You want to promote your business and do something special for the holidays, because, well… it’s the holidays, right? Everyone does it. You’re absolutely right: coming up with something fresh and creative in time for the holidays is essential and can bring you a lot of engagement – especially if you use video.
As with everything else, you’ll probably be cautious. You may think: “How can we come up with something so different and creative that people actually pay attention to? It’s too hard.”
And this would be your biggest mistake! Because, guess what? You don’t have to do something that has never been done before (although that would surely score you some points). You don’t have to spend a year coming up with it either!
All you need is a list of potential ideas and ways to distribute the video for people to see – which is exactly what we will provide for you today!
Preparing for the Holiday Video Campaign
The first thing you should do is make the decision – there are too many businesses out there that want to do video marketing, but never get to it because of their lack of priorities. I’ve been at such a place myself: the business never did anything for the holidays and they missed the chance for not only a big profit, but also for attracting new customers and creating a loyal community.
After you’ve made the decision and have it as a priority, do your research. Don’t just start coming up with random ideas, because there’s a big chance you’ll subconsciously copy someone else’s holiday video idea. The brain works in mysterious ways! Check out what big brands have done and start there.
If you have too much on your hands already, it’s a good idea to hire a team especially for this task. If you want to promote your business well, you have to invest in video marketing – not just money, but also time.
Write down the best videos you saw during your research and try to see what they all have in common. The most well-done videos are usually the ones who make people feel. Emotion is one of the most powerful marketing tools!
Video Marketing Ideas for the Holidays
With Christmas and Thanksgiving just around the corner, you have plenty of opportunities to do something fun in terms of video. Have you considered launching a holiday line? That would be a great way to let consumers know you care about their needs and you’re up with the trends.
And let’s not forget that Black Friday is always profitable for businesses! So creating a holiday marketing video to be released on this day with shoppers in mind, is a great way to gain viewership.
Another great idea is to host a Christmas event with an afterparty featuring inspiring speakers and cocktails for later. You can share prerecorded videos and live stream the entire event for more buzz. Create short pre-event interviews with the main speakers, host an interactive Q&A section – you can even do behind the scenes sneak peaks.
Since we know no event is complete without goodie bags, you should use them as an opportunity to add a personalized Christmas card in each one: you’ll go down in event history as the event organizers who cared!
Depending on your business, you can use YouTube to upload gift-wrapping techniques, DIY Christmas gift ideas, recipes for delicious Thanksgiving food, and even decorating tips.
The ultimate way to engage your audience and use emotional marketing is to play on their nostalgia. Ever entered a shop targeted at Baby Boomers and hear songs from their childhood playing all around? That’s what I’m talking about! If you have a physical store, imbue it with smells, play new and old Christmas songs and record the entire experience.
Distributing Your Holiday Videos
When it comes to promoting your business with online video, it’s pretty obvious that you should focus on online channels of promotion.
With video, the optimal places to use are YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram. If you’re live streaming: Periscope, Facebook Live and Livestream (for events) are incredible tools that drive tons of engagement from people living all over the world.
An underestimated social platform is Snapchat: many businesses stay away from this one because they don’t know how to use its 10-second video system. The truth is, you can do a lot in 10 seconds! You can get employees and customers to do testimonials and you can showcase your business’ process in preparing for the holidays.
If you want to both promote your business and get people to subscribe to your email list, you should create a separate landing page and create a Facebook page button that leads to it. As far as your email list goals: the holidays are the perfect time to do some creative email marketing. Be sure to include your video, since it tends to give you a 200%-300% increase in click-through rate.
Brilliant Examples of Holiday Video Marketing
Every business, from office supply stores and retail outlets, to restaurants and everything in between, can enjoy engaged and enthused customers with a clever holiday video. Like this one from Aristotle Interactive:
I’m not playing favorites, but the Body Shop’s Christmas advert represents a brilliant way to capture the spirit of the holidays while promoting your product.
All in all, coming up with the idea and actually creating the video are two very different things: and the process can be a bit complicated if you haven’t done it before.
Most businesses have a really hard time when the video is almost ready, but still needs to be edited – and this is where Valoso comes in. With our professional team of video editors, you don’t need to worry about anything except receiving the perfect video and sharing it on your social media channels.
If you want to promote your business, video should always be your first choice. Don’t forget that after watching a video, 64% of users are more likely to buy a product online!
Happy holidays!
