8 Last-Minute Christmas Marketing Tactics You Should Know-Ho-Ho About

The Christmas season always seems to fly by faster than Father Christmas’ sleigh. Even the most organised of brands often find themselves scrambling in December. The good news? Last-minute marketing doesn’t have to feel tantric ot sloppy. With the right tactics, you can still boost visibility, spark engagement and drive sales – even in the final days leading up to Christmas. With this in mind, here are some of the most effective and quick-deploy Christmas marketing strategies you can roll out right now.

1. Create a sense of urgency & FOMO

As Christmas approaches, shoppers become more decisive. Use this to your advantage. You can add a sense of urgency by having “ends tonight” flash sales, using countdown timers to the start or end of sales, implementing low-stick alerts and even publicising expiring bundle deals. These tactics alone will help you tap into the urgency side of things, assisting the customers to feel more confident when making a fast decision, all without overthinking. It’s a win-win – you get a sale and the customer receives the goods they were hoping for.

2. Launch a last-minute Christmas gift guide 

You don’t need weeks to produce a polished, helpful guide. In fact, a simple and targeted piece of content or a bit of marketing will work best. You can create simple guides like “gifts under £30”, “Last Minute Gifts for Him/Her”, “Stocking Stuffers Everyone Will Love” and “Digital Gifts You Can Send Instantly”. Publish them across social media, email and your homepage. For extra reach, turn the guide into a carousel, reel or even a short-form video.

3. Promote digital & instant-delivery products

Physical shipping can be challenging throughout the month of December and even during the months before and after the big event. Digital products, on the other hand, will arrive faster than Father Christmas can get down the chimney. If this sounds good to you, and if you have the digital products available, market things like: gift cards, memberships, subscriptions, e-courses, templates, downloadable art, music or resources and even virtual experiences. Then, label them as “Instant Delivery” so that shoppers know they’re safe from shipping delays. 

4. Offer free delivery or upgrade shipping options at no extra cost

When shipping deadlines get tight, incentives matter. Customers searching for “final choice” deals are more likely to convert when there’s no extra logistical burden. Some examples of this include: ‘free shipping for 24 hours’, ‘free priority upgrade’, ‘free shipping over £25 or £50’ and ‘guaranteed Christmas delivery’ (is applicable).

5. Use high-impact email subject lines

Email remains one of the strongest last-minute Christmas marketing channels. In order to get the most out of it, you should keep your email messaging simple and scannable. Send your emails in waves (morning, afternoon and evening) to maximise visibility throughout the final Christmas shopping days. In order to keep things straightforward, you should have a short subject line, one core offer, a strong call to action (CTA) and some festive visuals to make the right impact.

6. Get stuck in with paid advertising 

PPC is a great and time-effective way of getting your website noticed, together with the goods and services you offer. You don’t have to undertake a PPC service all year round, but there are many benefits to be had if you did. 

It would also mean that you wouldn’t have to worry about getting a few extra customers around the festive season, because a digital marketing agency, such as us here at Kumo, would always be monitoring your progress.

In addition, PPC experts will make sure that you consistently get a solid return on investment (ROI). Just some of the benefits of choosing a professional PPC service, not just at Christmas but all year round, are as follows:

• Instant results
• Targeted traffic
• Measurable performance
• Increased brand awareness
• Budget control
• Gives you the competitive advantage
• Allows for flexibility and testing

7. Run a Christmas giveaway

Giveaways create quick engagement and widen your audience without a complicated setup. Festive giveaways are great for boosting reach and grabbing direct attention from customers and prospective customers alike. You could try things like: “tag a friend” contests, 24-hour flash sales, “share this post” or “comment your wishlist” promotions and also collaborative giveaways with other brands, if you can. 

8. Don’t forget about post-Christmas shoppers & winter sale opportunities

When the Christmas season comes to an end, your last-minute marketing techniques shouldn’t cease there. People spend gift cards they received at Christmas, they return unwanted items and they start shopping for themselves again. You need to harness these opportunities in the weeks after Christmas, including Boxing Day, New Year and even Valentine’s Day. Clearance promotions are also popular at the end of the year and the start of the next, as businesses begin to get rid of their old stock and make way for new, up-to-date products.

Kumo is a full-service digital marketing agency driven by a talented and dedicated team. Based in Nottingham, we work with clients throughout the UK, supporting organisations across diverse sectors in achieving measurable growth. Our capabilities span SEO, PPC, content marketing, web design and more. Contact our friendly and experienced team today to discover how we can help your business thrive – we’re always ready to support you.