December is here and that means the countdown to the holidays is well underway. For many small businesses, this is the start of their marketing season. Many will create and deploy marketing campaigns to capture holiday spirit and goodwill.
If you haven’t yet started an end-of-year marketing campaign, it’s not too late. Here are 7 marketing ideas that your business can use to drive more traffic, build brand loyalty, and increase brand awareness.
1. Charity
There are many needy families that can’t afford to buy a holiday dinner for their children – let alone have presents under the tree. You could reach out to a local shelter or Church and see if they’d agree to partner up with you to fund a Christmas dinner (and presents) for a needy local family with children. Be sure to reach out to the local media (newspaper and t.v.) as they will most likely want to cover this event.
You can also start an annual charity event where people can donate money and your business will match the funds donated. Not only will you be helping a family in need, but it will also do wonders for your brand loyalty and recognition. If you have a big social media following, you can keep your followers informed of the charity drive.
2. Promote Christmas fitness challenge
This is the time of year when many people tend to gain weight. Create a Christmas fitness challenge and share it with clients and customers. The first person to lose the most weight after the holiday season can win a prize or discount on services.
You might be able to partner up with a local gym or physical trainer to cross-promote and share the costs of the promotion.
3. Email Marketing
Hire a graphic designer to create a festive and professional looking email marketing campaign. You can also anonymously sign up for your competitor’s email marketing blasts and get ideas from what they’re doing.
Christmas and New Years are two perfect times to send out an email blast to your list. It doesn’t even have to be a sales email. You can simply send a reminder to your list or give them tips regarding the new year while tying it into your business.
4. Share a photo contest
If you have a big enough social media following, you can create a contest where people can share a photo. If you’re able to tie it into your business somehow – even better. Make sure they tag you and ask that they tag their friends as well. It will create a marketing campaign where people will be actively marketing your business for you.
5. Invite Santa Claus
Invite Santa to come visit your business. Be sure to reach out to the local media/newspapers beforehand to let them know. You can also have a banner printed up and hung outside your business (facing the car traffic on the street) to drive more people to the event.
Be sure to take lots of pictures and post them on your website/blog/social media accounts. It will showcase your company culture and allow clients/customers to get to know the people behind the business.
6. Cross-promote with other businesses
Cross-promoting with other local businesses is a fantastic way to gain more exposure and it will also help lower the cost of the promotion. The promotion can be anything from a charity event to a “buy one, get one” type of promo. The benefit to cross-promoting with another business is that your business will be promoted in two locations at the same time.
7. Holiday banner
If there is a lot of foot or car traffic that goes by your business on a daily basis, considering getting a sign or banner printed up that has holiday graphics and a festive holiday message. It will cause people driving or walking by to take notice.
Similarly, you could dress up your office windows and even your outside building façade with holiday graphics. A quick trip to your local dollar store will net you more than enough holiday decorations you can put on the inside or outside of your building.
Marketing Experts in New Bern
At AlphaGraphics, we’re more than just a full-service print shop. We’re also marketing experts. We combine both our print and marketing knowledge to help our customers market more effectively and drive new business.
To learn more about how AlphaGraphics of New Bern can produce and design your next project, you may
email us,
request a quote or call us at
(252) 633-3199.