Fun Marketing Ideas For The Festive Season

From a rigorous tug on the heartstrings to nice and easy Christmas hashtags, there are so many ways to inject some fun into your marketing campaigns this festive season. Not only will this help up your sales, but you could also attract some loyal customers that will keep coming back long after Christmas is over. This year, Christmas sales are expected to reach £84.7 billion[i], a significant rise from last year's lockdown festivities and your corporation should be getting as much of that figure as possible. So, whether you’re a local business or a high street staple, here’s how you can make your Christmas campaign shine this year.

Why Is Christmas Marketing Important?

Marketing has a significant impact on how well a business fares, and never is this truer than at Christmas. Getting your festive marketing campaign spot on will help attract customers, new and old, drive sales, increase social media attention and put your business in the best possible light to keep people coming back in the New Year. A good Christmas campaign should create a sense of positivity and maybe pull at some heartstrings, so it sticks with viewers and makes your business memorable, even when Christmas is over.  

 

When To Start Christmas Marketing

It's best to start a Christmas marketing campaign in September or October for eCommerce or sales businesses. This is so your advert will stick in people's minds early, meaning they'll be aware of your products and consider them when they begin gift shopping. If you are in any other line of work, starting your Christmas campaign bang on the 1^st of December should be fine. Don’t worry if you haven’t started campaigning yet, though – it will be harder, but there are still plenty of ways to market your brand right up until the big day.

 

Fun Christmas Marketing Ideas For Your Business

Marketing is a tough job – one slip up, and you could lose hundreds. However, getting it right is a dream come true. Although Christmas is the most critical period for businesses, it's the perfect opportunity to have a bit of fun with your company and try new things. Here are some of the best Christmas marketing ideas for you to try.

 

Christmas Hashtags

Social media may have mixed reviews, but there’s no denying that it is the best way for businesses to reach out to their customers. Since social platforms provide a business with a broader audience, the ability to interact with customers, a chance to market their brand and more opportunities to gain attention, it’s vital to make use of this over Christmas. And one of the most successful ways of doing so is via Christmas hashtags.

To make waves with hashtags on social media, you must think outside the box. First, consider what people will be searching for around the festive period, what’s popular at the moment, and how you can relate this to your business. From there, add a festive product image or joke, and wait for the likes to roll in!

Plenty of people and companies will be using generic hashtags throughout the season. If you’d like to use them in your campaign, it will widen your audience, but increases your chance of being lost in the crowd. Some of the most popular Christmas hashtags you could try include:

• #christmas
• #christmastree
• #christmasdecor
• #xmas
• #merrychristmas
• #christmastime
• #santa
• #christmasgifts
• #christmasiscoming
• #christmasdecorations
• #christmaslights
• #santaclaus
• #gift
• #holidays

Of course, you could also take a leaf out of the book of many successful brands and start your own Christmas hashtags. For example, John Lewis had #ManOnTheMoon to accompany their 2015 festive advert, which is still remembered fondly to this day. Consider what would be related to your niche or your campaign, and see if you can get your hashtag to take off.

 

Festive Graphics

The online share of retail sales rose from 21.5% to 32.8% in 2020[ii], and with coronavirus constantly hanging in the balance and many people preferring online shopping, this is likely to rise even more this year. So, your website must be up to scratch. It must be user friendly and attractive enough to make people want to stay. And festive graphics are a great way to draw the eye during Christmas shopping. They are memorable, eye-catching, and will make people happy, all leading to a likely click. So add some festive graphics to your website and social media accounts – that dancing reindeer could make all the difference!  

 

Introduce Limited Edition Products

Limited edition products are the perfect Christmas campaign opportunity since they drive up sales and desire, plus create a short term buzz without impacting your brand in the long term. If people are told a product is limited edition and that product is worth buying, they are more likely to buy it there and then. Limited edition products are also your chance to show a different side of your brand and allow you to relate to your customers. Apply some creativity and fresh thinking for this one – try a completely new item, or a different colour scheme, or your take on a popular product at the moment.

 

Reimagine Your Current Products or Services

Alternatively, if a completely new product is a bit too expensive, you could reimagine a current or popular product, especially for Christmas. Of course, this could also be limited edition to drum up desire, or you could make it available when you start your campaign. Consider regular Christmas traditions, styles and colours and how your product could fit easily into this. For example, Nutella released small jars of their famous spread that could be hung from the tree and then eaten at the end of the festive season. Keep your product’s functionality in mind to create something that people will want to buy again once Christmas is over.

 

Come Up With Some Christmas Slogans

A good slogan sticks in the mind and strikes a chord with customers, so never underestimate them! You want a Christmas slogan that is short and snappy and relates to your brand or the season, plus you’ll likely get extra attention if it’s funny. Then, try and make it memorable. Whether it rhymes, repeats, or it’s sung, a memorable slogan needs to be unique, positive and encompass your brand. Popular Christmas slogans for 2021 include Aldi's 'Make Christmas Amazing for Everyone', John Lewis' 'For A Christmas As Magical As Your First' and T.K. Maxx's 'Christmas To The Maxx'.

 

Inject Some Humour Into Your Campaign

Marketing tends to be quite a serious business. Of course, it's essential, but that doesn’t mean you and your marketing team can’t let your hair down for the festive season. To create a successful advertising campaign, you want almost to make people forget they're watching an advert, so add some humour to your marketing. Slip some jokes and funny pictures into your slogans, social media posts, ads, website and newsletters to make people laugh and make them want to follow your platform. You could also get customers involved with some competitions, like asking them to send in photos of their ugliest Christmas jumpers or a funny scene that involves one of your products. You could award the winner with a product or a discount for your shop.

 

Bring Yourself To The People

Sometimes there’s nothing quite like physically getting yourself out there, especially if yours is a small, local business. Interacting with customers and clients in person should never be underestimated – if people like you, how your products look and how you talk about them, they are more likely to buy them. You could host a party or an open house and entice clients and customers with conversation, games, fancy dress and other fun elements that will influence them when shopping. You could also try a pop up stand at local festive events to widen your customer base and gain attention.

 

Extra Christmas Marketing Tips

Do Your Research

Before launching into a brilliant Christmas campaign, do some research into what's popular in your niche at the moment and what will be popular at Christmas. Have a look at past marketing campaigns of similar companies and gauge how successful they were, plus consider your past campaigns. See what encouraged sales and interaction, and try and incorporate this into your festive marketing.

 

Consider Discounts

Discounts are perfect for encouraging new customers. If they buy discounted products, people are more likely to explore your business and recommend you to friends. They're especially good at Christmas when other companies are putting their prices sky-high. Try and remain competitive when discounting, but don't push the price too high.

 

Think About After Christmas

It's easy to get caught up in festive marketing, but you must try and stay a few steps ahead in any marketing campaign. Think about how your activities will affect the business after Christmas and how to keep the customers you have gained over the period. You should also consider participating in the Boxing Day sales or offering an incentive after Christmas, such as discounts or competitions.

 

Merry Christmas!

Christmas marketing may not be easy, but it’s bound to be one of your favourite business periods of the year with some of the fun things you’re about to get up to! Of course, advertising your business is essential, but don't forget to have some fun outside of your job this season – happy employees ensure happy customers!

What are your favourite Christmas marketing ideas? Let us know in the comments below!

 

Sources

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[i] https://www.statista.com/statistics/792411/christmas-sales-forecast-united-kingdom-uk/

[ii] https://www.retailresearch.org/shopping-for-christmas.html