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Holiday Campaign Guide: Advertising for Local Businesses

The holiday season is the busiest time of year, but it’s also when local businesses face the toughest competition. With big brands dominating ad space, it can be hard to stand out. But with the right strategies in place, you can create effective holiday campaigns that will boost your Christmas sales.

Floor Linskens
October 3, 2024
3 Min

Unlike Coca-Cola’s emotional Christmas ads, local businesses don’t always have the budget for elaborate campaigns. But with the right approach, you can still create effective holiday ads that resonate with your community, drive sales, and build lasting relationships.

First of all, what can we learn from Coca-Cola? Love it or cringe at it, we all their holiday ads. Whether it’s Santa drinking a Coke or those polar bears, they always come up with a brilliant idea. Some people find them heartwarming, others roll their eyes—but let’s be real, we all watch them anyway. They’ve know how to tap into holiday nostalgia and keeping their brand at the center of it.

Now, while your local business might not have a Coca-Cola-sized budget, you can still use some of that magic. By focusing on emotional connection and community spirit (without overdoing it), your holiday ads can resonate very well with your target audience. Let's see what strategies we can use to do so.

Start Early, Plan Wisely

While it’s tempting to think shoppers wait until the last minute, the reality is that many start early—like really early. According to statistics, a lot of the holiday shopping begins in October, especialy in the Northern Hemipshere, where people get into the Christmas 'spirit' as soon as it is fall. This gives you time to set up, tweak, and optimize your ad campaigns without the stress of last-minute panic.

So, how can you use this to optimize your strategy? Start with launching your ads in October.

Test and Refine Your Strategy: Running your ads ahead of the rest lets you test different versions of your copy, creative, and targeting. You’ll be able to see what resonates with your audience and optimize for better performance as you head into the peak season.

Beat the Competition: Many businesses wait until mid-November to launch their holiday ads, which means costs for ad placements can skyrocket due to increased demand. By launching earlier, you can take advantage of lower costs and face less competition for attention.

Build Momentum: Starting early helps you build brand awareness and momentum. By the time holiday shopping reaches its peak, shoppers will already be familiar with your offers and more likely to choose your business over competitors.

Want to launch your ads, but don't want to do all the testing yourself? That is exactly where Roya comes in, everything will be automated from A to Z, so you can focus on doing what you actually love and running your business. Click here for a demo.

Are You Ready to Boost Your Holiday Ads?

Use Emotion—Without Overdoing It

Sure, Coca-Cola goes all in with festive nostalgia, but as a local business, you can create emotional connections by simply showing your place in the community. Use stories about how your business is helping local families enjoy the holidays or how your products or services make the season just a little brighter for your customers.

You don’t need to go full Hallmark Channel, but a little heart goes a long way. And remember, what works for Coca-Cola might not be the right flavor for your local shop.

How can you do this? Let's say you own a fitness studio. By implementing the following, you create an emotional connection with your target audience:

Real Stories: Highlight a member’s success story in achieving their fitness goals before the holidays. Create a video ad or social media post showing how staying fit at your gym helped them enjoy the holiday season with more energy and confidence.

Highlight Community Involvement: Organize a charity fitness challenge where members donate to a local cause based on their workout progress in December. Share posts of the community coming together for the challenge, making it both fun and meaningful.

Personalized Messaging: Send your loyal members a holiday message thanking them for being part of your fitness community, with a special offer like a free personal training session or a discounted class package for the new year.

Google Search Campaigns: Capture Holiday Intent

When it comes to Google ads, the holiday season is the best time to capture shoppers with clear intent. Whether they’re searching for “best holiday gifts near me” or “local Christmas deals,” they’re actively looking to spend—and you want to be the business they find! This is exactly what Google Ads will do for your business.

What strategy can you use to launch succesfull Google Ads?

Keyword Research: Focus on holiday-specific keywords that match what your customers are looking for, like “Christmas gifts,” “Small Business Saturday deals,” or even niche terms like “eco-friendly gifts” or “stocking stuffers.” You’ll want to target words that speak directly to their holiday shopping intent.

Holiday-Themed Ad Copy: Use AI tools write festive ad copy that adds urgency and excitement. Phrases like “Get 20% off local holiday gifts—limited time!” will draw more attention than standard ads. Make sure to highlight deals, exclusivity, or time-sensitive promotions that compel shoppers to click. Click here to read more about you can use AI to write your copy.

Landing Page Consistency: Don’t leave your customers feeling like they landed in the wrong place! Ensure your landing page matches the holiday theme and offer in your ad. If you’re promoting a discount, make it front and center when they click through. Consistency between the ad and landing page not only improves user experience but also boosts conversions. Keep everything festive, aligned, and easy to navigate. Want to know how to optimize your landing page? You read it all in this guide.

