If you run a small business, you might think that having a marketing plan is too much work. You can get ahead of the holiday rush and have more time to spend with your family and friends if you plan your holiday marketing ideas ahead of time.
You can stay ahead of the usual holiday chaos by planning your holiday campaign ahead of time. This way, you can make sure that both the content and the times of publication are just right.
Things that make a holiday marketing plan work
Are you ready to start making plans for your holiday marketing? Let’s go over what you’ll need for a happy and good holiday:
1. Social media accounts that is busy
During the holidays, people think of their friends and family and feel happy and warm. Social media posts about your company that are in line with the holiday spirit can help you connect with people of all ages.
People will like and trust your business if you use social media to connect with them on an emotional level. This trust will make them more likely to buy from you instead of one of your rivals.
Are you looking for content ideas that will help you beat the competition?
Post and share on Facebook about your team and what the holidays mean to them. People will want to share that kind of material, and your followers will love it.
A mix of holiday and sales-related content should be posted twice or three times a day. Share holiday-related tips and tricks, show off that great gift idea, and post your deals or other holiday-related items. Use labels to get more people to see your posts.
Post high-quality holiday-themed pictures on Instagram. Pictures of babies, families, and pets get extra points!
Show off what your team is doing behind the scenes on Instagram Stories or TikTok as they get ready for the holiday rush, decorate your shop, or help people in need. You might even want to use friends if you can.
2. Interesting email marketing
When businesses plan their holiday campaigns, they often focus on social media more than their email lists. Don’t forget to check your email list, though. You can get your business in front of people who might buy from you during the holidays.
- Send a sale email a few days before Black Friday or Cyber Monday to get ahead of the crowd. To get more Christmas shoppers’ attention, more brands are sending out their deals before the big day.
- Over the holiday email marketing season, you can start a program to get people who haven’t been opening your emails to start doing so again. You should start a program to get customers interested in your business again early so that they are ready for the holidays.
- During the season, keep sending your users discount codes, coupons, and other deals that they’ll want to use. Then, give those deals end dates to make people act quickly.
- It’s great to have promotional material, but you can think of better ideas. Add some fun and interesting content to keep your followers interested throughout the season.
- Show off your fresh goods and services.
- Let them know about your holiday-themed events or sales early.
- You can add value by giving people useful information, like how to put lights on a tree the right way or recipes for holiday drinks.
- Make people laugh or cry. Thank them for all the help they’ve given you this year.
- Send lists of useful things to do, teaching materials or gift ideas for the holidays.
3. E-commerce and in-person encounters that work well together
Marketing your business and holiday ads are meant to bring in customers and close deals. To do that, you’ll need a website that looks good and works well. You’ll want to make sure that your website and real-life business are in sync if your business does both. Also, make sure your local SEO is good. You want people to be able to find you on Google.
It’s almost certain that stores will prepare for the holidays, so you should do the same for your website.
Put some holiday graphics on your landing page, draw attention to your future sales, include a gift guide, and make sure your seasonal items stand out. Your website is a great place to get your loyal customers in the holiday mood.
Learn how to make a Christmas advertising plan.
Let’s go over the steps you need to take to plan your holiday marketing effort now that your marketing platforms are up and running.
Figure out your marketing deals.
- First, you should plan out and get set in stone your rewards. After that, you can figure out what kind of text and pictures will work best for each. Choose the promotional offers that fit your business and goods the best.
- Customers like discount codes like $10 off, 10% off, or free shipping. But you need to decide what your offer(s) will be and how long they’ll last.
- BOGO (buy one, get one) sales get people to buy the second item at a lower price that they might not have thought about before.
- A great way to get people to buy more than they planned is to offer a discount on two or three goods that work well together. It’s hard to say no to a good deal, especially when it comes to giving gifts.
- Having contests is a great way to get more people to take part and make your products more known. Then you can have posts with holiday-themed photos (throwback Thursday, funny mall Santa pics, childhood, favourite tree, favourite food, favourite memory, etc.).
- Giving things away is another way to get people to sign up for your lists for all of your marketing efforts. For example, “Sign up today to get X” or “X will be sent to all orders placed on December 2.”
- Charity donations give a certain portion of sales to the charity of your choice. This can be popular with shoppers who want to do good this holiday season.
- Once you have a plan for all of your sales and ads, you can start writing the content that will go in them.
- Make a plan for the content you will post and when you will post it as the first step in this process. Then, make a note of the ads and pictures that go with each post.
- Now that you have that knowledge, you can start making plans for your campaigns and the times they will run.
Set up a plan.
- As of late November, the busiest time of the year is between the end of November or the beginning of December. Your content and advertising will start to draw people in if you start posting early and regularly.
- When the season starts, your content can be more general. As the shopping season goes on, it can become more detailed and heavy as people need things more quickly. Also, don’t forget to plan specific posts for Cyber Monday, Black Friday, and Small Business Saturday.
- There is no such thing as sales talk when it comes to campaign content. What works better is content that helps the reader. More sales will always come from tips, how-tos, and stories.
Video can be a part of your holiday marketing strategy.
- With apps like TikTok becoming more popular, social media sites are giving videos more attention. Since videos are so popular right now, making a set of them is a great way to get people excited and keep them interested.
- Short videos with daily themes like “Customer of the Day,” “Product of the Day,” or “Deal of the Day” can be made. You can also use them to make announcements or build up to a big sale or release. Write down your ideas, your goals, and how you plan to reach each one as you come up with video ideas.
- Make an outline for each topic or series once you have some thoughts and goals. This will help you stay on track. Then, with your plan in hand, write a script that you can practise in the time you have allotted so that you don’t go on and on.
Make good pictures to help your marketing strategy.
- For the holidays, you should share holiday-themed images on social media throughout the season. With your holiday visual campaign, you can share fun quotes, sales or seasonal deals, and important news. The good news is that you can use them again and again in emails, social media posts, and online.
- Getting into the holiday mood shows your customers that you care, and it gives your business a unique look. It’s also a smart way to make your brand seem more like a person, which will help sales and make your brand more well-known over time.
- As a general rule, when making visuals for your holiday marketing, come up with a theme that runs through everything you do. Like a figure, mascot, slogan, colour scheme, or style.
- Fans and friends will quickly notice you if the pictures in your holiday ads are always the same. This method will also help you create a strong and recognisable business brand.
Keep going with your Christmas marketing in the New Year.
When January comes around, it can be tempting to let off the gas. And it’s normal for small business owners to feel tired during the holidays. However, if you plan ahead, you can keep your business moving forward into the New Year.
