The holidays are a great time to grow your small business, especially if you know how to market your business this time of the year.
Holiday Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses
The holidays are an opportunity to market your business. Here are a few holiday marketing ideas that will drive returns without blowing your budget. Make sure to try a few of them so that you don’t limit your reach to potential customers.
- Email - Run seasonal targeted email marketing campaigns. By segmenting your audience lists and then emailing them with the right content and offers, you can influence their purchasing decisions without impacting your holiday marketing budget. That’s why you need to employ some tactics to enable you to shine bright in the sea of holiday messaging. Here are some ways to make your email marketing stand out:
- Segment Your List - Divide your contacts into smaller groups based on demographics, purchase history, and email engagement level so you can send more targeted and personalized emails.
- Craft Festive Subject Lines - Using festive puns, themed wordplays, or season emojis will boost your visibility and help your emails to get opened.
- Optimize For Mobile Devices - Break up text, avoid large image files, and use CTA buttons instead of long links so that your email marketing works with all screen sizes.
- Content - Creating helpful content is one of the most effective customer engagement strategies available. High-quality, consistent content, builds brand credibility, improves conversions, connects with customers, and generates leads. Focus your content on holiday-related topics that customers are interested in. You can also increase engagement with interactive content such as quizzes, polls, and mini-games. Whatever content you publish should stir emotions and cause people to interact with your brand.
- Contests - Try running a mini-game or giveaway. Start by figuring out if you’re looking to build brand awareness, increase followers, create social media engagement, or some other goal. Next, pick a contest prize that’s related to your business. It should bring in participants that will benefit your business while not breaking your budget. Then determine how people will participate in your mini-game or giveaway. Some ideas include asking people to react to your post, share your post with a branded hashtag, tag one or more friends, visit your website, etc. Make it as easy as possible for participants by limiting requirements to three or four steps.
- Combos - Cross-selling is a great way to sell more and increase average order value. Offering appealing product bundles can drive extra sales on every single order. Here are some creative holiday combo ideas:
- Pair your best-selling items with complementary products to get a better deal.
- Recommend matching accessories and add-ons with original products.
- Suggest you-might-also-like items based on what customers recently viewed
- Let shoppers customize their own product deals.
- Name your holiday combos or use branded hashtags to attract more people on social media.
- Videos - Increase brand awareness and revenue with holiday videos that let you stay connected with your customers. You too can produce great videos that customers will love without professional video producers or filmmaking equipment. A smartphone and some simple, creative ideas, such as the following, are all you need.
- Highlight Promotions - Shoot a short video (as short as 15 seconds) introducing your deals.
- Share Gift Guides - A smartphone, good lighting, products you’re suggesting, and a spokesperson are all you need to showcase your recommendations, what makes them great gifts, and who they’d be perfect for.
- Educate Your Audience - Provide valuable holiday information for your audience with seasonal tips.
- Be Thankful - Show your customers some appreciation. Try filming a short heartfelt video letting clients know you’re grateful for them and you’re looking forward to the new year together.
- Year-In-Review - Look back on the year to see what went well and what can be done better next year. Try making a year-in-review video that highlights some milestones and shares your excitement for the new year. You can even invite some of your loyal customers to join your video.
- Loyalty Program - Rewards loyal clients that frequently buy from you during the holiday season to keep them loyal and urge them to spend more. Offer your year-round customers some special offers. A holiday loyalty program can include an exclusive holiday deal, free upgrades, buy-one-get-one, or a free downloadable resource. You can also give your year-round shoppers freebies, as long as they fit in your budget.
If you want to know more about marketing, read our article, “Here’s Why Every Small Business Needs A Strong Marketing Team” or contact us.
Tags: holiday marketing ideas, small business