While holiday times can be great for improved sales, small businesses also have to compete with larger companies who have bigger marketing budgets and established reputations to draw on.

For those with limited resources over the Christmas period, here are just a few ideas to get your business into the festive spirit and engage your customers without breaking the bank:

Decorate Your Website

Put a little tinsel on your logo, add some holly to your home page. There’s quite a lot you can do to spruce up your site.

You don’t have to hire an expensive graphic designer to add a little Christmas spirit to your online presence. You can find a creative freelancer online pretty easily nowadays. Don’t forget your social media backgrounds and timelines either – Twitter and Facebook, for example, have some Yuletide options to choose from and they’re free to use.

Encourage User Generated Content

One of the easiest ways to get your social media accounts pumping with Christmas spirit is to let your fan base create some content for you. How about running a competition for their best Yuletide celebrations incorporating your product or service?

While it takes a bit of monitoring on the part of your business, if you can get people to engage, it’s the quickest way to create a fun marketing campaign.

digital christmas card

Send Out Digital Greetings Cards

There are lot more options nowadays for sending digital cards of all sorts. They also don’t cost the earth. You can make your own image or pick one from a library, then add some festive cheer to thank your customers for all their support over the last year. You can even add in a link to your latest promotion. This is also a much greener option than sending out physical cards.

Create Christmas Content

It’s time to go wholesale festive and there’s no better way to do this than producing specific Christmas content. For example, give your blog a Yuletide makeover with help and advice for your customers on everything from cooking that turkey to getting through the company Christmas party. Keep your eye open for any interesting images or news that you can add to your online content with little or no effort.

Use Video

You can do a lot with video nowadays. How about singing a Christmas carol or two for your audience and posting it on social media or on your website? This works better if you can bring a little professionalism to your video creation but most of us have smartphones nowadays and there’s a host of fairly inexpensive video editing software available as well.

Offer free delivery at christmas

Offer Free Shipping for the Christmas Period

If you want to beat the competition, you normally have to offer something different. For those small business that operate solely online, offering free postage for any orders during the 12 days of Christmas can set you apart from the rest. It’s also something your customers will appreciate. 

Show Some Charity

Of course, Christmas isn’t just about making money. Getting your business involved in a local charity or good cause can help grow your standing with customers. You may want to join forces with a food bank or deliver hot food to the homeless or give them a gift for a bit of Christmas cheer. It’s a great option for not only building your brand values but making your staff feel good too.

A lot will depend on what type of business you run but the truth is there’s plenty you can do to market yourself on a shoestring budget over Christmas. You’ll be surprised what a difference you can make with a little imagination and endeavour. For advice on all aspects of your small business, get in touch with the experts at Neil Smith Accountancy; we offer free advice to ensure all of our clients are running their businesses to the best of their potential.

If you’re concerned about employee sickness and absences over the holiday season, learn how best to handle this situation in our post on the subject.