A Checklist to Help Plan Your Holiday Marketing Campaigns
September is the month I approach my clients to begin planning their holiday campaigns and content for the remainder of the year. For many businesses, these three months make up a large amount of revenue and there’s a lot of preparation that needs to happen. Holiday marketing campaigns often take center focus, so I wanted to share the steps I walk my clients through to create a plan.
Step 1: Answer these questions:
What are your goals for marketing during the holiday season this year?
What products or services will you focus on?
Which social media platforms and marketing channels are you going to use?
What types of content do you need to create to support these platforms?
Is there a broader message you want to share with this holiday campaign?
Step 2: Set up your goals.
Decide on a campaign theme (no need to get overly complicated!)
Define your target audience for this theme.
Are there any opportunities for partnerships and collaborations with this theme?
When will your holiday campaign launch? List key dates and how long it will run for
What metrics will you measure? (leads, sales, awareness, social media shares, etc.)
Step 3: Review your Monthly Checklist.
September:
Align your team for support and review your holiday marketing goals. (Include internal + external creatives and designers.)
Delegate and schedule content production (photoshoots, film videos for Reels, emails, landing pages, website updates, etc.)
Reach out to other businesses and influencers you want to collaborate with.
Collect usable creative assets like image folders, logos, and user-generated content.
Create a timeline for all creative deliverables to be completed.
October:
Review campaign plans and share updated launch dates with partners and team members.
Finish developing and producing your creative content.
Refine your messages to add value and stand out.
Plan logistics for in-person events and shopping experiences, if applicable.
November:
Review content with partners or team members for final edits.
Schedule content to launch (social media posts, emails, gift guides, website pages, etc.)
Holiday campaign rollout begins!
December:
Share gift guides, shipping cutoff dates (if applicable), shopping events, sales, etc.
Continue to post, engage, answer questions, and share details about your campaign.
Monitor your content and responses. Be ready to make changes to an unsuccessful strategy.
Measure your results and analyze campaign holiday performance.
Begin to make a list of new strategy ideas and goals for 2024.
Identify areas for growth and support. Schedule a 2024 planning session for yourself and/or your team in the new year.
Key Q4 Marketing/Content Dates to Remember:
Tuesday, October 31st - Halloween
Monday, November 11th - Veteran’s Day
Sunday, November 12th - Diwali
Thursday, November 23rd - Thanksgiving
Friday, November 24th - Black Friday
Saturday, November 25th - Small Business Saturday
Monday, November 27th - Cyber Monday
Tuesday, November 28th - Giving Tuesday
Thursday, December 7th - Friday, December 15th - Hanukkah
Friday, December 22nd - Winter Solstice
Sunday, December 24th - Christmas Eve
Monday, December 25th - Christmas Day
Sunday, December 31st - New Year’s Eve
Fall Marketing & Content Ideas:
Looking for some help?
My work focuses on creating meaningful brand content that your business needs every day. As I mentioned above, I have space this fall for a few new projects.
Here are the ways people most commonly work with me:
Brand Messaging
Website Copywriting
Email Marketing
Marketing Strategy Coaching (monthly sessions)
Content for events/launches
Thank you again for your unwavering support. Here's to a season of change and embracing the new! And don't forget to get yourself a #PSL while you're at it ;)