Top 11 Holiday Promo Ideas 2020 Edition
Hey there #trendblazer!
The holiday season is one of my all time favourites! The festive energy can’t be beat and I LOVE soaking it in!
For those that are new around here, I’m Jacqueline Conway. You can learn more about me right here. ;) Alternatively, if you’re a veteran #trendblazer well then welcome back and lovely to have you here!
Today’s post features some of my all time FAVOURITE holiday promo ideas to expand your audience, giveback to your community, and, of course, make more sales! And with increased traffic in stores and online it’s a fab time to maximize the visibility of your brand.
Coming up I’ve got 11 ideas ready for you and there’s a video to compliment that provides the proper roundup. Normally, these mini trainings are reserved exclusively for my TrendBlazer Insiders Community, but I felt it was high time for an exception.
But before we dive in, I want to make sure your head is in the game.
For example, if you have any preconceived ideas that holiday promotions are only for classic retailers, think again! They work for professional services like marketing, consulting, business, sales, coaching, also the arts, culture, events, venues, restaurants, spas, salons, program creators, etc. I’m uber confident one of these promotions will work for you.
Also, do not feel like you have to tackle each of these ideas! I would recommend 2 tops! Then depending on the size of your team you could do more, but even if you take 1 of these ideas and run with it I’m sure you’ll see an increase in your audience and business! Yes please and thank you! ;)
So, now that our heads are in the holiday promo game let’s dive in and choose a dynamite idea to build your audience, promote your business and close more sales this season!
Top 11 Holiday Promo Ideas 2020 Edition
If you skipped the video - no worries. I’ve got the written word roundup right here with examples to inspire you! ;)
#1: Gift Guides
A gift guide is a compilation of ideal gifts for a specific group. For example, I’m sure you’ve seen gift guides for women, moms, men, dads, toddlers, teens, dancers, soccer fans, etc!
You’ll notice that the gift ideas are grouped based on demographics, age, life role or interests. The key to success with a gift guide is getting specific. Who will your gift guide be for? And secondly, who are the people that need to see the gift guide? Who are the decision makers or buyers? You want to inspire both groups and call them to action.
For me personally, I LOVE a good gift guide. I find it very difficult to buy for my husband, so I need the inspiration to get the ideas flowing.
Here’s an example of a gift guide for different personalities of dogs! So fun! This is evidence that there’s really no end to the creative ideas you could up with!
YOUR ACTION: Would a gift guide work for your business? Could you flip the gift guide concept on its head and promote a service or program based business?
#2: 12 Days of Giving
12 Days of Giving promotions are a great way to build momentum! I’ve seen them done as a new contest for 12 days. I’ve also seen them done as a different discounted item over 12 days. Sometimes, people use them as the chance to donate to 12 different charities or organizations. There many ways you could coordinate a promo like this.
I quite love how Hillberg and Berk has put together a 12 Days of Gifting event during holiday season.
YOUR ACTION: Would 12 Days of Giving or Gifting work for you? How could you flip the concept on its head for your business?
#3: Contest Loop
A contest loop is when a group of businesses or entrepreneurs team up and contribute to a prize package together. They are often run on Instagram and involve having people follow each contributor, tagging friends and sharing the contest on the app. They are really fab way to grow your following and build awareness.
If you use Instagram for business quite often then I would recommend a contest loop. I’d also recommend that you work with complimentary partners that each contribute approximately the same amount of value - in both time, product or services.
The real key to success with these is getting in font of ideal clients, so whomever you partner with you want to ensure your audiences align. This is super important! A misaligned contest loop will not benefit anyone involved.
YOUR ACTION: Would a contest loop work for your business? Are you an Instagrammer looking to grow your audience and collaborate? Then this might be for you!
#4: Giving Tuesday
The first Monday of December is Giving Tuesday! This year it’s Tuesday, December 1st. This day is promoted often in the world of charities, non-profits and philanthropy, encouraging people to contribute, donate time or money, and support any number of causes around the world.
I love the idea of Giving Tuesday, because you could donate to charity as your business or do something extra special for your audience or new customers. To make this style of promotion most effective enter into the planning with a mindset not of what you could get, but what you can give. The energy that backs your promotion is everything and coming from the heart will make your voice, message, and efforts that much more impactful.
YOUR ACTION: I challenge anyone reading this post to giveback in whatever way they can on Giving Tuesday! Donate to a charity you support or do something extra special for your audience - whatever you like! Your generosity will be appreciated!
#5: Black Friday
Best known as the busiest shopping day before Christmas, and always following America Thanksgiving, is the promotional bonanza called Black Friday. It originated out of the United States, but has really extended into Canada and beyond as a pre-Christmas shopping event.
Originally the event would happen on one day, producing massive traffic and chaos along with it. Today, many businesses have turned it into a week or weekend to curb that “Did she really just take that out of my hand?” mentality. Also, many online entrepreneurs and program creators use Black Friday to offer discounts on programs or information products.
Audiences have been trained to expect deals on Black Friday, so participating can increase brand awareness and make sales in your business. You’ll only want to consider if offering a discount is “on-brand” for you. Because once your on the discount train people will expect discounts moving forward.
There is increased energy online around Black Friday. And because so many businesses participate a real sense of synergy can be created.
YOUR ACTION: Will you participate in a Black Friday promotion? What are some unique ways you could offer value to your people?
