10 Steps to Create a Successful Content Marketing Strategy for Your Small Business During the Holidays

Intro

Content marketing strategy for your small business is pivotal all year round, but it poses particular opportunities — and challenges — during the holidays.

Whether your small business is brick-and-mortar, e-commerce, or a mix of both, there are content marketing strategies you can employ to maximize the value of your efforts.

1. Optimize for seasonal keywords early

It’s tempting to only think about holiday-themed content when Thanksgiving is on the horizon. But you need to think about optimizing for seasonal keywords months in advance if you’re hoping to gain traction from organic search.

It’s well understood that, in general, it takes 3–6 months for keywords to begin to rank in Google.

If you want organic search traffic during the holidays, you must build seasonal keywords into your content calendar much sooner than Q4.

However, it’s not a complete loss if you are in this position. You can still develop seasonal content in Q4 that’ll gain search engine optimization traction throughout the year and update it as fresh for the next holiday season.

Speaking of updating…

2. Update old content for the season

You can get some quick and easy holiday content wins by updating the decently ranking content you currently have.

For example, you can turn a mediocre, outdated listicle into a gift guide. You keep all of the backlinks, traffic, and URL authority of the original piece but turn it into something that can perform without starting from scratch.

Additionally, you can add holiday-centric pop-up email opt-ins to any blog post. That way, you are taking advantage of holiday traffic and capturing emails while not having to create a slew of new blog content.

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If you want to create more quality content quickly, educational content with in-depth insights can be created easily with the help of tools like a free essay writer. These content tools can help facilitate ideas, break through writer’s block, as well as help boost your content productivity.

3. Stretch your marketing budget with your email list

The power of your email list is undoubtedly something you’ve already discovered when developing the content marketing strategy for your small business.

Your email subscribers who have opted into your mailing list want to hear from you specifically. They’re already interested in something you have to say — a warm, captivated audience waiting for the right pitch.

Recent studies done by Litmus show that the ROI of email marketing is $45 for every $1 spent on emails selling retail and consumer goods. That’s incredible ROI for any marketing initiative, making your email list a potential goldmine.

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4. Optimize for mobile to boost revenue

A Q3 of 2023 analysis by Statista shows that 74% of visits to retail sites were on mobile, and 63% of online shopping orders were made from a mobile device.

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If your site isn’t optimized for mobile users, it’ll be difficult for them to navigate to your product or service.

If it’s difficult to navigate your product or service, they’ll quickly click away to a site that makes the shopping process seamless, costing your small business thousands of dollars in revenue.

5. Lean into visual content formats for greater impact

If you haven’t used visuals in the content marketing strategy for your small business, the holidays are the perfect time to start.

Text is important. Text drives marketing and sales. But there’s truth to the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words.

Consider adding these types of content to your marketing strategy:

Gift guides - gift guides can be visual, with feature breakdowns and snazzy product shots. Take inspiration from Bombas, which uses bright colors and high-quality images in its holiday gift guides.

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**Social ads **- focus on making your social ads and social media posts more stunning with festive colors and concentrate on telling a story with visuals and action instead of words.

Social banners - entice free followers on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) by

giving your social accounts a holiday makeover, using your company’s branding as a seasonal marketing tool.

Take a page from Target’s book, a brand leader in everything “holiday.”

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Memes - capture current social media trends by participating in current memes, but add a holiday twist.

Video - either long- or short-form video content can help your marketing efforts immensely.

A 2022 study by Wyzowl shows that ROI on video marketing includes increased leads, conversion rates, dwell time on the website, brand awareness, and traffic.

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6. Add bonuses and extras to the shopping experience

Providing a good shopping experience during a hectic time will cement your brand in the minds of overwhelmed shoppers.

Some ways you can be remembered (beyond excellent customer service, fair pricing, and good UX design) can include seasonal bonuses and “extras.”

Utilize some of these ideas:

Gift wrapping - offer gift wrapping for free (or a small fee). When done well, gift wrapping removes a task from the customer’s to-do list and adds a little dazzle to their purchase.

Branded freebies - ornaments, ink pens, coasters, magnets, something specific to your product or service can be a nice touch. It’s a little extra “thank you” and helps spread awareness of your brand.

Free shipping - it’s tough for small businesses to keep up with the free shipping offered by the likes of huge companies like Amazon, but offering it during the holidays can be a good way to show appreciation for your client base without losing out on revenue.

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Free monthly subscription - if you are a subscription-based business, you can offer a holiday promotional deal that gives people one month free with the purchase of their first month of service.

**Promotional upgrades **- similarly, you can offer an upgrade to a premium tier of your product or service by purchasing your standard package.

Money-back guarantees - money-back guarantees are a good practice to have at any time. Now is a good time to start if you don’t have one. It builds good faith and removes some perceived risks for potential customers.

7. Build anticipation for your seasonal offerings

Use the hustle and bustle of the season to your advantage by teasing what’s to come.

Get creative with your visuals in ads, social posts, videos, and email campaigns.

For example, you can use counters to count down to special deals and product launches and talk openly about your excitement for what’s to come.

Here’s a very simple countdown email marketing example from Spanx that uses the countdown to create a sense of urgency to snag the best prices of the year.

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8. Listen to your customers for ideas

Have your customers or consumer base asked for a new feature, flavor, product, or user experience? Now’s the time to give it to them.

To the above point about building anticipation, using the natural build-up of the holidays is a good time to try a soft launch of something new you’ve been kicking around that your customers have already said they want.

If it goes well, you have a potential new product to work into your standard business model. If it doesn’t, you can pivot in a new direction. Either way, valuable insight has been gained that you can implement for your online content marketing strategy for your small business.

9. Host events or parties to promote your small business

The efficacy of seasonal parties and events will greatly depend on your industry and target audience. Most people have many obligations over the holidays and don’t savor the thought of one more party or event to attend.

However, if your small business is in an industry where people are likely to gather over the holidays (food service, retail, wine and spirits, etc.), they could work in your favor.

As ever, you’ll want to lean on data as much as possible before sinking a lot of resources into an event.

• Have your customers been asking for a holiday event?
• Have you noticed success with smaller events in the past?
• What’s your best-selling item or service?
• Does it lend itself to a party, or will it be a hard sell?

Let the data lead you.

10. Use narrative story-telling for target audience connection

Any good piece of marketing tells a story. The story you tell sparks a feeling. That feeling you spark forms a connection. That connection leads to sales and brand loyalty from your customers.

Good sales numbers start with good stories. And no time is more ripe for heartwarming nostalgia than the holidays.

Take note of behemoth brands like Coca-Cola and their iconic use of Santa Claus in their holiday marketing.

The red and white of their everyday branding melds flawlessly with heart-pounding memories of the magic of Santa Claus many remember from childhood.

Warm. Happy. Timeless.

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How can _your _brand tell a story about what you do that’ll pull in something inside your customer base?

Think about this. Get specific. Don’t be disingenuous — what’s intended to be touching and nostalgic will read as sentimental and trite.

Every brand has a story to tell — so tell it truthfully and well.

Conclusion

There are many low-cost ways to create a high-quality content marketing strategy for your small business during the holidays.

Take stock of what you know your target audience wants, what’s sold the best, and the marketing verticals that have returned the best ROI throughout the rest of the year.

With careful, data-driven decision-making, your thoughtful content efforts will see significant results, and your small business will thrive with every piece of content you publish.