15 Labor Day Promotions & Marketing Ideas You Can Do in a Flash

Labor Day is a time of rest and relaxation… Unless, of course, you’re a business owner!

While we hope that all busy business owners get a well-deserved break this Labor Day, it’s no secret that business promotions need to continue. With the holiday fast approaching, you’ll want to promote your business in a quick and easy way. That’s why we’ve created a handy list of top Labor Day promotions ideas:

1. Run a Labor Day sale
2. Create an exclusive Labor Day referral program
3. Run a Labor Day giveaway
4. Switch up your product positioning
5. Offer a Labor Day freebie
6. Do a weekend-long partnership
7. Host a Labor Day event
8. Participate in local Labor Day happenings
9. Try a Labor Day Facebook ad campaign
10. Create a shareable Labor Day playlist
11. Update your local listings for Labor Day
12. Include Labor Day promotions on your website
13. Be present on social media
14. Close for the holiday
15. Write a Labor Day blog post

We’ll go into the details of each of these Labor Day promotion ideas below. That way, you can kick back and relax this Labor Day while your promotions run on autopilot.

Labor Day promotions for small businesses

As the holiday is creeping up you might be wondering how other brands celebrate Labor Day, and how you could replicate it for your own small business. Well, look no further than these Labor Day promotion ideas below:

Run a Labor Day sale

Okay, we know this one might seem obvious. However, this holiday brings a sale opportunity you won’t want to miss. In fact, the average American will spend about $150 at minimum shopping on Labor Day weekend, and it’s the first holiday outside of November or December to have surpassed $2 billion in online spending as well. This means your potential customers will be ready to spend both online and in-store.

You don’t have to be a retailer, either. For example, your plumbing business could run a sale on a popular service. Or offer a discounted price on drain products to go with your sink service. The sale opportunities are endless, so think of one that makes sense for your business, and you can easily promote it across channels using social media posts or Google Business Profile posts.

Source

Create an exclusive Labor Day referral program

A Labor Day referral program is sure to bring you lasting results because it’s so timely! A referral program not only helps to create a buzz with your current customers but also helps you to bring in new customers.

That’s because 83% of consumers say that they trust recommendations from friends and family when it comes to choosing a product or service. Plus, having it for a limited time over the short holiday weekend will imply a sense of urgency that will help you to get customer referrals fast.

How could your Labor Day referral program work? You’ll first want to identify what incentive you’d be willing to offer your customers in exchange for them bringing a friend or family member to your business. Simply promote that discount, free service, or another incentive to your current customers through low-cost channels like emails or print ads, and you’ll see the new customers come flowing in.

Source

Try these Labor Day email subject lines to give your sends a boost.

Run a Labor Day giveaway

Just the sound of a “Labor Day giveaway” has a nice ring to it. We bet your customers will like it, too, since contests and giveaways average a conversion rate of 34% and bring in about 35% more new customers than other promotions. The great thing about running a Labor Day giveaway is it doesn’t have to last just one short day or weekend—you could take entries from now until Labor Day weekend is over!

An Instagram giveaway or a Facebook giveaway is the best way to get entries and promote your contest.

Remember, you don’t have to be a brick-and-mortar retailer to giveaway items. For example, your vetrinary hospital could offer a free checkup, or your hair salon could offer a free consultation.

Source

Switch up your product positioning

Showcase how your business’s products or services meet your customers’ needs over Labor Day weekend. For example, if your home services business can finish certain jobs before your customers host Labor Day barbecues, make that known to your audience!

Another way you can promote specific products or services is to play on specific Labor Day colors or scents. For example, you could offer an all-white version of your product, or fill your store or office with a summery aroma like fresh cut grass or citrus and coconut.

This local restaurant temporarily promotes take-out meals to tailor their services to the needs of customers during Labor Day weekend. 

Get more tips for effective product positioning from our friends at WordStream.

Offer a Labor Day freebie

While sweepstakes or contests benefit one lucky customer, offering a freebie with purchases over Labor Day weekend benefits your entire customer base. You might want to offer free shipping with any purchase over Labor Day weekend or a free trial product with each purchase. This Labor Day promotion idea can come in handy when you don’t have the resources to do a larger contest, but still want a fun way to increase sales. 

Source

Do a weekend-long partnership

Odds are, other small businesses within your community are looking to run Labor Day promotions too. Capitalize on this by reaching out for a weekend-long partnership. You could promote one another’s products or offerings in-store, or shout each other out on social media. The benefit of this Labor Day promotion is that both you and your partner’s businesses can leverage each other’s unique audiences for growth.

This brand partnered with a local medical provider to do a Labor Day promotion. 

Host a Labor Day event

Your customers will likely have plenty of free time over Labor Day weekend, so hosting an event during this time is ideal. Plus, this Labor Day promotion idea is sure to be effective in marketing your business before, during, and after the holiday. That’s because you can remind your audience about the occasion leading up to your event date, and take plenty of pictures or videos to share out after.

You don’t have to make the event in person, either, as virtual events can be just as successful. The key is to find plenty of activities to keep your guests entertained. For example, you could offer an exclusive tour of the behind-the-scenes of your business, Labor Day trivia, and more.

