Last updated on July 8th, 2021 at 02:39 pm
As the holiday season approaches, so do even more marketing opportunities for your business. If you haven’t started brainstorming your holiday marketing strategy, now is the time! There are some great unique ways to get your business in front of your target audience, even with all of the competition. Here are our holiday marketing tips for small businesses in 2020.
Use visuals
If there is one thing that will stop a scrolling thumb, it’s an eye catching visual. Consider updating the visual aspects of your brand with holiday-themed images and graphics in celebration. Don’t limit yourself, create holiday themed icons, banners, website headers, email signatures and anything else you can think of. Aim to evoke joy and nostalgia so that anyone who comes into contact with your brand can’t help but feel merry and bright.
Advertise on social media
Tis’ the season to sleigh your competition and invest in promoting your social media posts. Promoting your social media posts will help increase the number of people you reach. Make sure to tailor each campaign for the platform you will use it on, as different platforms can be used to reach different audiences. Establishing your objective and target audience will help you determine which platform and which ad format will work best. For example, the audience you might reach on a platform such as Tik Tok will be younger than the audience you would reach on Pinterest. Social media platforms have millions of active daily users, making advertising on them an important part of your holiday marketing strategy.
Start a branded holiday hashtag campaign
To capitalize off of your social media advertising success, think of a way to creatively link your brand with the holiday season using hashtags. Hashtags boost the engagement of your post, further maximizing the number of viewers you can reach. Instagram is the most notable platform that utilizes hashtags. Using hashtags can help your audience find relevant posts from your brand. They will create a sense of community, encouraging people to engage with your posts. A great example of a branded holiday hashtag success is Starbucks. Starbucks started utilizing this strategy back in 2014 through 2016 with the #redcupcontest. The red cup contest consisted of participants drawing on their plain red cups and posting a picture on Instagram using the #recupcontest to enter. To date, there are over 37,000 pictures on Instagram with that hashtag.
Pro tip: try not to use generic or overused hashtags. This will prevent your content from getting lost in the sea of posts tagged with the same thing.
Update your Google AdWords campaigns
Don’t stop at images, make sure you update your Google AdWords campaigns to reflect the holiday season. This is a fantastic opportunity to highlight any benefits you offer, such as free shipping, gift wrapping services, engraving and more. Follow these holiday marketing tips to get the most out of your Adwords campaigns:
- Utilize holiday themed words and phrases such as “gifts for mom” or “tis’ the season.”
- Highlight special offers and benefits.
- Elicit a sense of urgency by establishing a deadline for certain deals. Use phrases like “take advantage of this sale before it’s too late!”
- Schedule your ads for optimal times when your shoppers are most active online.
- Use ad extensions to maximize your online presence and reach the largest audience.
Use Google Shopping Ads
If you have ever used Google, you may have noticed that when you search for an item a row of shoppable items appear at the very top of the search, below the search bar. This feature makes it even easier for someone to find what they are looking for. Then they have all of the pertinent information they want such as how much it costs, where they can buy it, customer ratings, etc. Use enticing images of your products to attract your customers. This will help them stand out among all of the other similar shoppable items. A few easy things you can do to help with that is to optimize your product photography, include key details in the product title, and collect 5-star reviews. In order for your Google shopping ads to succeed, you need to stand out as you are directly competing against other brands selling similar products.
Give a free gift
Incentivizing your audience is a surefire way to get them to take the action you want them to take. Having your audience do something for your business before they can receive the free gift could significantly increase your engagement and sales. By having your audience refer a friend in order to receive the free gift, you are increasing brand awareness while catering to the wants and needs of your current customers by offering them something. This is the gift that keeps on giving.
Offer coupons
Who doesn’t love a good coupon when going on a shopping spree? With the holidays comes a giant list of gifts to buy for friends and family. Make it a little easier on your customer’s wallets by offering coupons and discounts that can’t be resisted. There are many days dedicated to sales around the holidays that you can easily take advantage of. Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you can generate significantly more sales than even your best day.
Don’t forget print marketing
In the world of social media, it can be easy to overlook marketing methods of the past, such as print marketing. While many people spend a lot of time online these days, print marketing is still a successful tactic that should not be ignored. Consider designing an eye catching banner to put on display on your store front. Custom banners will help attract those passing by, but don’t limit yourself to just that. If you’re looking to attract customers from all over, consider a direct mail campaign. A holiday postcards could be just what someone needs to get them into your store. Last but not least, print some business flyers to hand out and post around your neighborhood. Create a catchy offer and make sure your design stands out to catch everyone’s attention.
For most businesses, the holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year. Make the most out of it by utilizing these holiday marketing tips for small businesses to grow your customer base and end the year on a high note.
