The holiday season is upon us once again. But this time around, you can’t rely on standard promotional methods, or even selling in person. Studies show 85% of consumers will be Christmas shopping online this year. If you want to get in on the action, you need to make sure your holiday content marketing strategy is the best that it can be.
But, you’re going to be competing with all the other brands running Christmas campaigns. Seeing as only 10 sites can show up on Google’s first page, you need to make sure that your Christmas marketing is top-notch. Lucky for you, we’re here to help. Keep reading to learn the 10 Christmas marketing ideas that will help boost your sales this holiday season.
1. Show Off With a Digital Catalogue
The days of the traditional Christmas shopping catalog may be long past, but that doesn’t mean catalogs are out of the question. There’s something about perusing a carefully curated list of products with a fun design and images that gets people in the holiday spirit (and more importantly, the spending spirit). So, a catalog is still a great Christmas marketing idea. You just need to adapt it to a digital platform.
Thankfully, there are plenty of amazing tools available for you to work with:
Canva
Canva is the most popular, simplest-to-use design platform out there. Once you’ve created an account, there are plenty of templates and resources for the perfect Christmas theme and sales.
Photoshop
Photoshop is the go-to tool of graphic designers for a reason. If you have a team on hand, let them do their thing in Photoshop.
Powerpoint/Google Slides
If you feel uncomfortable with any other tools, you can always rely on a Powerpoint or Google Slides presentation.
Whatever you choose, you’ll be able to create a catalog that’s sure to enhance your Christmas marketing campaign. Keep reading for more Christmas marketing ideas.
2. Partner With A Local Charity and Publish PR
The holidays are a great time to get involved with charitable events. There are usually many opportunities to volunteer or donate to causes that are important to you. Getting involved with charitable events is a great way to show your support for important causes and also increase your visibility.
The holiday season is also great for getting your brand’s name out there and boost sales. With people shopping for gifts and looking for festive activities, there’s no better time to take advantage of the increased media attention.
But how do you make sure your press release stands out from the crowd? Here are a few tips on publishing a press release during the holiday season.
Choose a festive angle.
The first step is to create a festive angle for your press release. What makes your brand unique during this time of year? Whether it’s a special holiday discount or a charity drive, make sure your angle is newsworthy and will capture the attention of media outlets and potential customers alike.
Time your release correctly.
Timing is everything when it comes to press releases. You’ll want to ensure your release goes out well before the holidays so that media outlets can include it in their holiday coverage. However, you don’t want to be so early that your release gets lost in the shuffle. Aim for about two weeks before the holiday you’re targeting.
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3. “Christmasize” Your Service (or Products)!
When we say Christmasizing, you probably start thinking of redlining any packaging, or adding some mistletoe and snowflakes and calling it a day. But there’s so much more you can do to bring the Christmas spirit to your business. Decorate your site blog or social media pages with a Christmas tree. Turn your site logo into an ornament. Outfit your socials with red and green coloring and festive imagery.
Don’t be afraid to go all out! You can even transform your products into holiday variants or seasonal sales that would make Santa seem ungenerous. All you need to do is be enthusiastic – spread holiday cheer as much as you can. Just make sure to give it everything you’ve got. Authentic, plentiful Christmas decorations will help your Christmas campaign much more than poorly thought-out additions to your site.
4. Get Emotional with Your Christmas Ads
Christmas is all about giving and being with family. In other words, it’s a very emotional time. So when you create content for your Christmas marketing campaign, the best thing you can do is leverage this emotion.
We aren’t saying to get manipulative, we’re simply saying that imbuing your Christmas marketing strategy with some heartfelt sentiment is going to get you better results. A good example is the image above – you can feel the joy and surprise of the woman opening her Christmas gift. This is the kind of imagery that will give your eCommerce store more relatability.
Christmas marketing ideas don’t need to all be cold or analytical. Sometimes, all you need is food for the heart.
5. Place Stocking Fillers & Impulse Purchases Strategically
If you are looking for Christmas marketing ideas on the analytical side, then this one’s for you. The standard holiday campaign is focused on finding the perfect gift for visitors, but the reality is, there are only so many gifts to go around. More importantly, not everything can work as a traditional gift.
That’s why you need to be smart about organizing which products to push for big Christmas sales, and which ones to optimize for smaller products. If you have products that are small, affordable, and gift-worthy, they’ll make for perfect stocking stuffers. And just because they aren’t going to be the big star of your holiday marketing campaign doesn’t mean they can’t succeed in their own right.
Carefully place your chosen stocking stuffers in a thin banner on a landing page, in a related products section for big sellers, or as an album on social media posts as subtle indicators for visitors.
