It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away, but here we are, smack-dab in the middle of the holiday season! Thanksgiving is always a time of gratitude, as well as a time of fierce competition for holiday sales. To help you reach your target customer and break through the noise of everyone else’s marketing campaigns, we’ve compiled a list of five helpful tips.

1. Use Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories can be one of the most effective and fun tools to get your marketing message out. And there are so many ways to use IG Stories:

• Create a poll. A poll asking about favorite Thanksgiving flowers can instantly increase engagement, and it will give you more insight into what your followers will purchase.
• Go live. People love to watch Instagram Live videos, especially if you’re delivering some valuable information—like how to make their fall flowers last longer, for instance.
• Use branded CTAs. Place a Call to Action right on your IG Story to lead a potential customer to your website to purchase.
• Have an Instagram Takeover. Get a local influencer or celebrity to take over your account and do all the posting for a day. It’s a lot of fun, and you’ll reach far more people.

2. Run Holiday-themed Contests and Giveaways

Contests are a fantastic way to boost your engagement and increase your email list. And this time of year, contests are easy to create. You could have a photo contest where customers show their Thanksgiving decorations or run a contest for the best “what I’m grateful for this year” story—your imagination’s the only limit! If you’d prefer not to run a contest, you can also use this time to give back to the community. Create a campaign where you give flowers to a local charity for every arrangement that a customer purchases. Then involve your customers by tagging them when you deliver the flowers to the charity.

3. Create Branded Thanksgiving Hashtags

Use hashtags to encourage more people to share your posts: Campaigns with hashtags receive far more engagement than those without hashtags. And make sure you have a hashtag that’s unique to you. It should include your business name and the subject of the campaign, such as #XYZHolidayTips or #XYZGiveaway. You can use your hashtag campaign for contests or events to offer Thanksgiving floral ideas, answer questions, and even offer free services. But don’t overdo it—one or two hashtags are plenty, and when you add too many hashtags you reduce overall engagement.

4. Livestream Events

Events and activities are a great way to gain an even bigger audience online. Set up a DIY Thanksgiving centerpiece workshop, for example, and Livestream it on your Facebook or Instagram page. You may also want to host an event with a charity in your community and broadcast it live, asking for donations through GoFundMe or another third-party site. That way, you’ll not only market to the people in your shop but many more potential customers online.

5. Show Gratitude

Thanksgiving is the season of gratitude. And showing appreciation to the people who’ve supported you through the past year and a half is more important than ever! Here are a few ways you can share your gratitude with your marketing:

6. Train your staff on customer service basics

You’re heading into a busy season in your shop, so make sure your team is well-trained on how to handle customer calls. You may also want to designate one person to respond to any social media comments or online requests. The most important thing is that your staff knows how to handle any customer issue, including resolving customer complaints. This can not only save you from getting those dreaded bad reviews, but it can also create positive word-of-mouth on social media.

• Send personalized emails. Now is the time to send out a personal email to each of your best customers, letting them know how grateful you are for their business. They will genuinely appreciate it.
• Thank your staff. Nobody deserves more thanks than the hardworking staff who’ve been with you through it all. Make sure to show your gratitude to them on your social media posts.
• Share your Thanksgiving story. People love to see “behind the scenes” of any business, so you may want to share some personal stories of your Thanksgiving journey this year and what you’re grateful for.

We hope these tips can help you make the most out of your Thanksgiving marketing this year and set you up for a hugely successful holiday season!