Ah, November. Summer is long gone, it feels like fall has only just begun, and yet winter and holiday vibes are starting to trickle in—sort of like the guests that arrive before your party starts and you’re not quite ready. Except it’s not a party, it’s your business and you’re trying to brainstorm creative ways to market it.
Well, you’re in luck because you’re about to discover 67+ creative November marketing ideas to use for your website, blog, social posts, events, promos, and more.
Thanksgiving and gratitude (and perhaps Black Friday greed) are not the only themes for November content. This crisp and cool month is home to a number of awareness causes, from senior pets and healthy skin to inspirational role models and more.
Women’s Entrepreneurship Day occurs every November 19. On this day:
Post some compelling stats about female entrepreneurs or women in business to your Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn pages.
If you attend a female entrepreneurship event, post photos on LinkedIn and elsewhere, and even post reflections and insights throughout the day.
If you are a female entrepreneur yourself, share some tips and tricks of your trade as with this awesome post below:
If you are not a female entrepreneur, you can certainly highlight one in your community or network. If you don’t know one, find one! Bonus points if you find a Latina entrepreneur in the name of Latin American Heritage Month.
#BlackOwned Friday and #BuyBlackFriday
Black-Owned Friday and Buy Black Friday emerged when Black Lives Matter efforts regained momentum in 2020.
If you’re a Black-owned business, run a special promotion and make sure your online catalog profiles use the “Black-owned” badges, like on Google Shopping and Instagram.
If you’d like to show your support, highlight a Black-owned business in your neighborhood on your blog or social media accounts, whether through a featured piece of content, a success story, an interview, or more.
World Kindness Day
As Mark Twain said, “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Kindness is a universal language indeed. World Kindness Day is celebrated each year on November 13. Participate by doing an act of kindness and encouraging your followers to do the same.
Your act of kindness could be in the real world such as by helping out a stranger in need or volunteering locally;
Or online via an Instagram giveaway or a positive quote from a famous philanthropist.
Ask your followers which acts of kindness have impacted their lives and create a video of the feedback:
The company below chose to participate by being kind to the earth.
Transgender Awareness Week (November 13-19)
Every year between November 13 and 19, National Transgender Awareness week serves to shed light on transgender education and support. It culminates on November 20 with National Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR). It is a time to honor the memory of those whose lives were lost to acts of anti-transgender violence. Here are some ways to show your support:
Post inspiring and eye-opening quotes from transgender activists.
Attend or organize a vigil in your community.
Head to GLAAD.org/tdor (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) for resource kits, media reference guides, and more.
Here are even more ways to bring attention to issues, groups, and causes that you and your audience cares about and connect with them on an emotional level.
Lung Cancer Awareness Month
These ideas can also apply to pancreatic cancer, epilepsy, diabetes, and any other health conditions recognized in November.
Sign your team up for a fundraising activity—a walk, a farmer’s market, a virtual race, etc. This gets you out in your local community which strengthens the roots of your business.
Caterers can show photos from fundraiser events.
Health-related businesses can share news articles, educational posts, or survivor stories.
Artists can showcase awareness-inspired work to show their support:
Military Family Month
For Military Family Month:
Recognize on social media your employees and their families who were or are currently active in the military.
Volunteer to place flags on veteran grave sites in your community.
Write a blog post sharing the story of how you came to be an entrepreneur—including the hardships you faced and how you got through them. Pitch your story to your local newspaper as a way to get some PR while also inspiring your local community.
Share inspirational advice or quotes on social media.
Even if your audience does not include entrepreneurs, you can still create content around entrepreneurial themes such as goal setting, persisting through challenges, leadership, being unafraid to fail, and the list goes on.
You could even interview an entrepreneur in your field or a related one. Many of the lessons in entrepreneurship can be applied to life in general, so your audience will come away with plenty of wisdom and inspiration.
No-Shave November/Movember
Movember, or No-Shave November, is a movement where men grow out their mustaches until the end of the month to raise awareness and donations for men’s health issues.
Run Movember competitions and fun contests between employees or among customers.
If you’re into it, showcase your facial hair on social media and get involved in the chatter on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Here are some ways to incorporate Movember into your social media content:
Post a picture of your team members (or yourself!) sporting a Movember mustache.
