Quick Answer: I still need to do some holiday marketing!
Last minute holiday marketing campaigns in 2025 still work if you keep them simple, video-first, and focused on clear offers that respect tight budgets and early shopping habits. Mix fast-to-launch tactics like flash sales, short-form holiday videos, and UGC contests with personalized email, gift guides, and social proof so customers can make quick decisions without extra friction.
The holidays are here again, and the season keeps stretching earlier every year, but that doesn’t mean you missed your chance. Social chatter about holiday deals starts as early as August now, but plenty of shoppers still wait on shipping deadlines, last-minute gifting panic, and payday timing.
This guide keeps your life simple. You can pick one or two ideas, launch them in a few days, and still make a real dent in 2025 holiday results while also setting yourself up for 2026. Whenever you can, use video to tell the story of your offer, then back it up with clear copy, email, and easy ways to buy.
6 holiday marketing ideas you can use right now
These ideas are quick, fun, and can help your business make a big impact this holiday season. Whether you want to increase sales, boost engagement, or simply bring some joy to your customers, these tips have you covered.
1. Run a focused flash sale
A flash sale still gives you one of the fastest ways to create urgency and move inventory. Pick a small set of products you feel confident about, set a 24–48 hour window, and write a single, clear offer that customers can understand in three seconds. Tie the deadline to something real, like “order by tonight to get it under the tree” or “last payday before New Year’s.”
Layer video on top of this. Record a short vertical clip that shows the product in use, the discount, and what buyers get if they act before the timer hits zero, then post it on Reels, TikTok, and Shorts. Short-form video holds attention and drives conversions, and pages with video show up on the first page of Google far more often than text-only pages, so embedding that clip on your sale landing page supports both sales and search.
Pro Tips:
- Use a countdown timer on your site and in email.
- Pin the video announcement on your top social channels during the promo window.
- Add a simple FAQ block under the offer to answer shipping and return questions quickly.
2. Personalize your emails (and pair them with video)
Email still pulls its weight during the holidays, especially when you treat different customers differently. Segment your list by behavior or interest, then send tailored gift suggestions, bundles, or “you might like this too” recommendations. Shoppers expect personalization now, and most of them feel frustrated when they don’t see it, so even basic segmentation gives you an edge.
You can also bring email and video together. Drop a short “holiday picks” video thumbnail near the top of the message that links to a longer product walkthrough or gift guide video. Video helps customers feel more confident about what they buy and creates a stronger sense of connection than static images alone.
Pro Tips:
- Use clear, seasonal subject lines like “Last-minute gifts under $25” or “Still shipping in time for the holidays.”
- Show 3–5 products max per email so people don’t freeze on the decision.
3. Run a contest
Contests still work, and they get even stronger when you lean into user-generated content. Ask customers to share a photo or short video that shows how they use your product during the holidays, then enter them into a giveaway for a meaningful prize like a bundle, subscription, or upgrade. UGC builds trust and can outperform polished brand creative, since people trust other shoppers more than they trust ads.
Keep the mechanics as light as possible. A typical pattern: “Follow, like, and share a photo or video using #YourHolidayHashtag by Sunday.” You can then repost the best entries across your channels and feature a few clips on your website or gift guide pages to add social proof.
Pro Tips:
- Choose a holiday theme that feels specific, like “coziest way you use our product” or “your 10-second unboxing moment.”
- Spell out the rules in a short, skimmable list on your landing page.
- Save the contest entries in a library you can reuse in 2026 for social posts, testimonials, and ad creative.
4. Create a holiday gift guide (in video and text)
Gift guides make decisions easier during a stressful season. Group your products by recipient, interest, or price point so people can scan quickly and add items to their cart without overthinking. Treat your guide as a mini landing page: one strong intro, clear sections, and direct CTAs like “Shop under-$50 sets.”
Then give that guide a video layer. Record a “holiday gift guide” video that walks through your picks, or build a short series where each clip focuses on one category like “gifts for remote workers.” YouTube and Shorts play a big role in purchase research, and repurposing one main video into multiple short clips gives you extra reach with minimal extra work.
Pro Tips:
- Use the same section titles in your video overlays and on the page to keep things consistent.
- Add internal links from related blog posts to your guide so both search engines and AI tools see it as a central resource.
- Update the guide’s intro each year with current dates and trends so it stays fresh in search and AI overviews.
5. Get customers involved all season
You can treat your customers as your creative partners, not just your audience. Invite them to share their own “holiday hacks” that involve your product, quick tutorials, or before-and-after stories, and feature the most helpful ones in your stories, emails, and site content. This ongoing participation builds a sense of community and provides you with authentic content that feels real instead of scripted.
You can also turn the best customer stories into lightweight video case studies. For example, ask a loyal customer to record a 30-second clip that answers “How did this product save your holiday stress this year?” Then add captions, a clear title, and a CTA and feature it on a landing page or in retargeting ads.
