Happy holidays to our community of local business owners! We’re headed into the holiday season, which means it’s a great time to experiment with seasonal trends, unique marketing campaigns, and ways to attract new eyes to your business. 

Read below for a few ideas on how to make the most of this holiday season depending on your business model. Plus, we’ve provided a pre-built campaign strategy and timeline for small businesses to steal this year – just in time for Small Business Saturday which falls on November 28 this year. 

Non-retail businesses 

B2B companies, consultants, agencies, service providers 

Holidays can be an opportunity to express gratitude to existing customers. While retail businesses may be able to capitalize more on product sales, non-retailers can use this opportunity to appreciate and retarget existing customers. 

• Mail thank you cards to clients, including small gifts for long-term connections. 

• Host a free holiday workshop or Q1 brainstorm related to your field of expertise. 

Retail Businesses 

Clothing stores, gift shops 

• Host a holiday-themed pop-up or event in-store. 

• Unboxing video: Using an influencer or your own staff, you can build excitement around holiday products by posting unboxing videos on social media. This is an easy way to share the stories behind different products while showcasing them visually to an online audience. 

• Offer last-minute pickup and delivery options for your products. 

• Host a ticketed event at your store and donate proceeds to a local nonprofit.  

Food & Drink 

Coffee shops, restaurants, bars 

• Host a holiday party for top customers and others in your businesses’ network. Tip: Use this as an opportunity to soft launch new ideas and items for the new year.  

• Rename or refresh catering packages for seasonal appeal (Firepit Kits, Christmas Breakfast Essentials) 

• Seasonal product offerings. 

• Create a gift version of existing products (gift cards, gift boxes). 

Steal this Campaign: Holiday Marketing Leadup & Execution 

Now that we’ve explored some marketing activations for the holidays, think about specific ideas for your business. Once you have a firm grasp of what your business will offer this holiday season, review this campaign timeline for tips on when and how to activate your ideas. 

Week 1: Awareness Building 

• Public Relations: Some news outlets and community forums have places to submit upcoming events/tips. Submit your upcoming holiday events or limited time offerings to local newsletters or news sites. This increases your businesses’ chance of ending up in holiday roundup articles, emails and more. 

• Social Media: Start posting about your holiday specials. Be sure to use clever messaging, scroll-stopping images or entertaining videos to stand out. 

Week 2: Digital Advertising 

• Digital Advertising: Start a digital ad campaign for the holidays. Using Google or Meta Ads, you can boost your business’ discoverability amongst individuals looking for holiday-related items, services and deals. Email marketing and SMS platforms are also great for supporting more direct digital advertising initiatives.  

Week 3: Community Relations 

• Build Buzz: At this point in the campaign, your business channels should not be the only ones talking about your products. Consider working with a local influencer that already connects with your target audience. They can help co-promote your holiday specials and start a wider conversation about your brand.   

• Giveaway: Use your social media or website channels to offer a valuable product or service giveaway. Giveaways can help your company’s profile gain followers quickly and reach new customers without breaking the bank. If you’re already working with an influencer for your campaign, they can help promote the giveaway as well.  

• Donation: Consider making a donation to a local nonprofit in addition to your giveaway. 

Week 4: Urgency Marketing 

• Contact customers directly: Use direct marketing channels such as SMS (text messages) and email marketing for last minute sale reminders. 

• Scarcity marketing: Highlight limited inventory, anticipated demand, remaining tickets, etc. 

• Create FOMO for future campaigns: Announce winners of giveaways, highlight significant sales, express gratitude to customers/clients 

• Retarget Audiences: Advertise new products/services, offer additional opportunities to connect 

After your holiday marketing campaign is over, don’t forget to document how it performed. Create a spreadsheet, and track data such as link clicks, store visits, inquiries and/or leads generated. When the next holiday season rolls around, you will thank yourself for saving this data. It is a great way to decide which activations are worth it, and which can be left out next time. 

Supporting Local Businesses, Together 

At InUnison, we believe that when local businesses thrive, our entire community benefits. Through Find Local, we encourage Greater Richmond residents to discover and support locally owned businesses. 

This holiday season, we’ll once again launch our holiday shopping campaign to encourage consumers to shop local while amplifying the marketing efforts of participating businesses. By working together, we can extend our reach, strengthen our local business community, and make a greater collective impact. 

Help us spread the word! We invite local businesses, neighborhood associations, and community partners to join the effort. Encourage businesses in your network to get listed on Find Local and help share the campaign with your audiences this holiday season. 

 
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sources: shopify