#6: Cyber Monday
The online equivalent of Black Friday is Cyber Monday and happens the Monday following Black Friday! The difference being instead of focusing on in-store and online promotion, Cyber Monday is online only. Some retailers combine this promo with Black Friday to really anchor the weekend.
This promotion is great for online entrepreneurs, for obvious reasons, and can amplify what you’re already doing online.
YOUR ACTION: What do you think? Is Cyber Monday a good fit for your business? What angle could you take on Cyber Monday?
#7: Flash Sales
So, while Black Friday and Cyber Monday are very much flash sales you can also take that concept and apply it to any day you choose! For instance, you could run a sale for 24 to 72 hour sales where you dramatically reduce pricing on your products or services. I’ve seen these types of sales done where a new product or service is offered on a discount each day or entire product lines reduced for a specific and short time frame.
These types of promos can be a lot fun, because they create a real sense of urgency and scarcity, which are natural and psychological motivators for all people. Also, they can be great to move people into action that may be sitting on the fence.
Below in the example you’ll see a mystery flash sale example! This takes the concept to the next level and piques curiosity, while applying urgency at the same time.
YOUR ACTION: How about flash sale? Would this style of promo work for your business?
#8: 1 for 1 or BOGO
Made famous by Payless Shoes, the buy-one-get-one concept remains a mainstay in promotions and advertising.
This style of promotion works great for holidays, or just at any time really, and can lend well to product-based, service-based or information product businesses.
YOUR ACTION: What about a BOGO offer? Would this resonate with your ideal clients?
#9: Gift with Purchase (Jacq’s Personal Fav)
Perhaps one of my all time favourite promotions is gift with purchase! Made famous by Estee Lauder in the beauty industry this style of promotion is very upmarket. It also demonstrates appreciation for your clients, and honestly, who doesn’t like receiving a gift?!
I actually love this promotion so much that we send gifts out to all of our new clients at Conway Consulting. So, perhaps this is something you can do on an ongoing basis to show appreciation.
Below is an example from Stella & Dot. They combined the gift with purchase idea during a Black Friday event! A multi-layered and fun strategy!
YOUR ACTION: Does this style of promotion work for you? What could you offer as a gift to your clients or customers?
#10: Influencer Marketing
The age of social media has also spawned the age of influencer marketing. The most common tiers of influencers are pictured here and can range from less than 1,000 followers to several million followers. Research shows that influencers with larger followings tend to generate more awareness and influencer’s with a lower follower count tend to convert more sales.
Awareness and sales are both important in building your brand, so you can choose what is most important right now when deciding on an influencer promotion or strategy.
Below is an example of a mega influencer that has partnered with Old Navy and how the integration of products into a person’s everyday life creates a more real and authentic way of marketing, as opposed to the hard sell approach of classic advertising.
Similar to coordinating a contest loop you want to ensure that the audience of your chosen influencer is full of your ideal clients, so there is an authentic connection between your brand and the influencer you’re working with.
YOUR ACTION: Do you see a fit working with an influencer to promote your business? Are you looking to profile build and generate awareness (generating sales over a longer term) or promote something seasonal or short term to bring on fast sales? Who are a couple of example influencers that you could partner with to get the juices flowing?
#11: Favourite Things Contest
My second favourite promotion is a Favourite Things Contest! How it works is you bundle up a few of your favourite items and give them away to one lucky winner. This builds your audience, gets engagement up and generates leads and sales. They can be ran over several days or very quickly. Your goal will be to have people in your existing audience invite their friends and share it around online to get the energy and excitement going.
The best way to approach this style of contest is to ensure there is alignment between what your business does and what you’re giving away. For instance, if you are a pilates teacher, I wouldn’t giveaway your favourite books on business. Instead, I’d recommend giving away your favourite pilates mat or props that someone could use at home. You see can that second choice is much more aligned.
Better still, is contesting the opportunity for someone to work with you. I have done several contests with Conway Consulting like this where we give away free coaching sessions. Then typically the winners become clients because they experience the benefits of working with a sales and mindset coach.
In the example below I’ve featured a makeup artist that is giving away some of her favourite products. This giveaway is perfectly aligned and will get her audience excited about what she’s giving away (which will grow her following) and seamlessly connects to her existing content.
YOUR ACTION: What would you giveaway in a favourite things contest that your audience would be unable to resist? When could you run a contest like this over the holidays or beyond?
Wowza!! We covered A LOT of ground today.
Make sure you do the mini action steps and jot down the best promotions for your business. A few other things to consider when deciding which promotions to utilize in your business will be:
What are your goals? Audience growth? Sales? List growth? Client appreciation? All of the above? Get clear on what you want to achieve.
Which promotions align with your brand position? Are you a premium brand? Are you an everyday brand? Will dramatic price reductions diminish or solidify the position of your brand and products?
How can you build natural scarcity and urgency into your promotion? People can smell from a mile away if you are creating false scarcity or urgency and that will hurt your business in the long run.
What do you have capacity for? If you have support by way of a team then tackle a couple of these. If you are a solopreneur then be mindful of what you can take on. One of these promotions done well will be much better for your brand than trying to do too much.
Brilliant!!
With all of this I am sending you off into the world to create a sparkling, brand new holiday promotion to wow, inspire and call your audience to action! As you build out your promotion tag me in them on Instagram (@trendblazerstudio) and I will share your promos to my stories to help spread the word.
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
xx,
-Jacq
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