Plan your Holiday Marketing #Thanksgiving #BlackFriday, #ShopSmall # CyberMonday #GivingTuesday

Are you planning your last push for your company’s sales or your nonprofit fundraising? Remember that whether you are a retailer, non-profit or service company, you can reach more people and enhance your promotion if you tie it in with national deadlines from Thanksgiving to GivingTuesday. Now is the time to plan your marketing emails and promotions. Start with a Thank You to your past customers and contacts, then add a promotions from the list below of national promotions and hashtags below. Join my FREE Marketing Workshops &  Webinars to learn more about promotions and content that can help you be even more successful.

1. #BlackFriday is the Friday after Thanksgiving (when some retail companies sell up to 40% of their annual purchases). Why? Because  consumers are waiting for these promotions and actively planning their shopping around it. Your sale can tie into national ads by using the hashtag #BlackFriday to include your company in the online shopping  search for consumers who follow that conversation on social media.
2. #ShopSmall is Small Business Saturday sponsored by American Express is a national promotion held the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It is a day designated to give small businesses a leg up by nationally promoting the event and allowing small local businesses to set up an event on their national website and use the hashtag #ShopSmall where consumers can find deals and events when clicking local on the #ShopSmall feed. Your offers and check-in offers  get more attention and you can also promote or boost them on Social Media. Get more info at #ShopSmall here.
3. #CyberMonday is the Monday after Thanksgiving and savvy shoppers are used to  putting their gift list next to their computer and taking advantage of the specials offered on that Monday only. It is a well promoted event and you should tie into it if you have any packages or offers you can offer in a one day flash sale. Some companies also use #CyberWeek so they can stretch out the benefits for a week. This is also effective for service businesses who put together packages or recorded programming that is free or discounted on #CyberMonday only.
4. #GivingTuesday is the 1st Tuesday after Thanksgiving and is the launch for nonprofits to challenge themselves to create an event to tie into the hashtag and national promotion that will help them get bigger and more donations than last year. Brainstorm with your team and design a fundraiser that provides incentives and dates to get those donations in the beginning of December, leaving you 1 to 2 months to follow up with slower donors who want to give tax deductible donations. Visit the #GivingTuesday website to learn more here.
5. #FreeShippingSaturday is the second Saturday of December and companies offer Free Shipping and promise that the shipment will be there by December 25th.
6. #SuperSaturday The Saturday before Christmas is the last Saturday with excellent deals for last minute shoppers. Retailers outdo each other as they try to maximize their revenue during the last shopping weekend before Christmas. 

Don’t forget to include the national logos, hashtags and #tags that can help you launch with national organizations’ efforts. See what other merchandisers in your area have done in the past by looking at the #feed. Then get your staff together and brainstorm about what you can do to join the conversation and be represented with your own push during these very social media promotions. For more tips on how to get this done, join my Rock your Holiday Promotions Webinar on 12/2,  If you need help, email us at tmade.mkt@verizon.net and request an appointment for a brainstorming meeting online ($145/hour or packages starting at $290).

For more information on improving your business marketing or your website performance, contact Tailor-Made Advertising to review and improve your efforts. Liz Harsch has been helping business owners maximize their marketing budget since 1988. For more information about Liz or Tailor-Made Advertising, visit tailormadeadvertising.com. Liz is a valued Marketing speaker and trainer for SCORE, SBDC, Constant Contact, Chambers of Commerce and Small Business Groups on Traditional and Online Marketing, Social Media, Analytics or Email Marketing for your organization, email her at tmade.mkt@verizon.net or call 310-791-6300.

Are you planning your last push for sales or fundraising for your nonprofit? Remember that whether you are a retailer, non-profit or service company, you can reach more people and enhance your promotion if you tie it in with national deadlines from Thanksgiving to GivingTuesday. Now is the time to plan your marketing emails and promotions. Start with a Thank You to your past customers and leads and add a promotion or two from the list below of special events and hashtags for your marketing plan: #BlackFriday, #ShopSmall, #CyberMonday and more. Join my Marketing Workshops &  Webinars to learn more about promotions and content that can help you be even more successful.

1. #BlackFriday is the Friday after Thanksgiving when some retail companies sell up to 60% of their annual purchases. Why? Because  consumers are waiting for these promotions and actively planning their shopping around it. Your sale can tie into national ads by using the #BlackFriday to include your company in the online shopping  search for consumers who follow that conversation on social media.
2. #ShopSmall is Small Business Saturday sponsored by American Express is a national promotion held the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It is a day designated to give small businesses a leg up by nationally promoting the event day and allowing small local businesses to set up an event or sale using the hashtag #ShopSmall so consumers can see where a local event is happening by clicking local on the #ShopSmall feed. Since they are out and about, your offer and check-in offers  get more attention and you can also promote or boost them on Social Media for even more reach.
3. #CyberMonday is the Monday after Thanksgiving and savvy shoppers are used to  putting their gift list next to their computer and taking advantage of the specials offered on that Monday only. It is a well promoted event and you should tie into it if you have any packages or offers you can do for a one day sale. This is also effective for service businesses who put together packages or recorded programming that is free or discounted on that day.
4. #GivingTuesday is the 1st Tuesday after Thanksgiving and is the launch for nonprofits to challenge themselves to create an event to tie into the hashtag and national promotion that will help them get bigger and more donations than last year. Brainstorm with your team and design a fundraiser that provides incentives and dates to get those donations in the beginning of December, leaving you 1 to 2 months to follow up with slower donors who want to give tax deductible donations.
5. #SuperSaturday The Saturday before Christmas is the last Saturday with excellent deals for last minute shoppers. Retailers outdo each other as they try to maximize their revenue during the last shopping weekend before Christmas. 

Don’t forget to include the national logos, hashtags and #tags that can help you launch off other organizations efforts. See what other merchandisers in your area have done in the past by looking at the #feed. Then get your staff together and brainstorm about what you can do to join the conversation and be represented with your own push during these very social media promotions. For more tips on how to get this done, join my Rock your Holiday Promotions Webinar on 12/2,  If you need help, email tmade.mkt@verizon.net and request an appointment for a brainstorming meeting online ($145/hour or packages starting at $290).

For more information on improving your business marketing or your website performance, contact Tailor-Made Advertising to review and improve your efforts. Liz Harsch has been helping business owners maximize their marketing budget since 1988. For more information about Liz or Tailor-Made Advertising, visit tailormadeadvertising.com. Liz is a valued Marketing speaker and trainer for SCORE, SBDC, Constant Contact, Chambers of Commerce and Small Business Groups on Traditional and Online Marketing, Social Media, Analytics or Email Marketing for your organization, email her at tmade.mkt@verizon.net or call 310-791-6300.