5 Ways to Use the Holiday Season to Your Business Advantage

Christmas is almost here! Are you making the most of it for your business? Whether you realize it or not, the holiday season is a season rich in marketing opportunities. Below, consider five specific ways you can still use this time of year to your business advantage, even now:

1. Holiday Social Media Content

According to research from Adobe Digital Index, social media will continue to be crucial in influencing holiday purchases—and for brands, that means social media is too important a resource to overlook. So how can you use social media to boost business over the holidays? Consider these tips:

• Seasonal Facebook Cover Photo: Customize a holiday Facebook cover photo to spruce up your page and spread some holiday cheer—if you add a coupon code or promotional link to the image, even better.
• Seasonal Blog Content: Take advantage of the topic on your audience’s mind and write blog content related to the holidays. What does your business offer this time of year? Think about helpful holiday tips, roundups of holiday products, etc.
• Pinterest Contests: Big brands from Sunset Magazine to The Container Store have used Pinterest to run holiday-themed contests. Whether you require entrants to create boards of your products or to tag related items with a certain phrase, when you get people pinning about you or what you offer, you promote your brand.
• Festive Email Newsletter: According to IT Business Edge, email is an unparalleled strategy for reaching shoppers around the holidays. It goes straight to their inboxes, has been shown to have a higher ROI than other efforts, and more. So send out a holiday newsletter with a clear call to action to see good results.

2. Special Christmas Sales

Few things motivate purchases faster than a good sale—and since the holiday season is a time of shopping and gift-giving, it’s a good time to entice ready shoppers with what you sell.

3. Generosity

The holiday season is all about generosity and kindness, so why not put those principles to work for your firm? Treat your clients to holiday samples. Throw a party for your vendors. Give your employees a Christmas bonus. Launch a clothing drive to benefit charity. All of these gestures, while sometimes small and simple, encourage the kind of goodwill that means a more loyal audience and more meaningful relationships down the road.

4. Holiday Cards

Everybody likes getting holiday greetings in the mail—why not send one to your customers from your business? Plus, to make maximum value of the greeting, include time-sensitive coupons that encourage your customers to make some new purchases.

5. Offer Gift Cards

It’s hard to beat the convenience of gift cards—not to mention the benefits for your business of getting payment upfront. So if you’re not offering gift cards already, you’re missing a great opportunity. Promote your gift cards on social media, in your newsletter, etc., and give your customers a handy way to grab last-minute presents.

Your Thoughts

What other holiday sales tactics do you use this season? What have you seen to be useful before? What are you trying this year?