Holidays can be a challenging time for B2B marketers. As I pointed out in a recent post on Demand Gen Report, this is a time of year when hectic schedules and tight budgets cause many organizations to wind down their content marketing efforts.
I also pointed out, however, that there are a lot of good reasons to go against the flow and kick your own end-of-year marketing efforts into higher gear. At the same time, however, this is obviously a good time to take a different approach to your content and messaging.
You don’t have to steer clear of business messaging –in fact, you should do plenty of that to get your prospects ready for their 2013 buying cycles. But you should mix in some lighthearted messages, big-picture predictions and philanthropic activities, all of which can build stronger relationships with clients and prospects.
Here are five good examples:
1. Say thanks! There is no better time of year to reach out to customers and prospects. Thank them for their business, or for their interest in your business, and wish them a happy 2014. Whatever you do, though, don’t shoehorn a sales pitch into your thank-you note – that’s far worse than not saying anything at all.
2. Share winning content. This is a great time to mine your analytics and share content that made a big impression with readers during the previous year. Call out popular blog posts, videos, webinars or other content, and package it as best-of-2012 collection.
3. Have fun just to have fun. Games, videos or other holiday-themed content doesn’t have to have a purpose. In fact, this is the perfect time of year to connect and bond with your customers and prospects by sharing content just because it’s fun or entertaining – not because it serves an ulterior motive.
4. Promote a worthy cause. Does your company support a charity organization or some other worthy cause? Ask your customers and business contacts to show their own generosity, or simply get them involved by letting them help pick the charities to which your own company will donate.
5. Fire up your crystal ball. People love to talk about (and argue about) predictions. Share your thoughts about the business trends or big events that you expect to see in your industry during 2013 – and be sure to give readers the change to discuss and debate with you through social media and other channels.
Have a safe and happy holiday weekend.
-Matthew McKenzie
