No matter what kind of business you’re in or where you’re located, we’re willing to bet that the holiday season is one of your busiest times of the year.
In fact, roughly 20% of all retail sales are made during the holiday season.
This means that, if you don’t hit your sales goals in the months of November and December, you could end up in the red just in time for the new year.
We know that’s not where you want to be.
But what are the most effective holiday marketing ideas that allow you to take advantage of the Christmas season in a way that will keep your brand in the minds of your customers all year long?
And which holiday marketing ideas will help you to generate buzz, build your brand, and completely dominate your competition while giving your networking skills a major boost?
Read this article to find out.
Our Top 5 Holiday Marketing Ideas
Do you feel a little too burnt out from your advertising plan throughout the year to come up with creative ideas for the holiday season?
Are you all about of holiday marketing ideas that don’t look like a carbon copy of your competition’s holiday campaigns?
Are you just concerned that your business’s networking strategy isn’t where it needs to be?
These five-holiday marketing ideas will help you to celebrate the season and enter the new year ready to hit the ground running.
1. Give The Gift Of Freebies
One of the best — and most effective — holiday marketing ideas?
Have fun by dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out free samples of your product (or, if you provide services, coupons for a percentage off a future purchase.)
First of all, everyone will appreciate the fact that you’re in the giving spirit, and the gimmick of dressing up like the Big Man himself will certainly cement your brand into the minds of everyone you meet.
However, giving out freebies is far from just a way to show off your generosity and put a smile on the faces of everyone on your nice list. Freebies have been shown to boost businesses by anywhere from 71% to 600%.
Plus, it pushes people to give your products/services a try, whether they just haven’t gotten around to it yet or haven’t heard of your company in the first place. Freebies are a great way to beat out the competition, and especially to win over their clients and encourage them to work with you instead.
Playing Santa will also increase the positive associations that your target market — especially within your specific service area — has with your brand. They’ll see you as generous, confident in what you have to offer, and of course, successful enough to give samples away for free.
To get the most out of this idea, we suggest packaging the freebies in a tiny stocking, that’s been decorated with your company’s logo and includes an insert explaining your mission statement and containing your contact information and hours.
You could also toss in your business card to boost your networking this holiday season.
2. Create An Interactive Display
Next up on our list of the most effective holiday marketing ideas?
Create a holiday-themed retail display that not only shows off your awesome products/services but also encourages customers to interact with your brand on social media.
Think about just how many people visit New York City every year to see the famous holiday window displays in famous department stores like Barney’s or Bergdorf Goodman.
They don’t just walk past them, look at them for a couple of seconds, and then move on.
Instead, they pose for family pictures, take selfies, and even press buttons required to light up the displays or make some of the mannequins move and talk.
You don’t have to get as fancy — or spend nearly as much money — as these stores do in order to generate the same amount of buzz about your brand.
When you’re creating your own holiday-themed retail display, we love the idea of having a cardboard Santa that customers can pose next to. Or, you could also leave several elf hats (with your brand’s name on the brims, of course) hanging from display, and let customers try them on while they post for pics.
To get the most out of one of our favorite holiday marketing ideas, make sure that you’ve created a short and sweet hashtag to help you organize all of these awesome photos.
That way, you’ll be able to learn more about your customer base with a quick swipe through your social media feed. To further the excitement, always comment or “like” as many of those pictures as possible, and even feature a “photo of the day” to generate even more buzz.
3. Create Gift Baskets Right For Every Personality
One of our favorite holiday marketing ideas that will bring in serious revenue and help your customers to avoid the stress of shopping for the pickiest person on their list?
Holiday gift baskets, jam-packed with your bestselling products and gift certificates for your services.
Create gift baskets for every relative and/or personality on the standard Christmas shopping list: the tech-obsessed dad, the social media-addicted teenager, and the mom who just wants everyone to leave her alone for a magical 24 hours.
Remember, effective holiday shopping makes things easier for your customers — especially those who prefer to wait until the last minute to start shopping.
To take this option on our list of holiday marketing ideas to the next level, we suggest that you create a Christmas-themed email marketing campaign that will make finding the perfect gift possible in three clicks or less.
