Most small businesses start feeling the holiday squeeze about mid-November. This can leave you stressed out, run-down, and ready to shut down for the holiday. But you still have to pay the bills, and you likely need to earn as much as you can through the New Year. Today’s tips can help you market your business while having fun so that work feels more festive than frightful.
Video Marketing
If the idea of standing in front of this camera scares you, don’t let it. Remember, your customers visit your shop all the time, so everyone already knows what you look like at your best and your worst. A fun Instagram reel or YouTube video is a great way to engage with your customers. Lauren Design can edit your program so that it’s perfect for getting your message across.
Get Silly on Social Media
Boring social media posts simply announcing new products are so 2010. Today’s social media users want to see your personality shine through in all that you do. One idea here is to create a private social media page for your best customers. Here, you can showcase the best of your business and your personal humor by using a free meme generator. These make it easy to get goofy with stock images and full customization. On those days when things feel a bit more serious, you can even use a meme to get a heartfelt message across.
Add an Ornament to Your Packaging
As a small business, you may not have the budget to invest in custom holiday packaging. This doesn’t mean that you can’t adorn your shopping bags with something cute and meaningful. Consider adding a handmade ornament to each order throughout November and December. You can find plenty of ideas on The Pioneer Woman website.
Make Gift Guides
Have you ever noticed that your parents, children, and others make it difficult to enjoy shopping for the holiday season? Us, too. Along that line of thought, a great way to help your own customers figure out what to buy is to make a gift guide. This could be something as simple as pages on your website dedicated to men, women, couples, and other demographics with carefully curated items that might appeal to them. You can also share an infographic (here is a tutorial on how to make one) for a quick way to show what might be best for everyone on your customers’ shopping lists.
Run a Contest
We all know the “like and share” model of social media contests. Everyone will be doing that this holiday season. Although it remains effective, you can get even closer to your customers by running a contest that puts them in charge. One idea is to let them come up with the design of a T-shirt/ornament/piece of jewelry and then let others decide whose is best. The winner's piece can be featured in your shop and will get the honor of calling themselves a designer. Before you run your contest, make sure to write in-depth promotion guidelines.
Set a Deadline
While it might not sound fun to set a deadline, if you don’t create an order cutoff date, you may find yourself continuing to make last-minute production runs up through Christmas Eve. Instead, look ahead at shipping deadlines, which are available online at ShipStation, and then give yourself at least 10 days to take orders, meet production demands, pack your goods, and ship to the customer.
The holiday season does not have to be a headache. When you prioritize things like social media, gift guides, and deadlines, your memes will be more meaningful, your customers will know exactly what to get, and you won’t be rushing to fulfill orders at the last minute.
Contact Lauren Design today for more information about branding and marketing services that can help you be seen and understood.