6. Black Friday Out-of-Bounds
This holiday season, don’t limit yourself to just Black Friday sales for your Christmas marketing strategy. Offer holiday sales throughout December for continued success. You’ll still get all the publicity and goodwill of traditional Black Friday sales, without being limited to just one day. With this strategy, you can keep the holiday spirit alive all month long!
Another advantage of this for your Christmas marketing ideas is that you can better take advantage of people who shop too early or too late. And, with people already in a spending mindset, they’re more likely to take advantage of your holiday sales when they see them. By spreading out your online sales, you can make the most of this opportunity and keep your customers happy.
7. Festive Bundles
Holiday-themed bundles are a great choice for your Christmas marketing ideas because you can sell multiple products at once and entice visitors during the holiday season. By bundling your products together, you can create unique gifts that stand out from the competition. Plus, holiday bundles make great last-minute gifts for people who may have forgotten to buy something for someone on their list. So, if you’re looking for a way to boost your online sales for your Christmas campaign, consider creating holiday-themed bundles of your products.
8. Customize Your Packaging and Brand Assets For the Holiday Season
Customizing your brand packaging for the holidays is a great way to make your company’s products stand out. holiday-themed packaging can give your customers a more memorable unboxing experience, and can even be used as an additional gift. If you’re not sure where to start, holiday-shaped mailboxes and mailing bags can be a great way to eliminate wrapping gifts entirely. Holiday cards are also a great way to show customers you’re thinking of them this holiday season.
9. Create Limited Time Christmas Product Lines
As a small business owner, you always look for ways to increase sales and profits. One way to do this is by creating limited-time product lines. This can be especially effective around the festive season when customers are looking for unique and exclusive gifts.
When done correctly, limited-time product lines can be very successful. Michael Lynn, a professor at Cornell University, conducted a study on the effects of limited availability on consumer behavior. He found that limited products appeared more valuable and exclusive and that the buyer felt more empowered.
In the case of limited availability of products, customers must have access to fewer product lines. Bath and Body Works accomplishes this by introducing holiday scents only in the holidays. This makes their customers feel they need to buy the products before they are gone.
Creating a Sense of Urgency
One of the most important things you can do when creating a limited-time product line is to create a sense of urgency. There are a few ways you can create this sense of urgency:
Announce the limited-time availability in advance.
Let holiday consumers know that the product will only be available for a certain period so they can start getting excited about it. Ensure to include key details like how long the product will be available and the date it will go on sale.
Create a countdown clock.
Countdown timers are a great way to create a sense of urgency and encourage people to act fast. You can add one to your online store, Christmas marketing email campaign, or press release so people can see how much time they have left to buy the product. Make sure to include a link to a dedicated landing page where they can purchase it when the clock runs out.
Offer a discount code for a limited time only.
This is a great way to get customers interested in your product. Make sure the discount is significant enough to motivate people to buy but not so large that it eats into your profits too much.
Limit the quantity available.
This creates a sense of exclusivity and scarcity, making people more likely to buy your product.
Make the product available for a limited time only.
This allows you to create excitement and anticipation for your next release. All these methods can effectively create a sense of urgency around your limited-time product line. Choose the one that makes the most sense for your business and your target market.
10. Run a Christmas Social Media Photo Contest
The holidays are a great time to host a social media photo contest. With people already spending more time on social media, you have a captive audience. And what better way to increase brand awareness and spread holiday cheer than by giving away prizes? Here are some tips on how to run a successful Instagram photo contest that will get your target audience talking (and snapping photos!).
Pick a theme for your contest.
This could be something related to your brand or product, or something more general like “Christmas cheer” or “winter wonderland.” Ensure the theme is easy for your followers to interpret and submit photos for.
Choose a prize that will appeal to your target audience.
It doesn’t have to be expensive, but it should be something that people would actually want to win. For example, if you’re targeting beauty enthusiasts, a prize pack of your latest products would be ideal.
Create branded hashtags for your contest.
This will make it easier for people to find and follow your contest, and also help you track submissions. Keep the hashtags simple and memorable – you want people to remember them!
Promote, promote, promote!
Make sure all of your social media accounts are promoting the contest, and consider publishing branded content as well. You want as many people as possible to see and enter the contest.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are a variety of Christmas marketing ideas that you can use to double your sales. Which ones will you be using this year? If you’re looking for more marketing inspiration, check out our list of Best Lead Management Practices. And if you’re ready to get started on your own Christmas marketing campaign, set up a demo with one of our experts today.
