Holiday Marketing Tips: Best Practices to Help Prepare Your Business

Like it or not, the holiday season is approaching fast! Is your local business prepared? Take a look at a few of our holiday marketing tips to help your local business have a successful holiday season.

Make sure your local listings are up-to-date

Local listings are online resources that contain basic information about your business. In today’s mobile-friendly world, it’s important to make sure your local listings are accurate and updated regularly because local searchers are using this information to find you both online and at your physical location. Having incorrect information on listing sites can be detrimental to your business, especially when customers are spending time looking up your business’s directories for address or phone numbers. If your listings are showing up in search results with incorrect information, we suggest you audit local listing sites for your business name across the web and make corrections where it’s necessary.

Make sure your website is mobile-friendly

Keep in mind that last year 53% of people who shopped online used a smartphone or tablet. With that said, you want to make sure your site is optimized for mobile. Currently, Google displays a tag next to websites that aren’t mobile-friendly when users search on mobile, and 72% of consumers want mobile-friendly websites. To avoid deterring people from viewing your site this holiday season, make sure your site is optimized for mobile.

Keep your social media accounts active

We know the holidays are extremely busy for business owners, and keeping your social media accounts active may be the last thing on your mind, but social media is an effective and important way to communicate with your customers during this season. Planning and scheduling out your posts will be key for actively keeping your business’s social profiles afloat during the busiest time of year. Make sure to post content that grabs the attention of your audience by posting colorful images, asking questions, and sharing tips that you think will interest your audience. Keeping your platforms active will help boost engagement, allowing you to build strong relationships and brand presence.

Thank your customers

It’s always nice to thank your customers, and the holidays are the perfect time to do so. Whether it is thanking them with thank you cards or with offers and promotions, you want your customers to feel appreciated and keep your business top-of-mind when they’re making their holiday purchasing decisions. About 44% of consumers made one purchase last year based on a promotional email they received. Giving your customers promotions, whether it’s through emails or social media, is a great reason to influence them to shop with you this holiday season.

How is your local business preparing for the holidays? Let us know in the comments below, and keep up with us on Facebook and Twitter for more marketing tips to make this season a success!

Karla Jackson

Karla is the Social Media Manager at ReachLocal. She has experience in digital marketing for SMBs and focuses on creatively integrating social media into the content and communication strategy. She is also very passionate about employee advocacy and strives to find ways to amplify employee engagement online. When she isn't discovering new ways to improve her social media tactics, she enjoys yoga, traveling, and food.

View all articles