For some organizations in some industries it may be a challenge to come up with a holiday-themed campaign. This is unfortunate since the year-end holidays can be a great time to boost sales and build new relationships. Sure you could give away an iPad or a bottle of wine, but are there things that are more productive for your bottom line that you can do during this time of year?
Curate a List of Gift Ideas that Reflect Your Business
How about curating a list of gift ideas for your specific target audience? Ideally these gifts would all have a similar theme, one that is in line with your business, mission and offerings.
We recently did this with one of our clients. They help large companies, school districts and governments reduce their spending in energy, waste removal and telecom.
Consult the Content Calendar
First, to decide which topic to choose from, we consulted the content calendar (this should always be the first step!) Last year we did a campaign on waste reduction in the office during the holidays, and we’ve been writing a lot about telecom recently because of mergers and fiber optic expansion. That left energy as the prime candidate for this years campaign.
With intangible services that often require a lot of analysis work before any revenue is realized, this client has a difficult time coming up with special offers. Sure we could have created a download, but at this time of the year we’d prefer to give things away in good faith.
Have Fun With It
Since energy efficiency is a hot topic right now we decided to curate a list of energy efficient (and fun) gift ideas for the holiday season. The “fun” part is very important. Content should be helpful and entertaining.
The list featured everything from Himalayan pink salt lamps to an electric longboard to the Tesla Model X. The idea was to inject fun by creating a list of gifts for kids to millionaires and everyone in between.
Take It a Step Further with an Email Contest
Looking for more? Build some goodwill and generate engagement with an email contest for subscribers. Email contests are good because they aren’t subject to the rules and restrictions of the social media platforms.
If it’s cost effective, you can raffle off one of each gift on the list (probably not a Tesla car!). A simple way of doing this is by allowing recipients to enter the raffle by responding to the email. If it’s not cost effective, raffle off just one gift. As long as you’re giving something away and passing some holiday cheer.
Consider tying your raffle with a charity. Depending on the size of your list, you might pledge a certain amount of monetary donation per entry in the contest.
Don’t Be Afraid to Tout the Win
After all is said and done, create a short video of the raffle and send it out in an email announcing the winners. Videos garner high engagement, and allow people to physically see the good your campaign did over the holidays. You might follow up with videos with winners, and work to spread the material far and wide on social media. This interest and enthusiasm will be priceless in the year to come.
