New Year's can be overlooked as a holiday, but with this list of New Year marketing ideas, you won't make that mistake. While it's true that consumer spending drops in January — as shown in this chart from Gallup polls — it doesn't disappear altogether. Let's count down six ways to take advantage of this sometimes neglected holiday before the ball drops in 2016:
6. Continue a Campaign
If you offered a prize for pictures of a holiday meal, follow up by asking what fans did with their leftovers. You can offer a prize for the Best Use of Cranberry Sauce or even Best Neighborhood Service (for followers who donated time or food). It doesn't need to tie directly to your brand — this is more about building relationships.
5. Have a Repost Giveaway
Use social media as it was intended to be used: as a place for people to share information with their friends. Offering a giveaway for something your fans repost boosts goodwill all around — just be sure your brand message is suitably social.
4. Create a Flash Sale
Clear out that holiday inventory and make it urgent that your customers act now. Many shoppers wait specifically until after the holidays to scoop up bargains like these. However, note that such shoppers might not be your best future customers, meaning this should mainly be considered a way to weed out undesirable inventory.
3. Offer Educational Content
This doesn't have to be as boring as it may sound. "Educational content" might involve having a vintner talk about grape varieties at a wine tasting. You can take advantage of any service that's associated with your business and can be tied to the New Year, as in "This year, keep your healthy eating resolution with our cooking classes." Bonus: You can charge for the classes.
2. Tweet a Resolution
Short, simple and to the point. Ask your customers to Tweet about or post their New Year's resolutions on Facebook for the chance to be entered in a giveaway. You can even require a #Follow tag or an email by direct message to go along with it.
1. Reward Video Content
This generates highly prized, highly watchable content while also giving your brand a boost. Ask fans to post their own clips from holiday videos — branded with the hashtag of your choice, featuring your product or both — and offer something irresistible in return.
What most of these New Year marketing ideas have in common is they help inspire User Generated Content (UGC). It can't be emphasized enough: Engaging your followers to act as your ambassadors is the most powerful form of marketing interaction. Just be sure you're reposting and sharing the winners on your social media timelines.
