Holidays (Traditional & Non-Traditional) Offer Ample Opportunities to Target / Promote Your Business
From National Technology Day to National Cookie Day, holidays are a great way to have fun and get creative with your marketing strategy. First, decide which holidays best serve your business’s interests and audience’s needs. Black Friday and Cyber Monday speak for themselves as they have become the most popular spending days of the year, with consumers spending a record $9.2 billion during Black Friday and $10.7 billion on Cyber Monday in 2022. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), consumers spend about half of their holiday budgets on these days:
How to Advertise Traditional Spending Holidays
Customers expect certain sales leading up to holidays, like furniture deals on Labor Day weekend, TV deals tied to the Super Bowl, discounts offered for military service members on Veterans Day, drink specials on St. Patrick’s Day, and deals on outdoor items like grills or lawnmowers for the Fourth of July.
If you’re a restaurant, you can offer Mother’s Day brunch deals; on Father’s Day, a sporting goods store could offer deals on fishing gear and camping equipment. It’s important to come up with catchy advertising like the Valentine’s Day lovers’ drink special or Halloween deals that are so good they’re scary. Be fun and creative with your signage, and update your website whenever you offer holiday deals. (The NRF lists the top five U.S. consumer spending events and what the average person is expected to spend celebrating holidays here.)
Channel Spotlight: Company Website
Building a website is much easier than it was in the past with all the available themes and templates to choose from. Your business website should include an option to join your mailing list; it is also an excellent opportunity to start getting the word out. Be sure to check the listed email regularly in case inquiries begin to come in from eager consumers. For example, send email alerts to email subscribers to let them know about the grand opening. And send out progress updates because an expanding business is a sign of success and indicates that your company is moving positively. Don’t start and walk away. It’s essential to keep updating and refreshing your website with any further information related to the location, staffing needs, menus items, special events, and more, before and after the doors open. Take your customers with you on the journey. For those new visitors, you’ll want to update your website to include a “coming soon” message. Discuss the grand opening, promotions, store hours, and add contact information.
How to Advertise Non-Traditional Holidays
Then there are the non-traditional holidays, too, which offer businesses great opportunities to take advantage and plan for year-round. For example, National Junk Food Day can create business for a donut shop or candy store. And having a marketing calendar can help to relieve stress when planning your marketing campaigns. Check out this 12-month marketing calendar (in monthly and list formats), highlighting the holidays to plan and prepare for. You can use it to get a head start on your marketing strategy and efforts for the entire year.
Channel Spotlight: Organic Social Media
Organic social media is a fantastic way to promote upcoming holidays and how your business plans to celebrate them. Run a themed sweepstakes or surprise giveaway just for your followers, ask trivia questions about the holiday – with the winning team getting a prize. Make videos (or do a live stream) about how your store is decorating and how your team is getting into the holiday spirit. With only a smartphone and simple editing software, you can be your own videographer.
As a holiday approaches, ask your followers what they want from your business. Perhaps holiday bundles or shipping deals? React to their comments and make them feel special. Is there a particular charity whose cause you (and your community) supports that you could donate to with a holiday twist? Always remember, holiday marketing is FUN marketing for both you and your followers. Make sure to enjoy it and all the sales it’ll bring in.