Source

Participate in Labor Day community shindigs

If you don’t have the marketing budget or bandwidth to host your own event over Labor Day weekend, taking part in other local events can be just as impactful. Most communities have plenty of craft fairs, barbecues, and other happenings throughout Labor Day weekend.

See if there’s an event close to your business that has opportunities for businesses to attend as vendors or volunteers. This is a great way to promote your business throughout your local community while also capitalizing on the Labor Day holiday.

Source

Try a Labor Day Facebook ad campaign

Facebook Ads can be perfect for time-sensitive offers like Labor Day promotions. Facebook Ads can generate traction for your Labor Day promotions more quickly and get your business in front of audience members beyond your organic following.

You could try a Facebook lead ad to promote special Labor Day offers, like a Labor Day prep checklist. That way, users will be incentivized to provide you with their information in exchange for your content.

Source

Labor Day marketing ideas

Want more ways to grow your business this Labor Day? Check out these Labor Day marketing ideas:

Create a shareable Labor Day playlist

Try making a playlist of your favorite songs to listen to during the holiday weekend via a public streaming platform, like Pandora or Spotify. Labor Day weekend is filled with time spent outside grilling and chilling, so providing your audience with music to listen to while they enjoy the holiday will be well-received.

The bonus with this Labor Day marketing idea is you can recycle the playlist to play in your store or office, and tweak it according to other future holidays. Plus, this will keep your business top-of-mind to customers as they listen to your tunes. You could even try creating a QR code for your playlist to make it easily shareable and maximize your reach.

This business created a blog post to promote its Labor Day playlist. 

Update your holiday hours for your business listings

Your business’s local listings are of utmost importance during major holidays, like Labor Day, as customers may be anticipating varying operating hours. Taking even just a few minutes to update your local listings during holidays can go a long way.

For example, check your hours and contact information for accuracy. If your business is closed during Labor Day, you may want to give your customers an alternative way to get in touch with your brand.

Additionally, if you have any highlights from your Labor Day promotions that you captured on camera, be sure to upload those photos to your listings. This will make your business’s profiles look more enticing and welcoming to viewers during Labor Day weekend.

An example of an image you could temporarily add to your local listings for Labor Day. 

Include any promotions on your website

Whatever you choose as your go-to Labor Day promotion this year, be sure it’s clearly conveyed on your small business website. This can help to maximize the marketing ROI of your Labor Day campaigns as your website visitors may not have seen your promotions otherwise.

Plus, it can help your business to maintain brand consistency as you promote the same Labor Day deals across many marketing channels.

Source

Be present on social media

It sounds like a given, but this final Labor Day marketing idea can be too often forgotten! A sweet and simple “Happy Labor Day” social media post can go a long way, and it doesn’t take a ton of resources to be present on social media throughout the long weekend.

Save yourself time by using creative tools like Canva to pre-plan your Labor Day social media posts. In fact, you can check out our Labor Day social media post templates to get started:

Get the templates here: [Twitter] [Facebook] [Instagram]

Close for the holiday

Remember, Labor Day has been a special day to honor workers for over 150 years. Since this holiday reminds people of the peaks and valleys the workforce has seen throughout history, many still treat it as a time for reflection and relaxation.

Nearly 30% of customers say how a brand treats its employees is both the primary factor for choosing that business and the reason they stay a loyal customer with that brand. Giving yourself, and your employees, a break (and making that known to customers via your marketing) will help you to build trust with your customers.

If you are closing for Labor Day, make sure to update your hours of operation on your local listings and your website!

Source

Write a Labor Day blog post

Posting blog articles to your small business website is a surefire way to increase traffic. Content marketing is something you should aim to do year-round, but here are a few blog post ideas specific to Labor Day:

• Labor Day tips: If your audience is prepping for cooler weather or planning the ultimate barbecue, share your best Labor Day tips with them.
• Labor Day family activities: Show your audience you care about them and their family with family-friendly activity ideas that’ll last the whole weekend.
• Labor Day menu ideas: The best part of any holiday? The food, of course! Give your audience a blog post they’re sure to eat up by sharing your best Labor Day recipes.
• Post-Labor Day workout plan: Your audience may be in need of a workout after the good eats they had all weekend. Discuss your best plans for staying fit for fall.
• Post-Labor Day scheduling hacks: The end of Labor Day signifies the start of a never-ending busy season. With the start of school, sports, and holidays, your readers will be eager to learn your best tricks for managing a packed schedule.

Source

Let these Labor Day promotions do the hard work for you

These Labor Day promotion ideas prove that you can have an effective holiday marketing plan without taking up a ton of time or resources. Pick a few strategies that seem the most feasible and focus on ways you can make them unique to your business.

If you still feel like you need a hand, our experts are here to help! For tips and tricks related to other holidays throughout the year, check out our ultimate marketing calendar filled with seasonal promotion ideas for your business.

Want more Labor Day marketing resources? We’ve got you covered:

• Labor Day Social Media Posts to Celebrate (+Free Templates!)
• Useful Labor Day Slogans for Sales Promotions, Email Campaigns, Social Posts & More
• Perfect Labor Day Messages & Greetings for Customers & Employees