Get creative with December awareness causes, national days, and holiday promotions.
While December brings fun, family, and food, it can also leave business owners and marketers feeling pressed for time—and resources.
But with the right strategies and promotions, you can make your December marketing a breeze and spend more time relaxing with your loved ones. So in this article, we’re giving you everything you need to close out the year strong without sacrificing your sanity!
Here’s a quick look at December for your creative marketing brainstorm.
For cause-based marketing, December is the national month for:
It’s also National Tie Month, Pear Month, Root Vegetable Month, Exotic Fruits Month, and Bingo’s birthday month. Who knew?
As if you didn’t know them!
You can find plenty of inclusive holiday marketing ideas here!
We’ll be covering all the festive December national days in this post (Free Shipping Day, Gingerbread House Day, etc.) but here are some unique national days.
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Alright, now onto a deeper dive into December marketing ideas!
The holiday season is the perfect time to give back to those in your community. Host or participate in a toy drive and encourage your customers to do the same.
Here are some ideas for your toy drive:
If you’re looking to participate in a toy drive as a business rather than host one, you can still take pictures to share on social so you’re getting the word out about how to help children this holiday season.
Healthcare professionals are urging people to get their flu shots this year. What better way to get the word out than to participate in National Flu Vaccination Week?
Here are some ways your business can get involved:
By participating in this awareness week, you can show your community that you care about their well-being. And, it’s a great reminder to get your flu shot, too!
Once the holidays are over, January will come quick—make sure your marketing is prepared by taking a look at your own business plan for the next year, or at least for January. Outline any business goals and objectives you want to accomplish next year and determine what’s needed to help you reach those goals.
Here are some questions to keep in mind:
These questions will help you solidify your business plan, business budget, and marketing plan as you look ahead to the next year.
✍️ Need help with your business plan? Download our free growth strategy guide and template!
Should you decide to go with any of these ideas, you may also want to decide NOT to use generic copywriting! Use this guide to cliche-free, emotion-filled holiday copywriting so you can stay authentic and stand out above the noise.
Many businesses focus all their December marketing energy on Christmas and New Year’s and leave out a very important holiday: Hanukkah! Make your holiday marketing inclusive by adding Hanukkah decorations to your location, running special promotions that target your customers who celebrate Hanukkah, and by wishing them a happy holiday on your social pages.
Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration held in the US every year that celebrates African heritage. It has seven principles:
Use these as inspiration for your thought leadership and core values-focused content! You can also find plenty of Hanukkah and Kwanzaa material in these Readymade Holiday Social Media Posts & Canva Templates.
Free shipping is a big deal to customers. A LocaliQ consumer survey found that only 20% of people will pay for shipping. If you have an ecommerce business, consider joining in on Free Shipping Day on December 14 by offering free shipping on all purchases.
Don’t forget the #freeshippingday hashtag on all your social posts promoting your offer!
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There’s nothing that attracts customers like a fun attitude, so take advantage of the festive spirit! Embrace the ugly sweaters on Ugly Sweater Day on December 16.
Here are some dress-up ideas for your business this month:
Of course, don’t forget to post on social media with the appropriate holiday hashtag.
Did you know December 12 is National Gingerbread House Day? Participate in this fun and festive day—here are a few different ways:
No matter how you participate, make sure to use the #nationalgingerbreadday hashtag!
While it seems like it’s been cold for the last couple of months, the first day of winter actually falls on December 21. Celebrate with a simple picture on your social media pages, a winter promotion, or with some special treats—to go—at your business location to celebrate.
These promotion ideas will make your audience shout with glee!
Events are a great way to market your business during the holidays. Have an open house and extend your business hours one evening. Invite local customers and other businesses to stop by and mingle. Serve some food and drinks or get them donated by another local business! A party or open house is a great way to ignite some word-of-mouth marketing and build solid partnerships.
Encourage everyone to pour a glass of their favorite beverage and award some prizes for those who attend.
There’s nothing more fun than getting mail around the holidays. Gather your contact list and send out holiday or New Year’s cards from your business to them. You can create a traditional card with a picture of your employees and a simple holiday greeting along with a promotional code to encourage them to visit your business during the holidays.
Customers like to be appreciated, and a holiday card can keep your business on the radar of customers—new or loyal—so that your business comes to mind when they need your services. (More sales promotion ideas here!)
