As a small business owner, you are probably still recovering from the mad rush of Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday. If you haven’t had time to sit down and plan out your holiday marketing don’t worry, our list of top 5 holiday marketing ideas for small businesses can help you get back on track!
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Cross promotion is your friend. Find another small business that is located near you or that has complementary products and services and create a holiday cross promotion that offers a discount to their customers and vice versa. You can create holiday themed postcards or fliers to be displayed at your partner’s location and mention the promo to all of your customers. Be sure to communicate with your cross promotion partner to see what worked and didn’t work so you can improve your return next year.
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Social campaigns are a must. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are great ways to interact with your current customers and introduce yourself to future customers. Develop creative marketing campaigns that reward your loyal clients who share your promotions and discounts. You can offer a holiday finders fee for bringing in new customers, do a holiday food item giveaway or a fundraiser promotion that supports a local nonprofit. Genuine and positive interactions in your online community will help lay the foundation for a successful social media promotion that can increase your brand exposure and your sales too.
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Referral networks rock. Create a referral network with your small business contacts and reward their effort. Use your business connections as an additional sales team and offer them a cash reward if their referral signs a contract. This is a win win for everyone and works very well if they are current clients who can give a genuine testimonial of your work.
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Support your local community. Choose a charity to support during the holidays (and all year long) and ask your customers to get involved too. You can offer a discount on all services and products for the month of December and donate that discounted amount to the charity of your choice. This gives your customers a chance to support their community and introduces them to the giving side of your company. Keep a tally of giving and post it to your website and social media networks as your giving grows. You can also partner with other small businesses in your area to host a gift-giving tree or adopt a few families for the holidays. Coordinate with your business partners on the needs of the families and accept donations at your business on behalf of the charity. This provides more positive interactions with your customers and sticks with them all year long.
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Fads are fabulous. Join the holiday bandwagon and host a “12 days of…” holiday event. Give away a different prize every day, offer a different discount every day or add each day’s giveaway to a gift basket and do a drawing at the end of the 12 days for one lucky winner. Promote this on social media and get your brand in front of new customers just by having your current followers like and share for a chance to win. Whatever you choose, share it across all of your social networks a few weeks before the event begins and heavily during the 12 days as well.
These top 5 holiday marketing ideas for small businesses are easy to implement and can give you that much needed break this holiday as you prepare for the new year. Happy Holidays!
About Webb Technology Group
Webb Technology Group is a certified Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), LGBT Business Enterprise (LGBTBE), Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), Small Local Business Enterprise (SLBE), and an SBA Certified 8(a) firm specializing in mobile application development and responsive web technology solutions for minority, women-owned businesses and government agencies. Their core competencies include app development, responsive website design and social media management. Learn more at www.webbtechnologygroup.com