Christmas is here – bring on the Festive Marketing

There are five weeks until Christmas is upon us, making the large companies going crazy with festive spirit.

In the past week I have been bombarded with TV adverts, radio broadcasts, Christmas posters and store-front decorations. Its easy to see how the big companies do it, using a huge budget, famous faces and instantly recognisable voices to get their names out there.

From the moment the latest John Lewis Christmas advert was shown on TV, people were talking about it all over social media. Twitter went crazy with #JohnLewisAdvert receiving 14,500 tweets. People from all over the UK started raving about it, causing floods of people to check out their website, YouTube account and visit their stores.

What can you do?

 Website

Make your website or social media pages as eye catching as possible, adding festive images or a change of  colour scheme, just like shops do with their window displays. Entice people in. When people like what they see on your home page (or shop window) they are far more likely to want to delve in and see what else you offer.

Make sure the rest of the content on your website is just as interesting and festive as the home page. There?s no point in enticing people in, with bright lights and sparkle, if the inside of your shop is dull and boring. Keep your content up to date and make sure to keep the festive feel flowing throughout your site.

Offline Marketing

This is very important this time of year, with people waiting by their letter boxes, for news and letters from family members. Take this opportunity to send hand written Christmas cards. Make your mail ‘lumpy’ add Christmas inspired branded stationary – I’d be much more excited to open a letter if I could feel a free gift inside.

I received a sample box from Whiney Woods with a fantastic selection of pop up business cards, collapse-able card pen holders, Christmas decorations covered with their logo and creative brochures – all emblazoned with festive decoration. Check them out for some brilliant ideas.

Of course without a million pound budget you can’t create a fantastic TV advert, with a chart topping star singing your jingle. However, with some careful thought and some clever planning you can spread the festive cheer from your business. When people see you aren’t the ordinary black and white business, like the other thousands out there, they will pay you more attention and visit your site or pick up the phone.

If you have any other festive marketing ideas or ways to drive business during the Christmas period let me know.