Instagram giveaways are popular throughout the year, but they can give you a real boost in December around the holidays. Think about the goal for your Instagram holiday giveaway—are you trying to get more followers, increase awareness for a specific product or service, or just spread some cheer to peoples’ feeds? From there, determine the right giveaway for your business.
Here are some holiday Instagram giveaway ideas to help you get started.
You’re busy during the holidays. Save time and money with user-generated content during the month of December. One easy way to do this? Stage a photo opportunity at your location (or outside of your location) by inviting Santa to come or by setting up a winter wonderland for customers to post in front of.
Everyone wants a picture with a gigantic polar bear, so give customers the opportunity to market your business for you by having something fun to take pictures with!
Pick up some props like Santa hats or tinsel garlands and let customers go to town. Make sure to include a hashtag with your company and share, retweet, or regram customers’ photos on social media.
Your business is built by real people, and your customers want to connect with you! By sharing a glimpse into the lives of your employees and yourself, you can help build a connection with your audience.
Share pictures or stories of your family and holiday celebrations on your blog and social media profiles. Do you have a favorite holiday memory that inspired you to open your business? What about a family recipe or tradition? Share yours on Facebook or Instagram and ask your followers what theirs are.
Here are some ideas for personal stories you can share on social media or your business blog:
Sharing this type of content through your social channels and on your website will help you build engagement—and it’s a fun way to connect during the holidays!
A gift guide is a great way to get your name out there and provide a helpful service to your community. We know that people will be searching for holiday gifts online this year more than ever, so write a blog post or social post about gifts for moms, dads, kids, and friends!
The gift guide can include some of your products, but the best way to sell your business is not to sell it at all. Instead, showcase items that are related to your industry:
People are always looking for gift ideas, so show potential customers how helpful you can be!
Take inspiration from the 12 Days of Christmas and feature a tip or product of the day on your blog or social media feed.
Here are some ideas to get started:
You could also run a different deal or offer for each of the 12 days. This will keep people coming back to your social sites each day, which can increase engagement on your pages.
Nothing gets people in the holiday spirit like some festive décor. Take some time to string some lights inside and outside of your location, hang some garland, and out up a tree and menorah. If your location is in an area with a lot of foot traffic, you can also create an eye-catching holiday window display to get people to slow down and check out your location or come inside.
Now is the time to have a little fun and make your business a welcoming place during the busy holiday season.
Show customers what your business is like during the holidays with video marketing! Are you a busy baker who is making cakes and cookies? Take customers into the kitchen with a video of preparations for the holidays.
People are curious by nature and giving them a sneak peek of new products or behind-the-scenes action will set you apart from your competitors!
People get busy, but a December email can help you keep sales and leads flowing during the holidays. Stay top of mind with special promotions you’re running, a round-up of local holiday events in your community, or just a simple reminder to visit your business in the New Year. Make sure your holiday email subject line stands out so people will click your email!
Here are some ideas for your December email marketing:
People are looking in their emails during the holidays—in fact, 75% look at their emails specifically to find deals and discounts. So, take advantage of that this month by emailing your holiday promotions and using your best December subject lines.
These types of emails are excellent opportunities to give those marketing goals one last push. Celebrate your growth to reassure customers that they’ve made the right decision to choose you. Reinforce how valuable they were to your achievements this year, to show appreciation and keep them loyal. If possible, recap what they achieved using your product or service to encourage them to continue using your business next year. For more on this, check out our 17 unforgettable year-in-review examples and learn how to write one that drives your year-end goals.
A good reputation is important for your business year-round, but this might be an ideal time to put a little extra focus on getting reviews for your business.
Take some time to ask your customers for reviews, respond to all your reviews, and make sure you’re managing the most relevant places where customers are reviewing your business—including Yelp, Google My Business, and Facebook.
Holiday shoppers are going to be turning to Google for all of their holiday needs, whether for gift ideas, home cleaning, appliance repair, travel, safety, and more. Make sure your business information is up to date so you can get found on search.
Be sure to:
There are many ways to optimize your Google business profile to stand out in search and attract customers—and no better time than now to do it!
The month of December can be stressful for business owners and marketers, but with a few creative and simple ideas, like the ones listed above, you can maximize your business’s exposure, connect with your audience, and set your business up for success in the new year.
Interested in more marketing ideas for every month of the year? We can help with that.
And for planning, check out this marketing calendar template from our friends at LocaliQ.
As promised, here’s the full list so you can find December marketing ideas relevant to your niche. This list is brought to you by National Day Calendar!
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