The holiday season is a busy time for many businesses, and having a marketing plan in place can make a big difference. Between social media content, email campaigns, paid advertising, and seasonal promotions, there are a lot of moving parts to keep track of. Planning ahead gives your team more time to get everything ready and make sure your marketing is working together across channels.
Whether you're managing marketing for a growing business, working with an agency, or overseeing multiple franchise locations, here are a few holiday marketing tips get your brand ready for the holiday season.
Start Planning Your Holiday Campaigns Early
Before jumping into holiday promotions, take a step back and decide what you want your marketing to accomplish. Maybe your goal is to increase sales, generate more leads, drive website traffic, or build brand awareness. Having clear goals will help you decide where to focus your time and budget.
It also helps to map out important dates, approval timelines, campaign launches, and content deadlines, ahead of time. For franchise brands, this is especially important when multiple locations need to coordinate their marketing efforts.
Planning ahead is especially important during the holidays, when brands are competing for consumers’ attention across multiple channels. According to Mailchimp's 2026 holiday marketing report, consumers generated more than $1.1 billion in email revenue during the 2025 peak shopping season. This is a good reminder to review your email strategy, plan campaigns ahead of time, and make sure your messaging reaches the right audience.
Make Sure Your Website Is Up to Date
Your website should be ready before your holiday campaigns go live. Take some time to review your pages, update any seasonal offers or important information, and make sure your calls to action are easy to find.
It's also a good time to check how your website looks and works on mobile devices. According to Adobe Analytics, 56.4% of online spending during the 2025 holiday season came from smartphones. While this data focuses on retail, it reinforces the importance of making sure your website is easy to navigate, loads properly, and provides a smooth experience across devices.
Don't forget about SEO, either. Review your website's content and relevant keywords to make sure your pages align with what your audience is searching for. Small updates now can help your website support your other marketing efforts throughout the season.
Get Your Social Media and Email Content Ready
Social media and email are two channels that can easily fall behind when things get busy. Creating a content calendar ahead of time can help you stay consistent and avoid scrambling to come up with posts or emails at the last minute.
Start by planning out your seasonal content, promotions, graphics, videos, and email campaigns. Make sure your messaging lines up across channels and that each campaign has a clear call to action.
For franchise brands, having approved content and creative assets ready to share can also make it easier for individual locations to stay consistent with the overall brand.
Review Your Advertising Budget
Before increasing your ad spend for the holidays, look at how your previous campaigns performed. Which channels brought in the most leads or conversions? Which ads generated the best results? Reviewing this information can help you decide where your budget should go this season.
Depending on your goals, your holiday marketing strategy may want to focus on paid search, social media advertising, or retargeting campaigns. The right holiday marketing strategy should focus on the channels most likely to help you reach your goals.
You don't have to stick with your original plan if the data shows something isn't working. Checking in regularly gives you the chance to shift your budget and focus on the campaigns that are performing best.
Keep Your Messaging Consistent
With multiple campaigns running at once, it's important to make sure your brand is communicating the same message across every channel. Your website, social media posts, emails, and advertisements should all reflect the same offers, dates, and overall brand voice.
This is especially important for franchises and businesses working with multiple teams. Having clear brand guidelines, shared creative assets, and an organized approval process can help everyone stay on the same page.
Seasonal marketing is a great way to make your marketing feel timely, but it should still look and sound like your brand. From social media posts and email campaigns to website updates and paid ads, your messaging should feel consistent across every channel. This is especially important for franchise brands and businesses managing multiple locations, where different teams may be creating content at the same time. Keeping your messaging, visuals, and overall brand voice consistent helps create a more recognizable experience for your audience.
Get Your Marketing Ready for the Holidays
Getting ahead of your holiday marketing doesn't have to be complicated. With a plan in place, updated digital channels, prepared content, and a clear understanding of your goals, your team can head into the busy season feeling more organized and ready to go.
At Flashlight Marketing, we help businesses and franchise brands bring their marketing efforts together through strategy, creative, and digital marketing. Get in touch with our team to learn more on how we can help you prepare for the season ahead.