DesignGoodNow_NovA
We’ve officially made it to December, and the holiday season is in full gear. While you may still have time to shop, you don’t have much time to promote your business before the season ends.

Holiday campaigns are tough. Depending on your industry – and the size of your business or team – you may have started planning your holiday campaign earlier this year. If you were able to plan, execute, and launch a dream holiday campaign, then congrats! Our hat is off to you.

But, what about the rest of us? If time got away from you (it tends to do that), and you never got any farther with your campaign than setting some lofty goals, don’t worry – there are still ways to leverage your existing audience, speak to their needs and come up with a successful last-minute holiday campaign.

Think Locally
Before you do anything, look around you. Are there any like-minded brands in your community that are doing something interesting for the season? If so, think about how you might be able to pair with them. If you’re selling a product, try teaming up with a retailer for a last-minute in-store event. If there’s a locally hosted event – an independent makers’ holiday fair, for example – offer your services to the organizers of the event in exchange for some promotion. This is a quick, easy way to reach the customers and clients closest to you, all while building new partnerships.

Think Like Your Customer
This is a busy time of year for everyone, including your customers and clients. To catch a potential customer’s attention, consider what you might be able to offer them that would make their lives easier during the holiday season. Whether it’s a product or service, make sure that what you’re selling is relevant to your customers’ lives right now and save everything else for later.

Social Media
In our experience, customers, readers, and clients tend to check out during the holidays no matter what you do, but if there’s one platform that people continue to use throughout the holiday season, it’s social media. Try coming up with a last-minute campaign – maybe a discount code exclusive to social media followers or a social media-hosted promotion that’s focused around the theme of holidays and the new year. Host the campaign on the social media platform where you receive the most customer engagement.

Remember that creating a holiday campaign doesn’t mean following what everyone else is doing. If sweet and sentimental doesn’t appeal to your audience, try injecting some humor or unexpected elements to your campaign. Forget about Santa and snowflakes – create something that fits your brand and that will be interesting enough to cut through the rest of the holiday clutter. Whatever you do – don’t ignore your followers during this time period. Many of them will be listening, and listening closely.

Give Something Away
At DesignGood, we are huge fans of giving. Try giving something to your customers, instead of expecting something from them. This is a great way to connect with new, like-minded people who may be interested in your product or services. People love to spread the word about giveaways, so make yours meaningful and desirable to get people talking about your brand. Promote your giveaway using your email list, blog, newsletter, and social media. You can also use it to collect additional followers and email subscribers. If you have a storefront, give something away in your store and promote it. You’ll get people in the door, shopping, and then building your word of mouth.

You can also look for ways that the giving and good works you do during the holiday season can do some good as your business as well. At DesignGood Studio, we give away branding services to several organizations we believe in around the holidays. There’s a special joy in giving from our unique talents, and we get the added benefit of being able to promote this work elsewhere.

Finally, look on the bright side: If you didn’t plan a big holiday campaign, you might find yourself with a little extra time on your hands. Use the rare gift of time to start planning your new year now. Think about your marketing goals, come up with a list of dream clients you want to work with in the new year, and start forming a plan of action that you’ll be able to kick off as soon as the holiday season is over. Want a hand with this? We love helping brands find what they stand for and make the most of that as they tell their story.

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From the Editor
At Conscious, we are inspired by stories that cause us to think differently and think big-picture and so we set out to tell stories with the help of leaders and influencers in the social good community. You can read more stories like this when you Sign-up for the Weekly and Subscribe to Conscious Magazine.