Thanksgiving is a great time to create small business promotions. As a holiday centered on gratitude, it doesn’t need a big budget. There are plenty of fun themes to choose from to make your promotion unique. You can also mix ideas with Black Friday and the Christmas season.
Here are some ideas to help you put together fun Thanksgiving Day promotions:
Thanksgiving Lunch and Dinner Recipes
Whether you own a restaurant or not, you can put together a Thanksgiving recipe menu on a flyer with your logo to give away for free at your business. Your customers will love these recipes since Thanksgiving encourages many to try new cooking and meal prep for their friends and family. You only need to list one to five recipes. The more colorful and attractive your flyer is, the more likely people will display it on their refrigerator or in their kitchen for others to notice.
If you do happen to run a dining establishment, handing out free recipes is just one of many ideas to remind people of your business even after the holiday is over. A restaurant business allows you to create special dishes that can be used to test new menu ideas. If people love your special dishes, you might consider adding them to your regular menu.
Community Turkey Trot
Organize a charity fun run to raise awareness or money for a cause in your community. “Turkey trot” is a name that is used in many communities on Thanksgiving Day. In several parts of the country, it’s an ideal time to have a walkathon or races because it’s often your last chance to do fun outdoor activities before the rainy season and cold weather arrives. Being involved in events that bring the community together is a great way to attract free media coverage. If your town is having a Thanksgiving Day parade find out if you can get involved since it’s great exposure to many people.
Travel Tips and Treats
Thanksgiving happens to be one of the busiest travel days of the year. You can create a flier that offers travel tips to help people save money and plan safe vacations. It’s a great holiday for hotels and travel agencies to offer deals. There are many travel ideas you can use even if you’re not in the travel industry. Think about partnering with a hotel or tourist attraction and doing cross-promotion, such as a prize for a contest that you promote to your customers. Use your website to get people to sign up for the contest, which will help expand your marketing list.
Meals for the Needy
Find out if your community allows giving free meals to the needy and if you are allowed to promote it through media. It’s a great gesture that can show your concern for the homeless and people who simply cannot afford to celebrate Thanksgiving. In these tough economic times, even middle class families are finding it hard to celebrate the holidays. One way to get the entire community involved is to ask your customers for canned food donations.
Vegan Thanksgiving Meals
Even though vegans are a minority, organic food is a fast growing industry. Many vegans who do not eat turkey still like to celebrate Thanksgiving. By showing your support for organic food, such as offering organic recipes or coupons to organic restaurants, you will help your company’s image. Even people who are not vegans understand the importance of eating healthy food. Raising awareness about healthy lifestyle shows you care about improving society.
Post-Thanksgiving Themes
One of the great things about Thanksgiving Day is that it is followed by three other important days that lead into the Christmas shopping season. The day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday, in which retailers offer the most incredible deals possible. The next day is Small Business Saturday, in which independent businesses are put in the national spotlight. Then a few days later media attention shifts to Cyber Monday as internet businesses offer deals to online shoppers. Even if you don’t sell digital products you can give away coupons online, which is what the growing population of mobile users are looking for all year round.