5 Holiday Marketing Ideas to Boost Engagement and Your Practice
The holiday season is just around the corner and now is the time to start planning all of your holiday marketing campaigns.
Why You Should Have a Holiday Marketing Plan
This time of year is busy for everyone, so engaging with patients can help boost your practice at the end of the year. It can also be a good time to have a little fun with your target audience on social media and take advantage of leveraging that fun to get people in the door.
1 | Reminders are Key
It’s the season of hustle and bustle and keeping up with a regular appointment or taking advantage of unused annual maximum benefits may be the furthest thing from your patients’ minds. Reach out with reminders via a phone call, email, or even a text. Then be sure to make it easy for patients to schedule an appointment with you, such as offering online appointment booking or including a number to call.
2 | Hold a Contest
Hold a fun holiday contest that boosts online engagement! Encourage people to post a picture of them in their ugliest holiday sweater or ugly gift wrapping for a chance to win a free appointment to your clinic. This form of user-generated content (UGC) not only means you get free content to share, but it can really drive engagement, especially if you ask your audience to vote for their favorite by liking or commenting on the posts you share. This type of content can get your current patients excited, but also has the ability to reach new audiences, with the potential of expanding your patient base.
3 | Host a Party
Host a patient party at your practice to show a little love and appreciation to your patients and staff. Some ideas of things to include at your party are:
- A raffle for a free or discounted appointment or service
- Food from a local eatery or bakery (with potential of cross promotion)
- Crafts for kids
- A visit from Santa
- Goody bags with branded swag (be sure to include your website and phone number so patients are reminded of your info each time they use or see your swag)
4 | Partner Up
Many people will be heading to holiday parties and will want to look their best. Partner up with a local spa, hair salon, or nail salon to cross promote each other’s businesses. Provide exclusive discounts on specific services like teeth whitening, veneers, or new glasses to customers they send your way. Building strategic partnerships with other local businesses can be beneficial for everyone!
5 | Give Back to Your Community
Finally, give back to your community. This is the season of giving and today’s consumers like to see a socially-conscious business. Have a day where you and your employees volunteer at a local soup kitchen, food pantry, or other local charity. Snap a photo, write a blog about your time volunteering, and then include a blurb about it in your newsletter. Not only will it feel good to give back, but your community will be better for it.
Final Thoughts
Be sure to take advantage of all of your year-round tactics, such as paying for online advertising, sharing regular newsletters, and more. Your holiday marketing campaigns shouldn’t completely replace all of your normal tactics, but should complement your everyday strategies.