No matter which type of business you own—for example, whether it’s a dealership, jewelry shop, HVAC business, furniture store, or med spa—holiday marketing can help businesses . And having a strong holiday marketing campaign is absolutely essential.
What is the objective of the holiday campaign?
As we noted, holiday campaigns are crucial to your business’s success. But what is the actual objective of the holiday campaign, and why is it so important?
The objective of each holiday campaign varies depending on the holiday, your audience (key demographics, etc.), and the type of campaign you choose. It also varies depending on the goals and priorities of your business and the team running your campaign. However, the main objective is typically to drive sales and conversions.
There are many smaller goals that build into this objective and may take center stage in one of your campaigns (depending on where you need to strengthen your campaign strategies). Some of these key goals include:
- Building brand awareness. Holiday campaigns provide a great opportunity for you to increase the visibility and recognition of your brand. With creative and festive efforts, you can stand out in a crowded marketplace and ensure consumers know who you are and what you’re about.
- Engaging and retaining customers. There’s no better time than the holiday season to engage with existing customers, offer exclusive deals, strengthen relationships, and work to foster loyalty and repeat business.
- Promoting new products or services. Have a new product or service? Now is the perfect time to promote it.
- Increasing online and offline traffic. Whether you’re working via ecommerce platforms or focusing on your physical location, your campaigns should aim to drive increased traffic online and offline.
- Increasing social media engagement. The holiday season is a time to increase your number of followers and quality of brand engagement and take serious advantage of your digital marketing.
- Differentiating yourself from competitors. This involves focusing on what makes you unique and implementing creative approaches to differentiate your brand.
- Establishing yourself firmly in the community. Perhaps it’s time to run a campaign with a philanthropic or community-oriented objective. This might involve charity partnerships, donations, or other initiatives that align with the spirit of giving during this holiday season.
Take time to sit down with your team and discuss where your marketing strategy could use some extra love. Perhaps you don’t have as many followers as you’d like. Perhaps your online site is getting all the attention while your physical location is falling behind in foot traffic. Whatever it is, you can design a campaign to increase the efficacy of your marketing strategy and do some serious legwork in promoting and perpetuating your brand.
18 Holiday Promotions to Try
Now it’s time to talk shop. Here’s our favorite list of holiday marketing promotions and holiday ads to try next holiday season along with why each is attractive to your customers, how it can boost your holiday sales, and how it can help you in the long run.
1. Create an event.
The holiday season isn’t complete without a holiday party, and this strategy is particularly useful if you want to increase traffic at your physical location. Host a party or a special sales day where you feature local musicians, festive refreshments, eggnog, sparkling cider–the works. Make it feel like coming to your store is a reward for your customers. You can even include fun games and giveaways. Pro Tip: Make sure your music is on point for these holiday events to create an attractive ambience. Your decor should also feature the best of the season and highlight the most important products and services of your business.
2. Make holiday memories.
This is a method that keeps on giving, especially in years to come. Run a campaign that offers limited-time prizes for holiday shoppers who post a selfie with your holiday photo setup or gift table. Create an area where customers can make an ornament or other keepsake that’s in line with your products. Helping your customers make a personal memory with you will strengthen their relationship with and loyalty to you. As you do this year over year, your customers will be able to establish a collection of carefully crafted memories that feature your relationship.
3. Run a referral campaign.
The holiday shopping season is a time for loved ones–and that means helping your loved ones get the best deals. Run a referral campaign specifically geared toward holiday promotions using seasonal language and products. Make sure to frame the referral as a “gift” your customer is giving to their loved one.
4. Treat the kids.
During the holiday season, tensions and excitement can run high, and parents are constantly on the lookout for activities for their kids. Consider hosting an in-person event specifically geared toward kids to get parents in the door. Activities can include skits, cookie decorating, visiting with a live Santa, crafts, and more. Ensure that the kids are well-occupied so that parents can enjoy some well-deserved shopping.
5. Offer bundle deals.
Now is a great time to roll everything together for sale. Create special holiday bundles or packages that offer a combination of products and services at a discounted price, and gear them toward specific demographics. You might have a “spa basket for her” or a “newlywed date night bundle.” Bundles can entice customers to buy more than they had initially planned.
6. Run a new loyalty program.
Introduce a holiday-themed loyalty program where customers earn points, gift cards, or rewards for their purchases. This not only encourages repeat business but also enhances customer loyalty. Consider crafting holiday-themed punch cards, key tags, and more.
