11 merry marketing trends to boost business during the holiday season

The holiday season is a busy time, filled to the brim with planning, cooking, and, most of all, shopping. With the thousands of options for gifts on the market, it’s essential to take the time to make your business stand out.

A strong marketing strategy is the best way to stand out amongst the crowd during the holiday season. No matter the quality of your products or services, if people don’t know about your business, they won’t be buying them.

By creating a marketing strategy based on the most current and cutting-edge trends, you can boost your business and watch customers roll in during the holidays.

These marketing trends are curated to boost business during the chaos of the holiday season. Use these 11 tips to maximize traffic and sales during the most festive time of the year!

Partnering with content creators, especially around the holiday season, helps your business stand out among the hundreds of advertisements people see in a week. Unlike a traditional ad, partnerships with content creators are built on trust and endorsements.

“Don’t underestimate the influence content creators have on the market,” says Max Schwartzapfel, CMO of Schwartzapfel Lawyers Fighting For You New York. “An endorsement from a trusted creator can bring in significantly more traffic than a generic ad.”

Seeing your product in the hands of a creator that the shopper already trusts gives it an extra level of credibility. The creator’s followers already have an established relationship of confidence and admiration with the creator, and that relationship can extend to your business when the creator endorses your product or service.

Social media is the heart of marketing in the digital age. Many people spend multiple hours each day scrolling on social media. By posting every day or multiple times a day, you create multiple opportunities for consumers to find your product and potentially buy it.

“Give your audience the opportunity to engage consistently with your company,” explains Seth Besse, CEO of Undivided. “It does wonders for brand recognition and general likeability.”

Consider posting consistent short-form video content on social media to capture the most possible consumer attention. Many media platforms boost video more frequently than text or photos in their algorithm, and consumers tend to engage more consistently with short-form video across platforms.

Creating gift bundles encourages shoppers to buy more of their gift needs from your business. If they can buy a specially selected and packaged gift bundle from you, they cut out a lot of extra stress during the shopping and gift-giving process.

“Offering curated gift bundles allows you to highlight the versatility of your products,” Cody Candee, Founder and CEO of Bounce states. “All the while, you’re incentivizing large orders over those one-product orders.”

When you create gift bundles, you can discount products while still keeping revenue high because you are ensuring that a larger quantity of goods are bought together. This is a bonus for your business and a bonus for your customers, who get the best deal possible.

A landing page is the first page people see when they enter your website. Creating a dedicated holiday landing page can help direct consumers directly to your holiday promotions and sales.

“The landing page of your website should highlight your most exclusive and limited-time offerings,” explains Dean Arbit, Co-Founder and CEO of bud.com, a company that partners with local dispensaries so cannabis consumers can buy cannabis online. (The legal status of online purchase and delivery of cannabis varies by state and municipality. The reader is responsible for complying with local laws.). “During the holidays, a customized landing page can draw in shoppers looking for gifts or other holiday needs.”

Customize your website to highlight the deals you’re offering for the holiday season by creating a dedicated landing site.

With a high need for gifts and an often over-saturated market, make your product stand out by offering exclusive holiday deals.

“Offering limited-time, exclusive deals creates a sense of urgency for the customer,” says Jessica Nosike, Director of Marketing at Black Girl Vitamins. “If they are interested in the product, they know they have to get it now, giving them less time to talk themselves out of a purchase they really want.”

When you create an irresistible offer for a limited time over the holiday season, shoppers will have an incentive to choose your product and buy it now. This can maximize sales while giving you an edge against your competitors.

Stocking stuffers are a must-buy for many people around the holidays, yet it can be hard to find small products that are still good quality. Consider offering mini-sizes of your most popular products to offer as stocking stuffers near the holidays.

“Stocking stuffers let you be creative with the products you already have,” explains Lindsay Swaik, VP of Digital at 2XU, a company that specializes in men’s compression pants. “Around the holidays, make a mini version of your most popular products to make your business stand out.”

With stocking stuffers, you’ll offer something other companies may not be doing. Plus, these mini items can help make returning clients out of those initially hesitant to invest in your product.

The holiday season can bring crowded parking lots, busy stores, and long lines. Because of this, many shoppers turn to e-commerce for their holiday shopping needs. Make sure your e-commerce site is optimized for the ease and functionality of the customer during the holiday time rush.

“Now more than ever, it’s important to have an e-commerce site that runs smoothly and efficiently,” says Raja Subramanian, GM of Power Wizard. “Investing the time to optimize your website for the increased traffic of the holiday season is well worth it.”

There’s nothing more frustrating than a website crash. Avoid the frustration by optimizing your website to handle high volumes of traffic.

Offering free shipping on large orders can incentivize shopping up to a certain price threshold. Many shoppers are willing to add more to their cart to reach higher overall savings.

“Sometimes the only thing standing between a small order and a large order is an incentive to buy more, like free shipping,” Kristen Pechacek, Chief Growth Officer of MassageLuXe, a fast-growing spa franchise.

When shoppers receive a better overall deal with free shipping, they may even choose to buy a product with your company that they would have otherwise bought elsewhere. Consider offering free shipping on larger orders to maximize your sales over the holiday season.

As the holidays roll around, many of us embellish our homes, clothes, and even cars with holiday-themed decorations that display the cheer of the season. Offer exclusive holiday-themed products to keep up with the trends and stay on theme for the holiday season.

“Who can resist a cheerful and beautiful holiday-themed product?” asks Jason Swilling, Executive Director of Mt. View Treatment Center. “It pulls on the heartstrings by infusing seasonal festivities with a touch of nostalgia.”

Don’t be afraid to customize your products for the holidays! Offering a small number of limited-time holiday-themed products can entice your shoppers during the festivities of the season. Plus, the exclusivity of the products creates a sense of urgency to buy the product now while it’s available.

Social shopping is a digital marketing tool where shoppers can buy products in-app on their favorite social media platforms. You can target shoppers more directly and effectively when you use social media not only to advertise your product but to sell it.

“Ease is king in the digital age,” explains Kevin Miller, Founder of kevinmiller.com. “Social shopping allows shoppers to research, discover, and buy, all in one place.”

Having a storefront on the same platform you advertise and engage with your audience can be a game-changer for your marketing strategy. Set up social shopping for your business to build an easy and effective all-in-one space for your customers.

Targeted ads are personalized ads based on the interests and searching habits of a consumer. Consider creating targeted ads to bring in new customers during the holiday season.

“Targeting new customers is a profitable way for small businesses to add new customers during the holiday shopping season,” says Michael Plummer Jr., President and CEO of Our Town America.

During the holiday season, it’s easy for your business to get lost among all the options consumers have for their gift-giving needs. With a strong marketing strategy, you can make your business stand out, bringing in new shoppers and higher revenue over the holiday months.

“It’s not what you sell that matters as much as how you sell it!” explains Brian Halligan, CEO and Co-founder of HubSpot.

Don’t rely on normal holiday traffic to bring in revenue this holiday season; fine-tune and optimize your marketing strategy to maximize productivity and profit. Using these marketing strategies, you are sure to bring in the cheer this holiday season!