your marketing strategy by adding some festive cheer to your messaging. Since 20-40% of yearly sales for small-medium retailers happen in November and December, there’s good reason to create a seasonal holiday marketing plan! Over the next few weeks, here are a few ways to “deck the halls” when it comes to your online communication:

1. Create a holiday logo. Hire your favorite graphic designer to give your logo a festive touch. Your overall cost won’t be huge, and it’ll be something you can use year after year. Use it on everything from your Facebook page to your holiday mail to your website.

2. Feature shipping specials. If you sell a product online, you’ll have to face the reality of going up against Amazon Prime and other sites offering steep shipping discounts and speedy delivery options. Offer discounted shipping to keep up is a smart holiday marketing strategy.

3. Design editorial images over stock images. Whatever your product or service is, images portraying that product or service in “real life” being used or experienced by real people is far more effective than basic stock photos. These lifestyle photos tell a story and invite potential customers and clients to be part of that story.

4. Create promotions and giveaways. It’s obvious, but this is the best time of year to run specials. Even if you missed Black Friday or Small Business Saturday or Cyber Monday, don’t think you’ve missed your chance! Surprise your audience with deals all December long. Hint: the most popular deal? A store-wide discount! 41% of consumers prefer this type of discount to any other promotion.

5. 

   Image courtesy of Pixabay and Skitterphoto

   Get your website ready. With a whopping 82% of holiday shoppers using their smart phone while they shop, it’s important for your website to be mobile friendly! You should already have a site design that’s easy to use from a smart device, but it doesn’t hurt to double-check all the functionality.

6. Give back to the community. Whatever you’re personally passionate about, get your business involved in it – and talk about it! Take your crew to serve at a soup kitchen or raise funds for a children’s hospital. Socially share about it, and use your example to encourage your audience to participate in similar acts of generosity.

7. Be extremely social. Stay especially current and relevant on social media during the holidays. People are more active on social media sites this time of year, and you want to capitalize on that exposure. Share your promotions, giveaways, and specials. Celebrating the holidays is a way to humanize your business and connect with your audience.

With a little extra effort, you can get more mileage out of your marketing by adding a holiday-themed twist to your efforts. From social media to your website to your newsletter, brainstorm ways you can make these seven holiday marketing tips work for your business.