Holiday Marketing Ideas

With holiday retail sales increasing year over year—2021’s silly season totaled $886.70B and 2022’s projected to hit up to$1.47T—there are literally endless reasons to one-up your holiday marketing game.

To help you cash in on this year’s holiday season, check out these 20 holiday marketing ideas.

20 Holiday Marketing Ideas

One and a half trillion dollars… let’s get it!

1. Offer Early Bird Exclusives

It’s never too early to think about your holiday marketing campaign. One great way to get customers excited about your business’ products or services is to offer early bird exclusives. By offering special discounts or deals to those who shop early, you can not only boost sales but also create a sense of urgency and excitement around your brand.

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To get you started, here are a few ideas for early bird exclusives:

1. Plan ahead and promote early. Give your customers plenty of notice by promoting your early bird specials at least a couple of weeks in advance.
2. Be creative with your offers. Rather than a simple discount, perhaps a free gift or store credit is just what your customers need to get into the holiday spirit.
3. Use straightforward messaging. Ensure your early bird exclusives are communicated clearly and prominently on your website and in all other marketing materials.

2. Carry Gift Cards

If you want your holiday marketing campaign to be a raging success, consider carrying gift cards.

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There are a few things to keep in mind when carrying gift cards, including:

1. Start early. Gift cards are a popular holiday purchase, so make sure you have plenty in stock. Promote them early and often to increase sales.
2. Stock them in a variety of options. This will allow customers to find the perfect gift card for their needs, whether that be different denominations or visual designs.
3. Offer Rewards. This could include giving a percentage off of the card value if it is used within a certain time frame, or offering a free item with purchase.

3. Hold a Social Media Holiday Giveaway

If you’re looking to connect with and engage your customers this holiday season, a social media-based giveaway is one of the best ways to achieve this. It’s in your best interests to do so. Research has revealed there is a30% rise in the amount of engagement brands receive during the holiday period.

Here are a few tips to make sure your giveaway is successful:

1. Lean into your audience’s interests. Make sure it’s something that will appeal to and is relevant to your target audience.
2. Create some simple rules. For example, you could require participants to follow your brand on social media and share the giveaway post with their followers.
3. Promote, promote, promote. Don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but use all of your social media and marketing channels to get the word out.

4. Run a Holiday Photo Contest

Make the holidays more fun for your customers by running a holiday photo contest. It’s easy to do and can be a great way to get people in the holiday spirit while promoting your business.

Here are some tips for running a successful holiday photo contest:

1. Choose a relevant theme. Your contest should be relevant to your brand and products. Aligning with Minnesota Inboards holiday promotion, a powerful strategy is to ask customers to submit photos relevant to the products you sell.
2. Make it easy to enter. Keep the entry requirements simple so that as many people as possible will enter.
3. Use the winning entry to promote. Select a winner (or winners) and announce them publicly through social media posts and other marketing material.

5. Host Holiday Webinars, Tutorials, and Classes

Another successful holiday marketing campaign involves hosting webinars, tutorials, and classes.

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You can use this video-based marketing material as an opportunity to upsell customers on holiday-themed products and services as well as showcase your skills and expertise. The best part, it’s the perfect way to jump into the festive season and build loyal customers that trust your brand.

6. Re-Engage Customers With Retargeting

Another powerful holiday promotion involves retargeting. Retargeting is a form of online advertising that keeps your brand in front of prospective customers after they leave your website. Retargeting allows you to position relevant ads in front of this audience and gives your brand a second shot at converting them into a customer.

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By retargeting your audience with holiday-themed ads, you can effortlessly keep your brand top-of-mind.

We offer a variety of advertising solutions. See ourPPC management services here.

7. Create a Holiday Gift Guide

If you’re looking for some holiday marketing ideas, why not create a holiday gift guide for your audience? Gift guides are a great way to show off your products or services and provide helpful information to your customers.

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Here are a few handy tips for creating a holiday gift guide:

1. Choose a theme or focus for your gift guide. This will help to make the overall guide more cohesive and easier for readers to follow.
2. Showcase what you offer. Gift guides present the perfect opportunity to showcase your own products and services.
3. Decide on a strategy. You could create a guide that features a range of items that will appeal to different budgets and tastes. Or you could niche down and target an audience that has particular purchasing habits or is interested in niche products.

If you need help with your holiday gift guide, check out ourcontent strategy orblog writing services.

