100 Days Until Christmas: Your Simple Christmas Marketing Plan for Social Media
I’m sorry to drop the C-bomb while you might still be thinking about summer holidays, Aperol Spritz and whether you can squeeze one last BBQ out of September…
But Christmas is coming.
And if you run a small business, the time to start thinking about your Christmas marketing is not December. It’s now!
Before you panic, I am absolutely NOT suggesting you start filling your Instagram feed with Christmas trees, Mariah Carey Audio, and “ONLY 100 SHOPPING DAYS LEFT!” posts.
What I am suggesting is that you could start preparing your Christmas social media content now, so that when your busiest period arrives, you’re not simultaneously trying to run your business, buy all the presents, AND wondering what on earth to post on Instagram.
Here’s a simple Christmas marketing plan you can start today.
When should a small business start Christmas marketing?
There isn’t one perfect date because it depends on what you sell.
A product business with Christmas delivery deadlines will have a very different timeline from a restaurant taking Christmas party bookings, a florist selling Christmas wreath workshops or a service-based business that traditionally goes quiet over the festive period.
But there’s a difference between preparing your Christmas marketing and actually publishing it.
You can start preparing now.
In fact, I think you should.
And that doesn’t mean you have to mention Christmas to your customers yet.
1. Look at what worked last Christmas
Before you create anything new, go back through last year’s Instagram content.
What performed well?
Look beyond likes. Which posts got good reach? Which Reels were shared or saved? Which posts brought profile visits, DMs, enquiries or actual sales?
Choose your best three.
Now ask yourself:
How can I use this again?
You don’t need to constantly reinvent the wheel on social media.
Repost it. Update it. Turn a static post into a Reel. Use the same idea with new B-roll. Take the original hook and make it stronger.
If your audience responded to it last Christmas, there’s a very good chance the IDEA is worth using again.
2. Decide what you actually want to sell this Christmas
This sounds obvious, but bear with me!
Don’t wait until November and then start randomly posting everything you offer.
Choose the two or three things you particularly want to sell, promote or book during the Christmas period.
That might be:
- a bestselling product or gift set
- Christmas appointments or bookings
- gift vouchers
- Christmas events
- festive menus
- workshops
- a service people need before the Christmas break
Once you know the priority, creating your Christmas content becomes much easier.
You’re no longer asking, “What shall I post today?”
You’re asking, “What does my ideal customer need to see, know or feel before they’ll buy this?”
That’s a much better question.
3. Put your important Christmas dates in your calendar NOW
This is one of the easiest Christmas marketing jobs you can do today.
Write down every important date your customers need to know.
Last order dates. Final delivery dates. Booking deadlines. Christmas opening hours. Event dates. Appointment availability. When you close for Christmas. When you reopen.
Then work backwards.
If your last order date is 18 December, you don’t want your first post mentioning it to appear on 17 December.
Give people time to see your content, think about it, come back, see it again and eventually act.
Remember: not everyone sees everything you post.
Repeating an important message isn’t annoying: it’s marketing.
4. Create ONE extra piece of Christmas content every week
This might be my favourite tip because it makes the whole thing feel manageable.
Between now and 1st December, create one extra piece of Christmas content every week.
You don’t have to post it.
Create it. Save it. Move on.
A Reel one week. A carousel the next. A gift guide. An FAQ. A customer testimonial. A Christmas-related problem your business solves.
By December, you’ll have a lovely little bank of Christmas social media content ready to use.
And while everyone else is frantically trying to make a Reel at 10pm after a ridiculously busy day, you’ll be sitting there feeling rather smug.
As you should! Feel free to pour the champagne at that point!
5. Start building a Christmas B-roll library
While you’re preparing for Christmas in your business, film it.
Don’t overthink this.
Film short clips of:
Packing an order. Unpacking stock. Making something. Wrapping something. Writing Christmas cards. Preparing your workspace. Setting up a display. Walking into your business. Making coffee while you plan. Typing at your laptop. Putting together an order. Talking to camera.
Even the seemingly boring bits of running your business can become useful B-roll.
Create an album on your phone called CHRISTMAS CONTENT and save everything there.
Future you will thank you. You might even already have clips like this on your camera roll from last Christmas…. So present you can thank past you! We’re verging in Scrooge territory here with all these future past and presents!
6. Don’t make every Christmas post a sales post
This is where lots of small businesses get stuck.
Christmas marketing shouldn’t become:
BUY THIS.
BUY THIS TOO.
DON’T FORGET TO BUY THIS.
Social media isn’t a catalogue. It’s a magazine.
So think about the other content your customer might genuinely want at this time of year.
Could you create a gift guide?
Answer your most common Christmas questions?
Show how something is made?
Share your team’s Christmas favourites?
Help someone choose between two products?
Show what happens behind the scenes during your busiest month?
Share customer reviews?
Give ideas, inspiration or advice?
The more useful, interesting and human your Christmas content is, the more reasons people have to keep following you.
7. Start talking about Christmas before December
You don’t need to go full Christmas in September. Even Mariah waits till after Halloween!
But you can start gently introducing seasonal content during October and increase it as Christmas gets closer.
Your customers are planning before December.
They’re researching gifts. Booking meals. Organising parties. Planning trips. Making appointments. Saving ideas. Comparing options.
You want your business to be in their head before they’re ready to buy, not desperately trying to get their attention afterwards.
Your simple Christmas social media plan
So, if Christmas marketing normally creeps up on you, here’s what I want you to do:
This week: look at last year’s content and choose three ideas worth using again.
Then: decide the two or three things you most want to sell or promote.
Next: put every important Christmas deadline into your calendar and work backwards.
From now until December: create one extra piece of Christmas content every week and start building a bank of B-roll.
That’s it.
You don’t need a 47-page Christmas marketing strategy.
You need to start early enough that December doesn’t become a mad scramble for content.
Because Christmas is busy enough without remembering at 9.47pm that you haven’t posted anything on Instagram for six days.
And if you’d rather have someone help you work out what to post, why you’re posting it and how your Instagram content can actually help grow your business, that’s exactly the sort of thing I can help you with.
Check out my coaching offers here
Christmas marketing FAQs for small businesses
When should I start planning Christmas social media content?
September is a great time to start planning and creating Christmas content, even if you don’t publish it immediately. Starting early gives you time to build a bank of content before the busiest part of the year.
When should I start posting Christmas content on Instagram?
This depends on your business and your customers, but many small businesses can begin introducing relevant seasonal content during October and gradually increase it through November and December.
What should a small business post on Instagram at Christmas?
Mix promotional content with useful and entertaining posts. Try gift guides, FAQs, customer reviews, behind-the-scenes Reels, Christmas B-roll, product demonstrations, seasonal tips, reminders about deadlines and content that solves your ideal customer’s Christmas problems.
Can I reuse last year’s Christmas social media posts?
Absolutely. If an idea worked well last year, reuse it. Update the information, change the hook, create fresh visuals or B-roll and publish a new version. Your followers are extremely unlikely to remember every post you shared a year ago. I certainly don’t remember what I posted last month!!
As always, any questions, drop me an emails or DM on Insta
Suze 🫶🏽
Category: Content, Insta Tips, Marketing