I’ve always loved when game shows have a “phone a friend” option. A contestant may be so close to winning but get stumped on a trivia question or riddle. They excitedly call out a pal or an audience member to help them out—after all, two heads work better than one!
We’ve all been there.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could phone a friend for all your business’s marketing challenges? With free, online marketing resources, you pretty much can! During the busy holiday season, treating a marketing resource as a friend to call upon when things go awry can make all the difference. We researched some of the top free holiday marketing resources out there to find out:
- Why using online marketing resources is key to a small business’s holiday success.
- How to drive seasonal sales using free holiday marketing resources.
- Examples of holiday marketing resources small businesses can use this season.
Fill your marketing toolbox with some seasonal cheer using these free holiday marketing resources that are sure to be your business’s lifeline this year.
Why start using holiday marketing resources now?
While leveraging online marketing resources is a good idea any time of year, they can be vital to the success of a small business during the holidays since local customers are busy shopping and spending.
If you haven’t implemented your holiday marketing strategy just yet, don’t fret! 91% of people admit to making holiday purchases at the last minute, and 7% say they’ll even do holiday spending on the day of. There’s plenty of time to squeeze in last-minute revenue, and using online tools can help you do so in a pinch.
13 free marketing resources to try this holiday season
If you want to finish out the year strong and pack a punch with your holiday marketing, check out these marketing resources you can implement ASAP:
Canva’s holiday roundup
With holiday marketing comes holiday social media posts, branding, and other festive creative assets.
Canva is a design tool fit for anyone and everyone looking to promote their business this season. The builders of Canva kept ease of use in mind, as this marketing resource requires no design or creative experience in order for you to make holiday imagery for your small business. With Canva, you could preplan holiday social media layouts, holiday email templates, and more all in one simple spot.
Plus, Canva has two stellar resources found in their learning center specially made for the holiday season. The Christmas ideas and inspiration templates, as well as their Christmas greetings brainstorm, are two marketing resources that can do the heavy lifting for you when it comes time to give your business’s styling a festive twist.
Google’s holiday hub
Back in 2020, Google launched a holiday marketing resource site specially made for small businesses. Google’s holiday hub is back this year and it’s chock full of holiday marketing goodies small businesses can use at the ready.
If you’re looking to learn, there are plenty of live webinars and reading materials that discuss how to boost holiday sales.
Or, if you’re ready to take action, Google’s Holiday Hub also walks local businesses through setting up their Google Business Profile and getting holiday offers live on Google for free.
Related: Are your local listings ready for the holidays? Download our free checklist to help you prepare!
LocaliQ’s holiday marketing guide
If you want a “catch-all” resource and you enjoy making data-backed decisions, this holiday marketing guide is sure to do the trick. With updated stats on need-to-know info like consumer behavior and social media trends, LocaliQ’s festive guide will be the gift that keeps on giving. Plus, this guide is stuffed with holiday tips to make your marketing merry and bright.
Unlike some of the other specialty guides on today’s list, this holiday marketing resource covers all the bases from social media marketing to e-commerce, local search, and more!
Later’s printable holiday calendar and guide
A constant quest of small business holiday marketing is finding the right tool for social media posting. Later is an online social media management tool that prides itself on being forever free—which is a unique perk in comparison to other similar platforms.
With Later’s holiday calendar, you can preplan and schedule your holiday social media posts to help you increase social engagement all season long. Originally starting with a focus on Instagram, Later currently offers help with additional social platforms like TikTok, LinkedIn, and Pinterest—making this holiday marketing resource all-encompassing.
Later’s seasonal guide not only helps you execute on posts but also assists with the creative aspect—which can too often be a struggle for businesses during the holidays. For example, Later provides hashtag suggestions and ideas for user-generated content to keep your posts as fresh as the crisp winter air!
Sprout Social’s holiday hashtag step-by-step guide
Similar to Later, Sprout Social’s holiday marketing resource provides help with hashtags as well. Hashtags can make or break your social media holiday season since they help newcomers to find your posts—growing your following for the new year.
However, holiday hashtags can be tricky, so Sprout Social’s holiday hashtag guide breaks down how to create and implement them in just a few steps. Here is a quick preview of their suggested holiday hashtag process:
- Choose relevant holiday hashtags
- Back your holiday hashtag up with data
- Identify your hashtag reporting methods
- Acknowledge your chosen holidays in advance
- Take a stand with your brand
The full marketing resource has plenty of in-depth information on the do’s and don’ts of holiday hashtags so that you create your holiday social media posts like a pro.
Instagram shops holiday guide
If you’re a retailer looking for holiday help that’s platform-specific, Instagram rolled out a comprehensive guide on how businesses can use their shopping capabilities to get ahead this season.