8. Roll-Out a Holiday Email Marketing Campaign

As far as holiday marketing campaigns go, you simply can’t afford to miss out on the effectiveness of email marketing. A well-curated series of holiday emails is a great way to capture your audience’s attention and get them excited about your upcoming product and service promotions.

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Here are some tips for creating a successful holiday email marketing campaign:

1. Make it personal. Your customers will appreciate an email that feels like it’s been written just for them. Include their name in the opening portion of the email and use language that speaks to their interests.
2. Offer something exclusive. Give your subscribers a reason to open your email with an exclusive offer or discount code. They’ll be more likely to act if they feel like they’re getting a deal.
3. Keep it short and sweet. No one wants to read a long, rambling email—especially during the busy holiday season. See Fitbit’s example of a concise method of email marketing. It’s short, sweet, and to the point.

9. Advertise on Popular Marketplaces

As the holidays approach, many businesses are looking for a means to advertise their products and services. One effective method of reaching potential customers is by advertising in marketplaces like Amazon.

Advertising on Amazon can be done through either sponsored ads or within product listings.

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Sponsored ads are displayed at the top of search results pages and can be targeted to specific keywords or categories. Product listings are displayed in the search results when users search for relevant keywords.

Advertising on Amazon is an effective way to reach holiday shoppers. Businesses that take advantage of Amazon’s advertising opportunities can reach a large audience of potential customers and boost their sales during the holiday season.

10. Pitch Exclusive Holiday Combos

This upcoming holiday season, why not offer your online customers exclusive holiday combos they won’t find anywhere else? By offering unique holiday combos, you’ll not only stand out from the competition, but you’ll also give your customers a reason to keep coming back to your online store throughout the holidays.

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Some ideas for exclusive holiday combos include a festive gift basket with a personalized message, a holiday-themed gift set with matching wrapping paper and ribbon, or a special holiday combo pack that includes a festive mug and hot cocoa mix.

11. Upsell to Increase AOV

The holidays are a great time to increase your average order value (AOV). By upselling to your customers, you can encourage them to spend more on each purchase.

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There are a few different ways to upsell effectively. One way is to offer higher-priced items as an upgrade or add-on to a lower-priced item. For example, if someone is buying a holiday gift for a friend, you could offer them the option to add a gift box with a bow or include a greeting card.

Another way to upsell is to bundle items together. This can be especially effective if the items complement each other well and offer significant savings when purchased together. For example, you could create a holiday gift basket that includes several related items, such as food, drink, and decorations.

Whatever upselling strategy you decide on, just be sure not to squander the holiday shopping season. It’s your best chance to cash in on upselling opportunities.

12. Launch a Referral Marketing Campaign

If you’re looking for a way to stand out from the competition this holiday season, consider launching a referral marketing campaign for your customers.

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Here’s how it works: you offer existing advocates (the referring customer) a discount or reward in exchange for referring new customers to your business. You then incentivize new customers (the referred) to do business with your brand by offering exclusive access to holiday sales, gift card, or discount.

Not only does this help you attract new business, but it also helps build loyalty among your existing customer base. Referral marketing campaigns can be customized to fit any budget and can be as simple or complex as you want them to be.

13. Offer Conditional Free Shipping

Another option is to offer your customers conditional free shipping on their purchases. This can be a great way to entice shoppers, especially if you advertise it prominently on your website and in other marketing materials.

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There are a few things to keep in mind if you decide to offer free shipping. The first, commit to having the appropriate infrastructure in place to handle the increased volume of orders. Also, consider implementing a minimum purchase amount for free shipping, or tie it into other promotions you may be running. And finally, communicate clearly with your customers about any minimum purchase requirements, deadlines, or cut-off dates for free shipping.

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By offering free shipping, you can give your customers just one more reason to shop with you this holiday season.

14. Segment Potential Customers

The holidays are a great time to market your business, but for the greatest impact, it’s important to segment your potential customers. By segmenting your prospective customers, you can tailor your marketing messages to appeal to each group—no matter their interests or shopping behavior.

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There are a few different ways to segment potential customers:

1. One way to segment potential customers is by demographics such as age, gender, or location.
2. Another common method is to segment potential customers is by their interests or needs.

Once you’ve segmented your potential customers, you can create targeted marketing campaigns that will appeal to each group. Keep in mind that segmenting potential customers, you’ll need to track your results so you can see which segments are responding best to your holiday marketing campaigns.

15. Partner With Influencers

Influencer marketing is a form of marketing that focuses on leveraging the influence of certain individuals with a large social media following to promote a brand or product.

