20 Unforgettable 4th Quarter Marketing Ideas to Delight your Prospects 

Now that we are in 4th quarter it’s the ideal time to promote your business. People are looking toward a new year and creating a fresh start. Take advantage of the season’s opportunities with these fun marketing ideas.

1. Launch an Instagram photo contest: Invite customers to post pictures of themselves engaged in their favorite fall activities (pumpkin patch fun, Halloween parties, trick or treating) with a designated hashtag. Choose a winner and offer them a free gift, and re-gram the photo on your account.
2. Hold a “can-do” event: Email customers offering them a gift or tasty treat when they bring in a canned or other nonperishable food item to donate to a local food pantry.
3. Put your name on it: Offer reusable shopping bags featuring your business’s name.
4. Sponsor a local school team: Support young athletes in a way that fits with your business during this time of pandemic. People may not be going to the actual games, but they still love their team!.
5. Advertise on local blogs: Identify the most popular blogs in your community for news, style, real estate, food — whatever best aligns with your brand — and advertise special events for readers. Blogs are a great way to reach your target market.
6. Hit the festival circuit: Chances are that organizations and entertainment venues in your area will be hosting holiday events – toy drives, special performances, etc., so find out how you can get involved in sponsoring the event.
7. Host a social party: Invite all your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram followers to join you for a live meet up, have entertainment and give prizes, get personal – show your art, share a recipe and cook, sing a song, or talk about your latest discovery and celebrate the season. For more ideas see my recent post on Hosting a Charity Event.
8. Offer an appealing deal: Entice people by offering a discount. You can promote your sale via direct mail, social media posts, or with an email blast.
9. Lend your space: Reach out to a favorite local charity, like an animal shelter, and offer them your shop or office for a fundraising event.
10. Celebrate new holidays: Christmas and New Year’s get all the attention after Thanksgiving, but you can make your business stand out with fun, social media–friendly holidays unique to your business, like a “Ugly Christmas Sweater Saturday” fundraiser or a “Pumpkin Spice Latte Appreciation Day” event. Think outside the box!
11. Start a deal-of-the-week email: Send targeted email messages to customers offering special discounts on specific items or services, of if you are a builder or Realtor, send a weekly listing or new home update.
12. Team up with local businesses: Work with other neighborhood shops and your vendors to pool your resources (and social media reach) to throw a winter-themed weekend event with food, entertainment, and lots of special promotions.
13. Bring in the experts: Identify common problems among your customers (home organization, wardrobe ideas, hair updates), and designate a day to offer the expertise of your staff and outside consultants with free online consultations.
14. Throw a “treat yourself” party: Email your best customers and invite them to a special event with complimentary manicures, chair massages, and makeup application along with cocktails and appetizers – masks included!
15. Set up your “pop-buy” calendar: The Holiday season is here, so tempt your customers with little treats: drop by their office and leave them a small gift or tasty holiday dessert.
16. Get media savvy: Reach out to local TV news, radio shows, and podcasts to pitch seasonal stories that relate to your business, like fall/winter landscaping ideas, seasonal recipes, and more.
17. Hire fresh talent: Need new photography, graphic design, or social media help? Reach out to Sandy Hibbard Creative to put a new fresh face to your business for the new year.
18. Donate to local auctions: Fall is a huge fundraising time for schools and charity organizations, so reach out to some of your favorites and offer goods and services for raffles and silent auctions. You’ll raise awareness about your business and be a good neighbor.
19. Host an online charity party: Create a Facebook invite and ask all your fans to send in one good-as-new warm winter coat or item of clothing. Donate the winter clothing to your favorite charity. Have them take a photo or model the coat they will be sending and post it to your pages with the appropriate hashtag.
20. Give some: For your coffee-lovers and key clients and Facebook fans, give a $5/$10/$15 Starbucks gift card, or surprise them with a gift you send through Facebook.