17 Ways To Launch Your Holiday Marketing Online

By Brooke Ballard, Published November 12, 2014

Haven’t started your holiday marketing campaign yet? That’s okay.

So you’re not a planner.

Lucky for you we are! AND, we’re sharing 17 ways you can market your holiday specials.

I wish I could come up with your holiday specials FOR YOU, but that’s something we do for clients.

Let’s get started!

First, let’s talk about the POWER behind marketing your brand, products or services during the holidays:

Holday spending in 2013 was $ 602 billion
Holiday spending for 2014 is expected to increase by 8% to $ 650 billion
62% of marketers will be using social media this holiday season to generate sales and extend brand reach
[Source]

And, those marketers are planning on using these social networks to market their campaigns:

Sold yet?

Alrighty then. Here we GO …

Holiday Marketing With Social Media

Of course I’m going to tell you to use your social media channels to promote your holiday marketing!

Here are 10 ideas to give your sites a jolly ol’ makeover:

Update your headers, Cover Photos, and other graphics with holiday themes. Pro Tip: On Facebook, be sure to include a description and a link to your seasonal or holiday landing page or shopping cart.
Include graphics and visuals with your promotional posts.
Use holiday-themed boards on Pinterest to spark ideas (and throw a few of your products/services in there, too).
Run contests or use Facebook Offers to build a buzz around your holiday goodies.
Run advertising campaigns to promote your holiday gifts.
Find and use trending holiday hashtags, like #HappyHalloween, #HappyThanksGiving, #HappyHolidays, etc.
Come up with #ThinkConversation content for your social pages by asking topical holiday questions like, “Do you take a break from your social pages during the Holidays?“.
Share pictures on Instagram or any social site of how YOU and your family/team/office gets into the holiday spirit (better yet, make a fun video).
Share holiday tips and tricks for your industry on your social pages.
Hire a Social Media Sitter [we’re happy to do this for you!] to watch your pages during vacation times or days when you just can’t be available.

Even if you’re not on social media, you can ALWAYS utilize your email list.

Here’s how:

Make a calendar of all of the dates you’re promoting seasonal items and plan email campaigns around those dates. Pro Tip: Don’t forget Black Friday (11/28/14), Small Business Saturday (11/29/14), and Cyber Monday (12/1/14).
If you didn’t do this last month (October), be sure to include information about your Holiday Sale in your newsletter, and link to your landing page or shopping cart.
Send “Seasons Greetings” cards electronically to your marketing list and mention your holiday promotions.
Give special coupons for your email list only.
Offer deeper discounts for those who refer business.

And lastly, if you have an active blog, USE IT!

Here are a couple of ways to use your writing to showcase what you’re offering:

Write a blog post (like this one) offering valuable holiday tips and mention your holiday offers. Pro Tip: Be sure to use holiday search terms to be sure your post is SEO friendly!
Just like with email, you can use your blog posts to give readers special coupons or deals that they can’t get elsewhere.

Trust me, I realize how hectic the months of October-January can be.

It’s okay if you don’t have the time to do all of the above, but now is NOT the time to throw in the towel.

Now is the time to ASK FOR HELP!

If your social media and content marketing need a little boost while you’re out playing all of the Reindeer Games, B Squared Media has you covered.

Social Sitting: It’s hard to enjoy the Holidays, food and fam when you’re managing social pages needing attention 24/7! That’s where our social sitter comes in. They’ll watch over your pages for you for any designated amount of days — yes, even on the weekends and Holidays — for up to 30 days.
Social Scrubbers: Are you in need of a “new you” for the New Year? Enlist our Social Scrubbers to give your social page(s) a facelift! We’ll doll up your About Section with pizazz, panache and plenty of keywords for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). (Upgrade to include graphic design).
Content Calendar Creation: We’ll curate & create 30 days worth of “edutainment” (education + entertainment = edutainment) content for Facebook, Twitter, or G+. After we fill ‘er up, we’ll send you a Publishing Schedule that’s ready to go for the next 30 days.
The Ghost Writer Of Holidays Past: Ghost blogging for WordPress clients.