7. Offer a gift with purchase.
Don’t forget: it’s the season of giving. Provide a free gift or a special holiday-themed item with a purchase over a certain amount. This adds value to your customer’s purchase and can be a great incentive to spend more. Pro Tip: If the gift or item is a sample of a new product or service you are trying to promote, your campaign will work twice as hard for you by promoting your new launch.
8. Display a countdown calendar.
Create a holiday countdown calendar with daily or weekly deals leading up to a special event like Christmas or New Year’s. This keeps customers engaged and excited to see what’s next. You can also display different discounts and specials on the days of your calendar, keeping customers apprised of when they should come grab their favorite item.
9. Run a social media contest.
Run holiday-themed contests on your social media accounts, encouraging followers to share, like, or comment for a chance to win prizes and rewards. Pro Tip: Focus on gamifying your content in a captivating way with videos, gifs, and reels that are sure to increase engagement. Track your engagement year over year in order to see what’s working and make your campaigns do more.
10. Send exclusive SMS promotions.
While email marketing has its place, text marketing increases immediacy in a significant way. Send exclusive special offers to your SMS subscribers. These can make your subscribers feel special and drive traffic to your online or physical store. You can also offer an opt-in option in-store and on your landing pages to turn potential customers into loyal customers. (For more promotional text messaging examples and templates, click here.)
Happy holidays from all of us at Julip, Mary! We have the perfect matching pj’s for your family for 40% off! Click the link to find your perfect set for Christmas Eve. http://12julip.com
11. Send personalized holiday lists.
Text has just about a million uses when it comes to holiday promotions, and you shouldn’t sleep on any of them. Whether you want to target Black Friday or Halloween, text can be the perfect way to relate your holiday marketing ideas and gift ideas. Using your CRM, generate personalized holiday shopping lists for your customers and text them a link that they can click to view and then buy.
It’s your lucky day, Casey. We have the perfect holiday gift guide to show your loved ones that you care. Click the link to view your personalized shopping list! http://frloic.list.com
12. Offer early bird specials.
The early bird gets the worm–even around Christmas time. To spread holiday cheer, reward early shoppers by offering special discounts or promotions for those who make purchases during the first days of the holiday season. This can help generate holiday sales momentum early on.
13. Make shopping a game.
One way to create excitement is to set up an in-store scavenger hunt. You can make a list of items customers are looking to find or do something more simple like an “elf on the shelf” type of search that includes a prize for whoever finds the elf first that day! As always, share pictures and videos of your activities to social media with the right hashtag in order to generate buzz.
Our elf was hiding behind the scented candles, but Jenny from Baltimore found him first! Hurry in tomorrow and find Clarence the elf for a free gift bag. #elfhunt #Oak&Table
14. Donate to charity.
Want to really boost your holiday marketing strategy with new customers in a meaningful way? Everyone likes to feel like they’re part of a bigger movement to do some real good in the community. Thoughtfully select a local charity and let customers know that you’ll be donating a percentage of proceeds to those in need. Promote via social media and text to get the word out.
Hi friends–thank you for all you do to support Organic Pantry. This season, we’ll be donating 15% of all proceeds to the local soup kitchen, Care House Kitchen. Thank you for your continued generosity toward our community!
15. Spoil your customers.
The holiday season is a time, more than any other, to really express appreciation for your customers and show them how much you cherish them. Make a “care” station with hot chocolate and snacks and maybe even massages, manicures, and more. You might consider partnering with another local business (like a spa) to deliver these types of services to weary shoppers. You should also offer free services like gift wrapping, gift consultation, and more.
16. Send a “Season’s Greetings” thank you text.
Send a text to all of your customers thanking them for their support throughout the year. If their purchases have contributed to significant donations to charity or contributions to the community, the end of the year is a great time to sum up these positive impacts and let customers know the good that they’re doing.
Hey Anne, Allie at Esquot here. This year, we were able to donate $500,000 to local schools because of your support. Thank you for your continued patronage of Esquot!
17. Cross-promote with other small businesses.
If you want to spread some last-minute holiday spirit, you can always call on backup. Team up with local businesses in the area to expand your customer base by reaching audiences from related industries. For example, you can invite other businesses to do pop-ups in your store and vice versa.
18. Celebrate post-holiday.
This is an especially good method if your business is small. Invite your best customers to an event where you can thank them for their continued support of your organization. Having an event of this type goes a long way in showing your customers that you see, and appreciate their support well after it’s given.
And there you have it! 18 proven holiday campaigns that can give your business the boost it needs and increase the quality of your customer experience. Implementing these holiday marketing tips takes a good deal of work, creative strategizing, and manpower for a team of any size. However, you don’t have to do it all on your own.
