Every year, I look forward to the holidays more and more—I can’t wait to see the new collections, events, and campaigns that small businesses offer. With all the fun the holidays bring, it is also one of the most important times for entrepreneurs to connect with their customers and set their businesses up for the upcoming year.
The better you plan your content and marketing campaigns before the holidays, the better the outcome. The magic happens when you have a clear vision of your content needs and goals before you head into the busy season—you gain clarity and motivation, and your customers get excited about what’s coming!
In This Post:
- Your Holiday Vision & Goals
- Planning your Holiday Calendar
- Curating a Holiday Aesthetic
- Seasonal Campaigns & Promotions
- Connect with Your Customers (UGC!)
- Focus on What You Love
Know Your Vision & Goals
Before you dive into the visuals, defining your Vision and Goals for the holidays is a powerful first step.
- For product-based businesses: Are you launching a new collection for the holidays? Offering special discounts & promos? Hosting a pop-up or participating in Holiday Markets?
- For service-based businesses: Do you want to offer special packages or promotions to your loyal clients? Or maybe you want to offer special gift cards for the holiday season.
A clear plan lets you focus your time and energy. When you’re clear about a plan, you’ll become motivated to accomplish your goals, and your customers will look forward to seeing what you offer. When it comes to content, defining your holiday goals will help you get clear about exactly what content you want to plan for with your photographer.
Planning Your Holiday Calendar
We all know consistency is key—the holiday rush can sometimes put us off our game when we’re busy prioritizing creating products and attending appointments. Plan your content early by mapping out a content calendar that balances your announcements, promotions, and events.
- For product-based businesses: Plan content around new product launches, flash sales, or special holiday collections. Schedule regular posts that highlight your products in holiday settings, user-generated content from customers, or gift guides that feature your products.
- For service-based businesses: Focus on how your services can help during the holiday season. Post client testimonials, service highlights, and tips on how your audience can make the most of your services during this time. Even if you’ve shared these things in the past, it’s always good to stay at the top of your customers mind when it comes to your services.
Curating a Holiday Aesthetic
With your goals set and calendar mapped out, we can start imagining how you want things to look and feel. Think of how your favorite brands show up during the holidays. This goes hand-in-hand with your brand’s existing visual identity, and you can decide how festive you want to take it.
- For product-based businesses: Think about holiday-themed product photoshoots. Get creative about what an on-brand holiday looks like for your business.
- For service-based entrepreneurs: You may not have physical products, but you can still create engaging visuals. Depending on your service, you can create visuals that show how your services are used during the holidays, or create festive holiday graphics for your seasonal promos.
Seasonal Campaigns & Promotions
A well-intended holiday promotion can drive a lot of attention, traffic, and sales to your business. Both product and service-based businesses will benefit from running campaigns and special promos.
- For product-based businesses: Consider launching a limited-time holiday collection or offering exclusive gift bundles. Make sure to create product-focused content, including high-quality images, detailed descriptions, and a sense of exclusivity.
- For service-based entrepreneurs: Create a holiday promotion such as discounted packages, gift cards, or limited-time holiday services. Use your content to showcase how your services make great gifts or provide value during the busy holiday season.
Connect With Your Customers
Your holiday marketing plan is important, but don’t forget to connect with your audience. Showing off your customers by sharing User Generated Content (UGC) is a win-win situation, your customers will feel heard and seen, you get to build trust and credibility for your business.
- For product-based businesses: Encourage your customers to tag and share photos of them using your products during the holidays (and don’t forget to repost them), or collaborate with creators and real-life customers to create holiday content.
- For service-based entrepreneurs: Ask your clients to share testimonials or photos of them enjoying your services. Reviews and videos can be powerful tools for attracting new clients in the coming year.
Time to Focus on What You Do Best
The holiday season can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. You make the most impact in your business by doing what you do best, from designing, creating, or booking more appointments with your clients.
We love to support small businesses at our studio by creating high-quality and custom brand photography. When you work with us, you’ll get to create a library of original content that will last you through the season and help you reach your holiday goals—giving you back your time to focus on your products, services, and most importantly, your customers.
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