25 Days of Holiday Marketing

The holiday season is upon us and if you haven’t started thinking about your holiday marketing strategy…It. Is. TIME! And to help you spice things up, we’ve curated a list of 25 holiday marketing ideas.

Here’s why I love holiday marketing. It gives businesses a chance to engage their clients and audience in unique ways. For real estate agents in particular, the holiday season is a little slower (hopefully not too slow!) and it gives them a chance to make personal connections with past clients, neighbors, family, friends and warm leads.

I love holiday marketing so much, I curated a list of 25 unique marketing strategies for the holidays. I divided them into 3 different channels: face to face marketing (engage the community), social media marketing, and direct mail/email marketing. Try them all or try just a few, but don’t miss this opportunity to try something new! (See what I did there? ;))

Please note: while all of these ideas were written with real estate agents in mind, many an easily be adapted by non profits or small businesses.

Alright, without further ado, lets get to it!

9 Ways to Engage the Community

1. Pass out custom branded candy at Halloween. We love these options from 4imprint.com 
2. Set up a hot chocolate stand. This is especially effective in neighborhoods where visitors come to see holiday light displays. Buy branded cups, or put logo stickers on plain cups, to help spread the word about your business.  
3. Host a neighborhood canned food or toy drive. Partner with a local organization and collect food and toys on their behalf. Set up a collection site at your office/store/restaurant, or go door to door. Ask One Step to print some promo materials, such as stickers and window decals. 
4. Sponsor a community event. Find an event that is already happening and see if you can sponsor, host a table or contribute in any way. 
5. Host a cookie decorating party. Or a gingerbread house making party. You can send formal invites, or just set up some tables in your driveway and invite passersby. 
6. Go Christmas caroling. Get a group of coworkers and/or community members together for a night of holiday music! You can go caroling around a specific neighborhood, or ask a local senior home if you can sing for residents. 
7. Hand out client gifts. If you’re still in business, it’s because of your clients! Check our extensive list of client gift ideas. If you need ideas for smaller gifts you can drop on doorsteps, visit our Pinterest page. 
8. Support community helpers. Drop off a tray of cookies at the local fire station. Leave a basket of muffins for teachers at the local school. Or send lunch to the nursing staff at your doctor’s office. Be sure to include a thank you note! 
9. Buy local. Visit a farmers market, craft show or small local store and purchase some holiday gifts. Then share your purchase on social media to help spread the word and support the business. You may even be able to partner with them and offer your followers a discount code. 

8 Social Media Posts 

1. Host a contest or sweepstakes. There are a dozen different ways to do this and tools to use. This article from Hubspot has some great tips. 
2. Host a “Random Acts of Kindness” challenge. Get ideas and resources at RandomActsofKindness.org
3. Share interesting facts about the Thanksgiving holiday. This History.com article has some great info
4. Share your favorite holiday traditions and ask your audience about their traditions. 
5. Partner with a nonprofit. Giving Tuesday is November 30 and your favorite non profits will probably be doing some heavy fundraising. Help them out by reposting their fundraising requests and goals. 
6. Host a video Q&A. You can do this live on your favorite platform, or you can record yourself answering questions you frequently get and publish the recording. Consider making it unique by addressing questions that are common this time of year and not others.   
7. Share seasonally relevant tips. How does someone prepare their house for winter? Is it a good idea to sell a house during the holidays? If someone is planning to sell in the spring, what can they do now to prepare? Share your insights on unique questions and problems people have this season. 
8. Participate in a social media challenge. The 80/20 rule of marketing says your content should be 80% directly related to business, and 20% more personable. Take some time to learn a new Tik Tok dance or try a cooking challenge and share it with your audience.

8 Direct Mail and Email Ideas 

1. Send a holiday schedule of events. Look up holiday events in your area and list them in a weekly email or postcard. 
2. Hold a contest. Using a return reply piece, invite recipients to participate in a holiday drawing or a coloring contest. OR, if you already set up a landing page for a social media contest, mail a link to that. 
3. Hand written (or hand signed) holiday cards. Take some extra time to personalize your holiday mailers. Just a simple hand written signature speaks volumes, but you could also include a small handwritten note and/or a family photo.
4. Mail hot cocoa packets. Or packets of instant coffee, or tea bags! Pair with a fun note.   
5. Host a virtual recipe exchange. Send an email to your clients asking them to share a favorite recipe with you. Compile all the recipes into an ebook, and email out to the whole list! Need help making the ebook? Our graphic designers would love to help! If you’d like to do it yourself, we recommend using Canva. 
6. Mail scratchers. Surprise recipients with customized scratch off cards that reveal a freebie, a discount, or a prize. You can order custom ones or create your own with these scratch off stickers from Amazon 
7. Switch it up. If you do direct mail marketing throughout the year, consider switching it up for the holidays. Do a bigger piece, or a card on nicer paper with an expensive finish. Or do an envelope mailing instead of a postcard. 
8. Mail a yearly recap. If you are a consistent marketer, you’ve been keeping your clients up to date on your business happenings throughout the year. But the end of the year is a great time to remind them how you’ve served the community. Share sold homes, testimonials, and business accomplishments. You can also look ahead to the new year and share your plans to improve your service even more.  
9. BONUS: This time of year is a great time to touch base with old clients and update your contacts list. Take some time to send a text, or pick up the phone, and check in with those you haven’t heard from in a while. Need some script ideas? We’ve got you. 

Do you plan on using any of these 25 holiday marketing ideas? If so, we’d love to hear about it! Reach out to us on Instagram @onestep_oc or Facebook.com/onestepfans and let us see what you’re doing!