Getting your business ready for the festive season
Originally published September 2024 — updated June 2026
The festive season has a habit of creeping up faster than you expect. One minute it's September, the next you're scrambling to pull together a Black Friday promotion with three days to spare. If you're a small business owner in the wellness, creative or lifestyle space, a little preparation now goes a long way — so here's where to start.
Get your website in order first
Before you think about campaigns or promotions, make sure your website is doing its job. During the festive season more people are actively searching, browsing and making decisions — so your site needs to be fast, mobile-friendly and easy to navigate.
For product-based businesses, check your checkout process works smoothly and your most popular items are easy to find. For service-based businesses, make sure your booking process is clear and your services are presented in a way that makes it easy for someone to say yes. If you've been meaning to update your site for a while, this is the nudge to do it.
Plan your festive campaigns in advance
The businesses that do well over the festive period are usually the ones that planned ahead. Map out the key dates that are relevant to your business — Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Christmas, New Year — and decide what you want to do for each one.
You don't need to do everything. Pick the moments that make sense for your audience and plan one clear campaign for each. A beauty therapist might offer a Christmas treatment package. A retreat host might promote a New Year reset. A creative maker might lean into gifting. Think about what your ideal client is looking for at this time of year and meet them there.
Show up consistently on social media
The festive season is one of the best times to be active on social media because your audience is engaged, in a buying mindset and scrolling more than usual. Use that to your advantage.
Build anticipation before your promotions go live — share sneak peeks, count down to a launch or ask your audience what they're looking forward to. During your campaigns, post more frequently than you usually would and use Stories as well as your main feed. And don't forget the basics — relevant hashtags, location tags and a clear call to action on every post.
Think about your SEO
Search traffic increases significantly in the run-up to Christmas as people look for gifts, experiences and services. If your website isn't optimised for the terms your ideal clients are searching for, you're missing out on some of the highest-intent traffic of the year.
Think about the specific phrases someone might search for when looking for what you offer at this time of year. A yoga teacher might target "Christmas gift yoga classes." A facialist might add "festive facial treatments." A professional organiser might go for "declutter before Christmas." These don't need to be forced — weave them naturally into your page copy, blog posts and social media captions.
Plan your promotions with purpose
Finally, think about what you actually want to offer and why. The festive season doesn't mean you have to discount everything — in fact for many wellness and creative businesses, heavy discounting can undermine the value of what you do.
Instead think about adding value rather than reducing price. A complimentary add-on, an early booking incentive or a limited availability package can create the same sense of urgency without cutting into your margins. Whatever you decide, make sure it feels aligned with your brand and genuinely appealing to the clients you want to attract.
The festive season is a brilliant opportunity to increase visibility, attract new clients and end the year on a high. If you'd like support with your social media, website or marketing strategy in the run-up to Christmas, a Social Brew call is a great place to start.