Pro Tips:
- Create a seasonal hashtag and use it in your bio and captions so everything stays organized.
- Reply to and reshare customer posts quickly so people feel seen.
- Save the best content to a “Holiday Stories” playlist or collection on your video platform of choice.
6. Launch a short-form holiday video series
Meet people where they already spend time with a short-form video series. Plan 3–5 quick episodes that each focus on one moment, like “last-minute stocking stuffers,” “how to use our product in under 30 seconds,” or “what’s really inside our best-selling bundle.” Short-form video drives engagement and conversions, and it fits naturally into TikTok, Reels, Shorts, and embedded placements on your product and campaign pages.
You don’t need a big production setup for this. Script your clips in a doc, record vertical video on your phone, and use a video platform like Visla to trim, caption, and repurpose them into different formats quickly. When you embed those videos on your key pages, you support search, AI overviews, and on-site conversions at the same time, since video-rich pages keep people engaged and show up more often in rich results.
Pro Tips:
- Add clear text overlays that repeat your key offer and deadline.
- Include spoken lines that match natural queries like “If you’re looking for a last-minute gift for…” so AI tools and voice search can understand the context.
- Post each episode across your social channels and stitch them into a single longer video for YouTube or your homepage.
What makes a holiday marketing campaign great in 2025?
A good holiday campaign grabs attention, feels meaningful, and leaves a lasting impression. Here’s what to focus on:
- Timing: Keep it short and easy to act on. The holiday season moves fast, so your message needs to be clear and timely.
- Emotion: Bring out feelings of joy, nostalgia, and giving to connect with your audience on a deeper level.
- Clarity: Make your message simple and easy to understand. Avoid making your promotions too complicated.
- Value: Offer something your customers truly want, whether it’s savings, convenience, or a chance to give back.
People are busy during the holidays, so the easier you make it for them to engage with your campaign, the better your results will be.
Why it’s still not too late to start your holiday marketing
Think it’s too late to start? It’s not! Here’s why:
- Shoppers Are Still Buying: Many people wait until the last minute to finish their holiday shopping, so your campaign can still capture their attention.
- You’ll Build Momentum: Even a quick campaign can help people remember your business as the new year approaches. It’s a chance to set yourself up for future success.
- Every Sale Counts: Small efforts now can lead to extra sales and stronger customer relationships. Every little bit helps!
Don’t let the timing stop you. Even a simple idea can make a big difference for your business and your customers.
FAQ
No, it’s not too late to run last-minute holiday marketing in 2025 as long as you keep your campaigns simple, focused, and easy to launch. Many shoppers still wait for shipping cutoffs, payday timing, and last-minute gifting panic, so you can capture demand with clear offers and deadlines. Prioritize fast tactics like flash sales, short-form holiday videos, and UGC contests that you can spin up in a few days. Treat every campaign as both a way to capture end-of-year sales and to warm up audiences for 2026 holiday marketing.
The fastest holiday marketing ideas to launch are focused flash sales, short-form holiday video series, simple gift guides, and social media contests. Start with one clear offer, a 24–48 hour deadline, and a vertical video that you can share on TikTok, Reels, and Shorts plus embed on your landing page. Add a basic email campaign that highlights your offer, gift guide, or contest rules so existing subscribers can act quickly. Keep everything optimized for mobile and make the path from video or email to checkout as short as possible.
You can record vertical videos on your phone, script simple talking points in a doc, and use lightweight editing tools to add captions and text overlays. Focus on formats like “holiday gift guide,” “what’s in our best-selling bundle,” or “last-minute gifts under $25” so your video matches real search queries and AI overview language. Post each clip to TikTok, Reels, Shorts, and then embed the video on key product, gift guide, and flash sale pages to support search visibility and conversions. Repurpose the same videos in email thumbnails, retargeting ads, and social posts so one shoot fuels multiple channels.
Start by segmenting your list into a few simple groups based on past purchases, product interest, or engagement level. Send each segment a focused holiday email with 3–5 tailored product picks, bundles, or “you might also like” suggestions that match their behavior. Add a “holiday picks” video thumbnail near the top of the email that links to a short product walkthrough or gift guide video to boost engagement and confidence. Use clear subject lines like “Last-minute gifts under $25” or “Still shipping in time for the holidays” so your email shows up in both human inboxes and AI-powered search results.
User-generated content builds trust because shoppers are more likely to believe other customers than polished brand ads. A simple holiday contest where people share photos or short videos using your product gives you authentic content, social proof, and extra reach on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. You can repost the best entries across your social channels, feature clips on your website or gift guide pages, and turn top stories into short video case studies. Save all of this UGC in a library so it fuels your 2026 holiday campaigns, social posts, testimonials, and ad creative.
May Horiuchi
May is a Content Specialist and AI Expert for Visla. She is an in-house expert on anything Visla and loves testing out different AI tools to figure out which ones are actually helpful and useful for content creators, businesses, and organizations.