Plus, sending out an email marketing campaign in early December also gives you the chance to re-market those same items for New Year’s Eve. Just in case not everyone got what they wanted for Christmas, we suggest re-sending out the same email a couple of days before New Year’s Eve.
You could perhaps even add further discounts to sweeten the deal and encourage more people to buy your products.
4. Go For The Ugly Sweater
There’s truly nothing better than an ugly Christmas sweater.
Not only will this next entry on our list of the best holiday marketing ideas help everyone in your office to loosen up and enjoy themselves. It will also help you to stand out on social media and make your company impossible for anyone to forget.
Hold a contest on social media to see which of your fans/followers can design the best branded ugly Christmas sweaters for your company. Then, select three or four of the best ones and have them created!
Be sure to give the winners a reward, and then upload tons of pictures of your staff wearing their designs on social media.
How can you take this item on our list of the best holiday marketing ideas to the next level?
Invite locals to come to a smaller party (we’ll get to that huge holiday party in a minute) wearing their own ugly Christmas sweaters. The main event should be a white elephant gift exchange or a tacky Christmas. You’ll be able to have tons of fun laughing over the gifts while strengthening your network in the process.
When the gag gift exchange is over, be sure to give your guests a small goodie bag filled with swag/promotional marketing materials. Think things that will last them throughout the year, like a magnet, pen, or even a branded mousepad.
5. Throw An Epic Holiday Party
The final entry on our list of the best holiday party ideas?
The all-important networking event of the year, the holiday party. Not only will this allow you to meet with vendors, local business owners, and prospective customers in person, it’s also a wonderful way to show your staff how much you appreciate them.
Plus, having the most epic holiday party ever will do a lot to build your brand recognition and help you to forge connections with the locals with the deepest pockets.
Don’t be afraid to get crazy creative and think outside of the box.
We love the idea of creating specialty craft cocktails named after your best-selling products. If your guest list is small enough, you can even wrap up some gifts of your favorite products underneath the tree, and have guests unwrap them over the course of the party to generate buzz and curiosity among the guests.
Another important aspect of this option on our list of the top holiday marketing ideas?
Rent a photo booth, so that your guests can take pictures of them decking the halls at your holiday party. Not only will this create photos that guests can hang on their refrigerators or put on their desks at their offices (meaning your brand will be on their minds long after the party is over.)
It’s also yet another way to generate an incredible amount of buzz on social media.
As you did with the interactive display entry on our list of the best holiday marketing ideas, be sure to create a themed hashtag for the event. If possible, look for photo booths that have software that will automatically upload the pictures you take to social media.
Of course, you’ll also need to consider those who couldn’t make it in for your party but are still huge supporters of your brand. That’s why we think it’s a phenomenal move to live stream your holiday party (or at least, the parts of it before things get a little too crazy.)
To make those watching feel as though they’re a part of the action, we suggest doing a quick toast at some point during the party. You may even want to do a raffle or announce the winner of an Instagram giveaway contest over the course of the party.
This will encourage viewers from far and wide to tune in and see if they’re the big winners.
Which Of These Holiday Marketing Ideas Will You Try?
We can’t wait to hear about which of these holiday marketing ideas worked for you, and we know that you’ll have lots of fun trying them out.
However, we think it’s also important to remember that an excellent marketing and networking strategy should last throughout the whole year. It shouldn’t be something that you only think about one time every 365 days.
So, what should you do to make sure that prospect list is longer than your nice list? How can you continue to educate your team about the importance of networking, and how can you strengthen your branding strategy for the new year?
Well…
Let Us Help You Strengthen Your Marketing Strategy All Year Long
At Yoobly, our products and services truly are the gift that keeps on giving.
No matter which parts of your overall branding and marketing strategies need strengthening and special attention, our experts have got you covered.
Need help developing your own personal brand? We have a specialist that will help you to be the standout star at any conference.
Feeling like you just didn’t gain as many followers on social media as you expected to this year? Don’t panic — instead, work with our social media strategist.
Is your prospect list looking thinner than the last Christmas tree on the lot? We’ve got you covered, thanks to our state-of-the-art network marketing prospecting software.
In short, no matter what you want to accomplish both during and after this holiday season, we’re here to help.
Need additional inspiration throughout the year? Be sure to keep checking back with our marketing blog for tips and tricks that will help your brand stand out in any situation.