When the holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas roll around, you may be thinking more about what to serve guests for dinner or how to decorate your home, not how to increase sales with seasonal marketing. (I mean, unless you’re selling Christmas decorations or turkeys, then I’m sure it’s the most important.)
Christmas promotions are not limited to important dates either.
You can cover anything you want: seasons, festivals, and statutory days, to name a few. You only have to spend some time on social media platforms to see everything from International Coffee Day to World Teachers’ Day; get creative and find the ones that make sense for your business.
No matter what your product or service is, there are great ways to engage your target audience.
5 seasonal marketing ideas to promote your business
Gift cards/certificates
From clothing stores to supermarkets, many companies offer gift cards, and not just seasonally; you will often find them throughout the year. Even if you don’t have a product or service traditionally associated with a special occasion like Christmas, with a little creativity you can make it work.
For example, you probably wouldn’t think of Subway sandwiches when you’re thinking of Christmas gifts, but if you saw this gift card, you might have an idea to give to a friend or family member.
Perhaps you’re a life coach or business coach who could design a festive-looking gift certificate for a certain number of sessions.
Or maybe you’re an interior designer or feng shui consultant who could sell an introductory session as a housewarming gift.
birthday
Have you ever received a free email or electronic greeting card on your birthday?
While some customers may avoid entering their birthdays on your website or e-newsletter signup form, you can make it easier by not asking for the year and telling them why you’re asking.
Then send your birthday customer a seasonal discount or gift with your best wishes.
Here’s a tasty one: Family restaurant chain Red Robin is offering a free birthday burger as one of the benefits for signing up for its Royalty program.
free shipping
If you don’t offer free shipping year-round, making this a featured offer on your website during the holidays can encourage visitors to buy from you.
If you already offer free shipping over a certain amount, consider reducing it for a special occasion.
You can remind customers that this is a special offer by asking them to enter a promo code at checkout or by showing them the normal shipping cost crossed out.
A photo contest on social networks
Ask your followers on Facebook or Instagram to share festive photos with your product and tag it for a chance to win a prize. You could have followers submit photos from summer vacation, photos from Easter dinner, a favorite memory from the first day of school… you name it!
Link it with your business and it’s a win-win situation: your followers have a chance to win a prize, and you get exposure and user-generated content.
a simple thank you
It’s always a thoughtful gesture to thank the people who make it possible for you to stay in business!
I really appreciate our customers, and I always want to wish you a Happy Holidays and let you know if we are going to be closed for a statistic or special event.
While this is not a tactic to get more sales, the more gratitude you feel and show to your loyal customers, the better. Please take the time to send out a short newsletter when you feel it is appropriate.
As a business owner, it is your primary goal and what you focus most of your energy on. However, it can be challenging, especially when you’re so close to your mark, to see what’s missing and make the necessary changes.
Now that you have some ideas on what to do for your customers, I’m going to share how you can achieve a successful holiday marketing campaign.
1. Do your keyword research
It’s important to do keyword research every time you create content. You want to have a good balance of specific short and long tail keywords.
Don’t wait until the last minute to create your engaging content, especially for big holidays like Christmas. According to the National Retail Foundation, 40 percent of consumers start shopping the 25th day before Halloween.
Instead of stuffing your content, you should write for your readers and sprinkle these well-researched keywords throughout your content. For special occasions, brainstorm the event + your product/service/timely offer + your location. Here are some examples:
â— Valentine’s Day + Gift Cards + Vancouver
â— New Years + Women’s Dresses + Mississauga
â—Father’s Day + Spa Packages + Edmonton
2. Provide valuable content
Think about what your visitors will find valuable when you’re creating website copy and articles as part of your seasonal marketing.
People are looking for solutions to their problems, whether it’s how to make spring cleaning easier or how to shop for birthday gifts on a budget.
You can create a “top 5” list, collect the “hottest” products or services around an occasion, or post some “easy ways” to do something to grab people’s attention.
Turn your keyword research into well-written, researched articles and guides that your customers will want to share on social media.
3. Be flexible and data-driven.
It is essential to capture as much data as possible during your seasonal marketing campaigns. Do people engage with your posts on social media? Is your website content converting visitors into leads and sales? Is a particular page getting more traffic than others?
As you collect data, you can review your campaign performance to develop your strategy for other holiday milestones and promotions.
You don’t want to miss out on a profitable Black Friday or New Year’s opportunity because you weren’t sure how your campaign was doing.
As you can see, seasonal campaigns are more than just putting up decorations in the store or adding a greeting to the home page of your website. By creating meaningful campaigns that resonate with your target audience and following these three steps, your vacation can be happier and more successful than ever.