There are many benefits to partnering with influencers. For one, it can help you reach a new audience. Influencers have built-in followings that businesses can tap into. Additionally, influencers can help add credibility to your brand. When potential customers see that someone they trust is promoting your product, they are more likely to consider purchasing it.

If you’re thinking about using influencer marketing this holiday season, there are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Define your goals. What do you want to achieve with your influencer marketing campaign? More sales? More website traffic? Greater brand awareness?
2. Do your research. Not all influencers are created equal. Some have more followers than others, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re more influential.
3. Look at the influencer’s audience. Ensure they overlap with your target demographic. It’s also important to consider whether the influencer has an engaged following that is likely to pay attention to your campaign.

16. Embrace the Green Wave

As we move into the holiday season, many businesses are looking for ways to capitalize on the spending power of consumers. However, with a growing focus on sustainability, more and more people are looking to make purchases that align with their values.

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Here are some holiday marketing ideas that will help your business embrace the green wave:

1. Promote sustainable products and services. If you offer products or services that are environmentally friendly, make sure your marketing materials highlight this.
2. Bring awareness to your eco-friendly actions. Educate your employees and customers about the sustainability efforts that your business is taking.
3. Make a donation to a worthy cause. Rather than spending money on traditional advertising, consider donating to a cause that aligns with your company’s values.
4. Reward sustainable actions. Offer discounts or promotions for customers who shop sustainably. This could include bringing their own reusable bags, shopping with recycled wrapping paper, or choosing eco-friendly gifts.
5. Embrace green alternatives. Consider using sustainable materials in your packaging and decoration. This could include recycled paper, bamboo, or even reused items, like mason jars or old gift boxes.

17. Stop Neglecting Mobile Users

Don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but it’s time we all started getting our act together.

Optimize for mobile. Like, seriously.

With mCommerce (mobile eCommerce)hitting $359.32B in 2021, it’s definitely worth your while. In order to appeal to this growing demographic, businesses need to make sure that their website is mobile-optimized. This means that it should be easy to use and navigate on a mobile device.

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There are a few simple steps that retailers can take to optimize their website or app for mobile users. 1) make sure that the design is responsive so that it looks good on all screen sizes. 2) simplify the navigation so that users can easily find what they’re looking for. 3) ensure that all content is easy to read and understand on a small screen.

18. Personalize Your Website for the Holidays

As winter approaches, it’s time to start thinking about how you can personalize your website to reflect holiday events. A great way to do this is by creating a holiday landing page. This is a page on your website that is specifically designed to showcase holiday messaging.

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Here are some tips for creating a holiday landing page that will really stand out:

1. Use festive colors and imagery.
2. Include a call-to-action that encourages visitors to take action, such as shopping for holiday gifts on your site.
3. Make sure your holiday message is clear and concise.
4. Include landing pages offering incentives that are attractive to your target audience.
5. Test your holiday landing page before it goes live to ensure everything is working correctly.

19. Start SEO Marketing Strategies Early

It’s never too early to start thinking about your holiday marketing strategy, and one of the most important aspects of any good marketing plan is search engine optimization (SEO). By following some simple best practices, you can ensure that your website and content are optimized for the holiday season and that you’re getting the most out of your SEO efforts.

One of the best things you can do to optimize your site for the holidays is to create content that is relevant to your customers’ needs and interests. This could include blog posts, infographics, or even videos that focus on topics like gift ideas, holiday entertaining, or festive recipes.

In addition to creating great content, another way to improve your holiday SEO is by making sure your website is properly optimized for search engines.

If you need help with anything SEO, you’re in the right place. See our full range ofSEO services here.

20. Implement Holiday-Specific PPC Campaigns

PPC campaigns that are specifically targeted at the holidays can be an effective way to reach out to potential customers and generate more sales.

Here are a few tips on how to create and manage holiday targeted PPC campaigns:

1. Plan ahead and think about what keywords or phrases people are likely to search for when looking for holiday gifts. Make sure your ad copy includes these keywords so that your ad is more likely to appear in search results.
2. Set a budget for your campaign and make sure you stick to it. Over-spending on PPC can quickly eat into your profits.
3. Keep an eye on your campaign performance and adjust your bids accordingly.

Summary

These holiday marketing campaign ideas will get your business noticed and generate some extra revenue this holiday season.

But if you’d like to take your holiday marketing even further this year, get in contact with us today.

Our team of highly skilled professionals are experts in all aspects of digital marketing. From SEO, content marketing, and PPC advertising, we can help you get the most out of your online presence—no matter what time of year it is.