Facebook Retargeting

Holiday shoppers love to browse. Whether they’re casually checking out gift ideas or comparing prices, they don’t always buy on their first visit. This is where Facebook retargeting works its magic, giving you the chance to reel those potential customers back in.

Best Strategies for Facebook Retargeting:

Target Visitors: Anyone who’s visited your website, Facebook page, or Instagram account during the holiday season is fair game for retargeting. Remind them of the items they’ve browsed but didn’t buy. Whether they’re comparing options or waiting for the right deal, a well-timed retargeting ad can be the nudge they need to complete their purchase.

Holiday-Themed Visuals: Go all out with warm, festive visuals that evoke the season—think snowflakes, twinkling lights, and cozy holiday vibes. Add a dash of urgency with phrases like, “Still searching for the perfect gift? Our holiday sale ends soon!” Shoppers usually fall for limited-time offers, especially when paired with holiday visuals.

Exclusive Offers: An offer can convince that buyer who is thinking about buying something, but hasn't done it yet. A limited-time discount or exclusive promotion for returning visitors can be the extra push they need to click “buy.” Something like, “Come back for 15% off your order—just for you!” makes customers feel like they’re getting a special deal that’s too good to pass up.

Curious about the results you could get with Roya?

Read our case studies

Track Your Success & Make Quick Adjustments

The holiday season can feel like a whirlwind, but don’t let the chaos distract you from monitoring your campaign performance. Both Google and Facebook provide  analytics that show what’s working and what’s not.

If one of your ads is driving more clicks or conversions, don’t hesitate—allocate more of your budget to it! On the flip side, if another ad isn’t delivering, it’s time to tweak it or cut your losses and replace it with something more engaging. This quick response will maximize your ROI during the critical holiday shopping period.

Conclusion

You don’t need a Coca-Cola-sized budget to create effective holiday campaigns By starting early, connecting with your local community, and using smart, cost-effective strategies, your business can stand out this holiday season and truly capture the spirit of the festivities.

And here’s where Roya comes in to make your life easier! With Roya’s AI-powered tools, you can create high-performing Google and Facebook ads in just minutes—no marketing agency required. Our platform helps you optimize your ads, track performance, and adjust in real time, ensuring your holiday campaigns run smoothly and deliver results.

FAQs

1. Should a local businesses run ads for the holidays?

Absolutely! Running ads around major holidays is a powerful way for local businesses to boost visibility and sales. For example, launch ads just before Black Friday to promote in-store-only deals or highlight popular local products at discounted rates. Aligning your ads with high-traffic shopping days like Black Friday, Christmas, or even local events helps attract eager holiday shoppers to your business. Focus on promoting limited-time offers, exclusive deals, and local services to stand out in your community and drive traffic to your store!

2. What are the best practices for Facebook retargeting during the holidays?

Use holiday-specific ad creative, highlight limited-time offers, and consider cross-selling or upselling related products to engage customers who have already shown interest.

3. Why is urgency important in holiday campaigns?

Urgency is a key driver of action, especially during the holidays when shoppers are bombarded with options. Creating a sense of urgency in your holiday ad campaigns motivates customers to act quickly—whether it’s a limited-time offer, a countdown to a sale’s end, or a message about “limited stock available.” Urgency taps into the fear of missing out (FOMO), pushing shoppers to make faster decisions and complete purchases before they lose the opportunity. For local businesses, highlighting urgency can be especially effective in driving both online and in-store foot traffic during the critical holiday shopping season.

4. What types of holiday ads work best for local businesses?

For local businesses, ads that emphasize community involvement, exclusive local offers, and personalized customer experiences tend to work best. Highlight limited-time offers, in-store events, or locally sourced products to create a stronger connection with your audience. Using platforms like Facebook and Google, focus on targeted ads that reach people in your area, especially with holiday-themed visuals and messages that resonate with local shoppers. This blog explains everything you need to know about the difference between Google and Facebook Ads.

Still have questions?

Contact us for further assistance.

  • Start Early for Success: Launch your holiday campaigns in October to take advantage of lower costs and less competition.
  • Use Emotional Connections: Highlight real stories and community involvement to create heartfelt holiday ads that resonate with your local audience.
  • Google Ads Strategy: Focus on holiday-specific keywords like “Christmas gifts” and ensure your ad copy and landing pages are consistent to boost conversions.
  • Facebook Retargeting Magic: Don’t lose potential customers! Use retargeting ads with festive visuals and exclusive offers to encourage return visits and purchases.
  • Track & Tweak: Keep an eye on campaign performance, reallocate budget to top-performing ads, and adjust or replace underperforming ones for maximum impact.
  • Use AI with Roya: Let Roya’s AI-powered tools take care of ad creation, optimization, and tracking so you can focus on running your business during the busy holiday season.
  • Written by:
    Floor Linskens
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