2025 Holiday Social Media Marketing Guide for Small Businesses
The economy appears to be tight for this upcoming holiday season, particularly for many consumers at the local level. Small businesses need to start planning now for the next few months if they haven’t already. Keep plans simple. Execute with focus. Measure weekly. Below is info to use to accomplish this realistically between now (late August) and mid-October. For this article, I focused on businesses operating within Greater Phoenix here in Arizona, but most of this can apply to any company looking ahead to Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, etc.
Targets
Pick numbers for September and October. Write them on one page and share with your team.
• Q4 revenue target
• Average order value target
• List growth target for email or SMS
• Repeat purchase or booking target
Offers
Buyers will trade down, bundle, and wait for deals. Build three offers now.
• First-time buyer starter
• Loyal customer bundle
• High-margin gift card
Add a “buy now, gift later” option. Write return, pickup, delivery rules in plain language. Post on site, pin to top of social media accounts.
Foundation Checklist, One Day Sprint
• Update profiles, bios, links, story highlights, pinned posts
• Refresh creative: 10 product or service photos, 5 short vertical clips, 4 caption templates
• Create one link hub with UTM tags for every offer
• Fix site basics: clear offer page, fast checkout or booking, mobile first
• Update Google Business Profile with photos, hours, and Q&A
Six-Week Runway With Dates
Week 1, Sep 1–7
• Publish hero offer with proof
• Post 1 FAQ carousel and 1 behind-the-scenes clip
• Shoot a 30-second demo
• Email, best-seller bundle plus early access list
• Set two ads, always-on traffic and 30-day remarketing
Week 2, Sep 8–14
• Customer story with photo or short video
• Go live for 10 minutes, show selection or booking flow
• Add 5 new photos to Google Business Profile
• Email, early access opt-in for limited drop
• Build one creator shortlist, 10 locals your customers trust
Week 3, Sep 15–21
• Staff pick reel or short
• Launch remarketing to site and social engagers
• Partner post with a local neighbor
• Email, compare bundles by use case
• Invite 3 micro creators, offer product, service credit, or fee
Week 4, Sep 22–28
• Before and after post for services, side-by-side graphic
• Publish gift card push for last-minute buyers
• Creator 1 post goes live
• Email, “How to pick the right option” guide
Week 5, Sep 29–Oct 5
• Limited inventory drop, clear cap and countdown
• Creator 2 post goes live
• Short ad burst for 3 days on the limited drop
• Email, last chance plus social proof tiles
Week 6, Oct 6–12, plus Oct 13–15 final push
• Review winners and kill losers
• Retarget non-buyers from past 30 days
• Ask 5 buyers for a 15-second UGC clip or a quote
• Email, “What buyers chose and why”
• Final push Oct 13–15, gift card and appointments
Content Rhythm, Repeat Weekly
• Hero offer or service spotlight with proof
• FAQ or myth-buster from real questions
• Behind-the-scenes or process clip
• Customer story or review
• Live demo or Q&A
• Community feature or partner cross-promo
Retail Angles
• Bundle by use case, starter, family, premium
• Limited runs tied to inventory
• Gift wrap or pickup perks
Service Angles
• Before and after
• Staff tips in 30 seconds
• Fast-track bookings with a bonus add-on
Social SEO*
Write for search in captions and titles. Use plain keywords, product, service, city, and neighborhood. Add alt text. Pin three posts, one per offer. Update Google Business Profile weekly.
*Also, review and bookmark my Social Media SEO Playbook compiled for Lia Haberman’s ICYMI newsletter on Substack
Paid Without Waste
• Daily budget 5 to 20 dollars per audience
• One always-on traffic ad to one offer page
• One remarketing ad to last-30-day visitors and engagers
• One short conversion burst during a 72-hour promo
• Tight geo, zip codes where buyers live or work
• Turn off ads that miss goal after 2 to 3 days with spend equal to one average order value
Email And SMS
• Lead magnet, early access to drops or bundles
• Welcome flow, three messages in five days, story, value, offer
• Cadence, one send per week now, two per week in October
• SMS for last-chance alerts only
• Segment by behavior, purchasers vs non-purchasers, by category interest
Partnerships
No creator partners yet, start simple.
• Shortlist 10 micro creators in your niche and city
• Offer product, service credit, or fee with a clear brief and timeline
• Swap content with three local partners, one per month
• Join one in-person market or pop-up per month and film on site
Measurement
Track a small set, act weekly.
• Traffic by source to offer pages
• Add-to-cart or booking intent
• Purchases and revenue by offer
• Repeat purchases and referral rate
• Email list growth and click rate
One-Page Dashboard
Use a single sheet for these five numbers. Update each Monday. Keep only the work that moves one number up.
Local Resources, Greater Phoenix (if your city isn’t listed here, most have great resources and help offered through their general website or their economic development teams)
• Mesa Business Builder: Tools, events, and city programs, including HUUB resources and advisors, plus info on free usage of work space, podcast studio and equipment, and more at MBB @ The Studios
• Local First Arizona: Business support and microloans
• Arizona Commerce Authority, Small Business: Checklist and programs
• Arizona SBDC Network and Maricopa SBDC. Free advising and training
• ARIZONA@WORK Maricopa: Employer resources and talent pipelines
• City of Phoenix business assistance hub: Grants, programs, and certifications
How To Work With Me (reach out about any of these here: https://notaguru.co/contact)
• Strategy Session. Lock targets, offers, channels, and dates. Leave with a one-page plan and dashboard.
• Audit and Optimization. Fix profile, content, site, and ad issues in days.
• Managed Social. Daily posts, paid guardrails, reporting, and weekly adjustments.
• Event and Pop-Up Coverage. Launch support for markets and holiday activations.
