Holiday Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses

I love this time of year. It’s a time of gratitude, celebration, reflection, and gathering with friends and family.  Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, or just “the holidays”, one thing that is the same for all is the celebratory theme that transcends the next month and a half.  While everyone is in a good mood, it’s a perfect time to tie your content marketing with the holiday festivities, and show gratitude to your customers.  Get into the spirit and integrate these tactics into a digital holiday marketing campaign. (Follow our build-a-plan to create yours.)

Showcase your business using a popular Christmas carol.

The Twelve Days of Christmas is a carol that enumerates a series of gifts that each day grows more outlandish.  Have fun with this carol by featuring 12 ways to use your product or service. Make the campaign as fun as the carol, and feature 12 outlandish ways to use your product or service. (Remember the Will It Blend? series, that was hilariously outlandish, and viral!) Feature 12 of your favorite customers in a Christmas Facebook campaign. Step away from business and share your 12 favorite family recipes or feature 12 causes that are important to your organization.  Remember to integrate smart use of hashtags in your campaign on social channels like Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook.

According to Social Media Scientist Dan Zarella, tweets that contain one or more hashtags are 55% more likely to be ReTweeted than Tweets that do not.

Chef Jamie Oliver has already launched his holiday campaign.

Speaking of Christmas caroling, reach out to customers.

Even if no one in your business can carry a tune, put them together singing as a group– and it will sound good. It’s funny how that works.  Make a simple video of your team crooning a Christmas carol. Don’t break the bank on this one, a smartphone will do the trick. Share your talented team on your social media channels and send it out in an email to your clients.

Email subject line: Knock, knock, knock… the [your business] carolers are here.
Find other creative email subject lines here.

If you’re still worried the team will sound terrible, partner with a local school and record the choir singing a carol, or your church or a local non-profit.

Personalize your business brand by giving thanks.

On my Facebook newsfeed, many of my friends are posting something they are thankful for each day throughout November.  I enjoy seeing such gratitude, and at the same time, I’m also learning about what’s happening in their life. Create a series of posts that share what your business is grateful for from 2013.

Use a call-to-action to “unwrap” a holiday discount through your social media channels.

Social Media Examiner recently shared six tips for increasing Facebook fan engagement and driving online sales with images.  I especially liked number two, which features a Share to Unlock tactic. Spinning off this idea, offer a Share to Unwrap a Christmas special. For Twitter, offer a “ReTweet to Unwrap” and for Pinterest, a “Pin to Unwrap.” Create a campaign hashtag that can be used throughout the promotions.

Create your own digital Christmas card.

With sites like PowToon and Moovly, it’s pretty easy to create a one-of-a-kind digital Christmas card specific to your company, to share with your clients, employees, and volunteers.  Use one of these tools to tell your own holiday story leading clients back to your website.  Perhaps show a character writing out his Christmas wish list or searching for a missing gift.  Whatever story you develop, consider involving your team for a team-building moment. Don’t forget to tastefully integrate a call-to-action(s).

Tis the month before Christmas… What marketing ideas can you share? Reach out in the comments below.