This holiday shops walkthrough provides businesses with all the necessary holiday basics, like when and how to set up their shop. Plus, Instagram provides insights on how to get your shop discovered and even build your brand’s story through holiday marketing efforts.
The holidays unwrapped by Meta for Business
Along with Instagram, Meta for Business recently dropped their highly anticipated annual holiday marketing guide.
Their breakdown of holiday insights provides valuable data points from surveys they conducted all over the world to give a high-level view on seasonal shopping behaviors.
For example, Facebook’s new findings prove that 74% of global holiday shoppers are really researching “gifts” for themselves. Small businesses can use information like this to adjust their holiday Facebook content accordingly.
The thorough holiday marketing resource comes complete with a short video series, downloadable campaign planners, and toolkits. Regardless of whether you’re running Facebook ads or working on your organic posts, Meta for Business’s latest holiday marketing resource is one you won’t want to miss.
A holiday guide from TikTok: For Business
TikTok released its first holiday marketing guide for business back in 2021, and now the platform is back with a holiday marketing resource for 2022. The TikTok for Business 2022 holiday marketing guide breaks down tons of helpful data points to understand how TikTok users are leveraging the platform to prepare for the season.
What’s even better is that, like LocaliQ’s guide above, this content is curated with small businesses in mind. Business owners can take this information and use it to brainstorm holiday TikToks they may have otherwise not thought of. TikTok also provides suggested holiday timelines for small businesses to plan around.
Mailchimp’s holiday email marketing guide
Holiday email offers cause recipients to spend 138% more than they would otherwise. Based on that statistic, there’s no doubt your business could benefit from a holiday email marketing campaign.
Mailchimp provides you with just the right tool for the job with their complete guide on holiday email marketing tips. In this resource, the email management platform discusses holiday promotion strategies, as well as holiday email checklists, and how to keep up your holiday email momentum through the new year. Additionally, the guide provides ideas for custom holiday email templates you can recycle year after year.
Related: Check out our complete guide to targeted email marketing.
Moz’s local SEO holiday checklist
With so much going on, Moz’s holiday checklist can help small businesses ensure nothing slips through the cracks this holiday season. The downloadable checklist is a convenient helping hand since you’ll be able to save it for when you need it.
This marketing resource is packed with 20 tips to elevate local businesses during the holiday season and covers tough topics like seasonal promotions and customer loyalty. Plus, it links to other holiday marketing resources for additional information and continued learning.
LocaliQ’s website grader
Without a strong small business website, traffic from your holiday marketing efforts could be fruitless. Just in time for the holiday season, take advantage of the to know which areas of your site may need improvement.. Plus, this free marketing tool can provide valuable information regarding how easily your business can be found online during such a competitive season.
The grader looks at core vitals that are at the heart of any small business’s holiday marketing strategy, like local PPC quality, social media presence, and website health.
Once you get your grade, you can open a forever-free account within the platform to get personalized strategy tips to improve your current score.
Google’s Holiday 100
Aside from the Holiday Hub we mentioned earlier, Google also has a plethora of other free holiday marketing resources for growing businesses looking to improve their local SEO, Google Business Profile listing, or search advertising this season. However, one resource sticks out as particularly interesting and useful. The Holiday 100 roundup breaks down the top searches for gifts, products, services, and more around this time of year.
Since it covers so many categories, this free holiday marketing resource could be helpful for any business, regardless of industry. With the Holiday 100, there are snippets of information on popular search relevant to many businesses out there. You could use this resource to get insights into what potential customers might be looking for online this year.
WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool
Once you’ve checked out Google’s Hot 100 to gather fresh ideas for what your target market might be interested in, you may want to rework your PPC keyword research strategy. During the holidays, it’s common for businesses to use different keywords that are seasonally relevant.
Use WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool to take the guesswork out of what your holiday keywords should be. With one simple step, you can provide your business’s website or a keyword idea to have the tool output a downloadable keyword list complete with cost per click and competition estimates.
Related: Get more info on how to refresh your holiday keyword strategy with our complete guide to local keywords.
Leverage these free holiday marketing resources for a season that shines
Whether you’re already running with a holiday strategy, or looking to get started, these marketing resources can meet you wherever you are in your seasonal marketing journey. Treat your marketing resources like you would a marketing partner—they act as a reminder that you never have to face the busy holiday season alone.
To recap, here is a quick list of all the free holiday marketing resources we covered:
- Canva’s holiday roundup
- Google’s holiday hub
- LocaliQ’s complete holiday marketing guide
- Later’s printable holiday calendar and guide
- Sprout Social’s holiday hashtag step by step guide
- Instagram’s shopping guide
- Meta for Business holiday guide
- TikTok for Business: 2022holiday guide
- Mailchimp’s holiday email marketing guide
- Moz’s local SEO holiday checklist
- LocaliQ’s digital presence grader
- Google’s Holiday 100
- WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool
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