Not to alarm you but the holidays are just around the corner. Now, no one wants to be “that guy” who spreads Christmas cheer far too early but as a business, you have no choice but to be that “that guy.”
The holidays are without a doubt one of the busiest times of the year, on top of that, it is also the season where everyone feels a little more comfortable with spending more. This is why it is so important to be on top of your holiday marketing!
How to Market for the Holidays: Do’s & Don’ts
Do’s:
Be More Personal
Most businesses have a certain “voice” on social media or when it comes to marketing in general. This “voice” is important for professional reasons but we’re here to tell you that it is okay to break that fourth wall during the holidays.
Adding a personal touch here and there is not a bad thing, especially if you want more than just a professional relationship with your clients. Opening up and sharing a more personal, yet festive side is a great way to connect and build your community. The perfect time to show this side of you and your business is during the holidays, simply because it is a season we can all relate to.
Like we said earlier, this is a busy season for businesses, meaning, advertising budgets are bigger and the goal tends to shift towards increasing sales. Be different, don’t bombard your clients with a ton of sales-y ads, be personal and sell to them by understanding and listening to them.
Keep It Festive
As much as we encourage you to open up to your followers and be more personal, we also want to remind you that you’re still a business and this is still a marketing strategy. Don’t steer off too far from the festiveness of Christmas. Share your favourite Christmas stories, ask clients what their holiday plans are, make jokes about the stress of Christmas shopping – keep it festive and fun!
Finding a balance between festive and “relatable” can be hard but once you find that sweet spot you should be able to successfully market your brand while also building a stronger fan-base. Here are some good rules to reference to keep your content both personal and festive:
- don’t complain about the holidays, nobody likes a “Debby Downer”
- don’t share personal struggles online, you are still a business
- stay on brand even during the holidays, Christmas memes aren’t for everyone
- keep content light-hearted
Don’ts:
Don’t Go Overboard
Like we stated earlier, advertising budgets are larger during this time of year and every business owners’ goal is to sell, sell, sell as much as possible before the new year arrives. This all makes sense, this is the nature of being in this industry but you never want to over do it!
Don’t go over top with your advertising, don’t spread yourself thin, and don’t annoy your clients. Be mindful of what and how much content you are putting out there. Too much advertising and too much “sales-y” talk can be overwhelming and drive customers away, so finding a happy balance between advertising your brand and keeping it real with your followers is crucial.
Don’t Wait Too Long To Market!
Is it too early to start planning for Christmas? The answer is probably no. In fact, as we write this article, you should already have a well established plan made for the holidays, we’re just throwing in tips in hopes that it will help you clean up any loose ends.
We want to emphasize again that this season is the busiest- consumerism is at its peak during this season and you need to take advantage of that! The first step is: planning, ASAP. Come up with a strategy or two, A/B test those ideas throughout the year (in a small scale way), and then commit and execute once the holidays are here! It is better to be too early than too late.
Although it might be a little too late to whip up an extravagant campaign for the holidays this year, it is not too early to start thinking about next year. Let’s work together to create a kick-butt holiday campaign next winter season!