And it gives you an edge over the competition, too. Now, to be quite honest, planning holiday season marketing can be taxing. Your business wants to develop the best possible strategy to attract new customers, engage existing ones, and finish the year strong. We all have similar goals in that department.

But the question is, where do you start? What will resonate with holiday shoppers the best? Are there some things you could try – besides the usual “optimize your website” stuff?

That’s what we’ll be discussing today! 

How To Spark Engagement & Conversations During The Holiday Season

1. Show Them That You Care (Leave The Hard Sell For Another Occasion) 

Holidays are not the time to shove direct, aggressively insistent, high-pressure content into your audience’s faces. Many businesses are already bombarding them with that kind of messaging – and this is your chance to stand out. Instead of going for a “hard sell,” show your customers – old and new – just how much you value them. 

2. Talk About Your Team

Consumers like businesses that care about them. But consumers also like businesses that care about their employees, as well.  So, don’t forget about your workforce – the people behind your business that make it happen.  Give your employees recognition for everything they do, not just during the holiday season but throughout the year, as well, and find creative ways to celebrate with them.

3. Use Soft Branding Tactics 

There’s a more subtle – but still persuasive – way to market your products and services. And as we previously mentioned, holidays are the time to put your hard-sell tactics on hold and take on a softer approach.  How? 

Instead of pushing them away with overwhelming, in-your-face messaging, embrace subtlety in your content and use subliminal messaging, audio, or visuals to share your message without it being too obvious.

4. Ask Questions, Be Curious (And Don’t Forget To Respond) 

You have several platforms to engage your target audience. You should make it a point to stay in touch with customers year-round. Still, interactions become even more essential during the holiday season. 

For example, make a post asking followers what they’re most excited about this holiday season and encourage them to leave answers in the comments. Then, your team can respond to them – which adds a personalized moment that your customers will surely remember. 

5. Make Content That’s Shareable

We’ll let you in on a secret:  People love sharing holiday-themed content. To create a shareable post, you have to make sure that it offers something valuable – with holiday-themed visuals sprinkled on top. 

You can do that with a how-to type of content that will solve common problems your customers might encounter during the holidays or inspirational content that would get them into the holiday spirit.  When you create content that genuinely helps your customers, that not only encourages them to share it but builds a bond of trust between your business and the audience. Given the changes in the digital landscape, customers will become increasingly selective about the content they consume. So, the trend of creating custom content that appeals to your market segment will be more critical than ever in 2022.

6. Give Back To The Community

Tying into our previous points about showing that you care about customers and your team, you should consider how you can show that your business cares about the community, too. Remember; the holidays are a time for giving and spreading hope and cheer.  What can your business do to support important causes and give back to the community?

There are a ton of ways to get involved. In addition to monetary donations, you could support the causes you care about the most by donating your products or offering your services, too. 

7. Up Your Customer Support Game

The holidays are an excellent time to go the extra mile for your customers and ensure that they have a positive experience working with your business. Go above and beyond for them, and you will establish a relationship for years to come. Up your customer support game (even if it means hiring extra staff) or implement a chatbot that will help your customers navigate through your website and choose the right gift, for example. It’s not necessarily about driving sales. Your focus should be on ensuring customer satisfaction; the sales will come naturally.

8. Create An Incentive To Donate With Every Order

While holidays are a great time for your business to give back to the community, don’t be afraid to get your audience involved and tell them what they can do to support a charitable cause that matters to them. You could partner up with a charity and create an incentive for your customers to get involved by incorporating donations as part of every order. Optional donations of a dollar or two won’t break the bank – but will still make a difference.

9. Partner With Influencers 

Teaming up with influencers is the number one go-to strategy for generating word of mouth and attracting new customers. It’s no wonder that some brands allocate up to half of their marketing budgets towards influencer marketing. 

Influencers’ sponsored posts can generate some buzz around your brand without coming off too “promotional-looking.” 

10. Make A Statement About Your Value

You know that the holiday season also implies the biggest shopping events of the year – Black Friday and Cyber Monday, for example – and that these events often mean extreme discounts. We can’t tell you that you shouldn’t participate in these events. What we can tell you, though, is to be bold and stand up for your business. Say “No” to offering extreme discounts just to compete with others in your niche.  Your products stand for something and provide some value to consumers. So, find other ways to drive awareness instead of attracting (unwanted) attention through massive sales. 

Holiday Inspiration For Businesses: A Few Suggestions 

Inspirations For The Season 

Share some holiday-inspired posts on social media, add holiday flair, and create holiday-specific visuals. For instance, share photos of Christmas-themed product arrangements or videos featuring your products – something that adds a “gift-worthy” vibe to your products, like an unboxing video. Oh, and while you’re at it, get active on trending holiday-related hashtags – or consider creating a holiday-themed hashtag for your business.

Ask About Their Holidays 

We’ve already explained how essential it is to engage with your audiences. And one of the best ways also seems to be the most simple: 
Ask questions. For instance, ask what unique holiday traditions their family has. Or how they plan on spending the holidays – and with who? Do they enjoy such large family gatherings? How many people are usually at the table?  In short, encourage them to tell you about their holidays.

Prepare Trending Gift Ideas For Different People 

Gift guides are a simple but effective way to not only assist your customers in choosing the ideal gift for their loved ones (last-minute shoppers will love you for it) but also to throw in one or two of your products into the mix – without coming off too pushy. 

So, think about who your average customer might be shopping for during the holidays. Is it their mom? Dad? Spouse? Kids? Or maybe all of the above? Now, categorize gift ideas according to these different personas – and you’ll become their go-to source whenever they need inspiration for gift shopping.

Share Drink Ideas For New Year’s Eve 

Your goal for the holiday season should be to create valuable content – so, why not share some drink ideas for New Year’s Eve? 

Here’s how to sneak in some subtle marketing into it:  Instead of sharing a random selection of popular cocktails, try to find drinks that reflect your brand’s colors. That way, you’re sharing something of value – drink recipes and ideas – while also ensuring your brand stays top-of-mind.  So, for example, if your brand’s color palette is all about blue, pick drinks that are – well, blue. It really is that simple.

Tell Your Team’s Stories About Christmas 

The holidays always bring about a mixture of emotions in people – from excitement to nostalgia. You can make these emotions work to your advantage by creating a holiday marketing strategy that will appeal to them. How? Put the focus on the human side of your brand – and the people behind it – by sharing some of your team’s Christmas stories.  For instance, have your team share their favorite Christmas memory, family traditions, what they like the most about Christmas, or how they want to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

Tips For Great Family Pictures 

If you’ve ever tried to get a large group of people – including children – to smile, pose, and stand still for that perfect Christmas-family-card-worthy shot, you know that it’s a frustrating process. So, why not share some advice on how to nail the perfect Christmas photo with your customers and make their life easier? Share tips on how to style their surroundings, which apps to use for photo editing, and choose the perfect lighting or pose for the picture. You can even incorporate your products somewhere in your photos – as long as you don’t make it the main focus. 

Conclusion 

Is growing the business one of your resolutions for 2022? Well, then, it’s never too early to start thinking about how you can boost your next year’s sales. If the thought of preparing for the busy holiday season still seems daunting, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Our team can help you create – and implement – a high-impact holiday marketing strategy to boost your chances of success!