Participate in a Movember charity event and share photos to your account.
Get a little contest going, or even an official giveaway.
Donate a portion of your proceeds to the Movember Foundation
Of course, don’t forget to use the #movember hashtag
November marketing ideas based on holidays and national days
Don’t worry, we’ve dedicated an entire section after this one to Thanksgiving marketing ideas. But don’t forget these days either!
Veterans Day
Veteran’s Day occurs every November 11th, and on this day, schools may have off and many workplaces are closed. While this is often a time used for sales and promos, your priority should be that of thanking veterans for their hard work and sacrifice for our country.
If you have a veteran who works for you or who lives in your community, showcase them on your blog or website. A simple “thank you” goes a long way and lets customers know that you care about people, not just sales.
Create a general Veteran’s day post on social media thanking them for their service.
This doesn’t mean you should abandon sales altogether. There are still great ways to promote your business in a way that supports US veterans.
You could offer a discount to those who have served, donate a proceed of your November profits to veteran organizations, or even run a giveaway.
The company below hosted a free pop-up concert with a trio of vintage-inspired female singers in honor of Veterans Day. In addition to celebrating veterans, this event also supports National Aviation Month at the same (crushed it).
Daylight saving time ends
Daylight saving time ends in November. This means you get an extra hour of sleep one night (cool), more sunlight in the morning (nice), but also that dark and cold afternoons are ahead (womp). That said, acknowledge this the end of daylight saving time with a positive outlook:
Highlight the fall foliage in your social media posts and use fall hashtags.
Showcase bright, fall-colored products on your homepage.
As many consumers are heading into cool weather and more time at home, promote products or services that will make their indoor experience meaningful.
Or perhaps your audience prefers to stay in denial and hang on to summer for as long as they possibly can. Is it too late for summer clearance sales? Yes—don’t do that. But could you pull off an outdoor product clearance sale? Surely.
Encourage your summer-loving customers to get something for next year—something to look forward to and carry them through the winter like Allmodern does below:
Of course, you can always do a simple #fallback post on social media, reminding your followers to turn the clocks back.
Extra Mile Day
Extra Mile Day is recognized annually on November 1st. This observance day is perfect for small businesses which, unlike big businesses, can truly cater to individual customers. It’s all about taking that additional step to help others with something or even to accomplish one’s own goals.
Challenge your Instagram followers to help their neighbor in need, to finish that book they’ve been reading, or even just to wake up one hour earlier. Going the extra mile is something we can all fit into our daily routine and is a great November holiday for connecting with your audience.
You also don’t have to only go the extra mile for people; the environment will take some special treatment too!
America Recycles Day
America Recycles Day is a great day for showing that your small business cares about the environment.
Include some facts on your social media profiles.
Share what steps your business is taking to improve the environment.
Provide suggestions on your blog on how to recycle.
Offer a discount on bulk-size items.
Promote your sustainable products.
Raising awareness on social media about the importance of recycling.
Participate in or even host a recycling drive.
Make a video instructing your followers how to recycle your products or items in general, like Coca-Cola did in the example below:
Keep in mind also that a business conscious of the planet is likely to be conscious of its customers.
Take a Hike Day
This is a perfect day for feel-good quotes and to encourage people to get outside for a stroll in the great outdoors. Ask followers to share their nature photos and favorite spots to take a hike.
Thanksgiving is a time to appreciate your family, friends, and of course, your customers. Take the time to express your appreciation and gratitude, and be specific! Let others know exactly what you are grateful for about them to show that they matter as individuals. This will also give your social media posts a truly genuine and heartfelt feel.
Stay sensitive
Don’t forget to stay sensitive to those who may not have family or friends to share the day with, or who might not be able to afford a feast. You may want to show your support for this audience in some of your content.
Encourage others to give back
As you give back to the community in any Thanksgiving charity runs, food drives, or fundraising events, encourage your customers, local audience, and social media followers to do the same.
Offer Thanksgiving specials and advice
The opportunities here are endless, just be sure that your content is high-quality and preferably, SEO-friendly.
Promote products and services at your business particularly useful for Thanksgiving, such as cooking classes for great Thanksgiving side dishes or an after-Thanksgiving boot camp class.
Your pet grooming or boarding business can write a blog post on Thanksgiving foods that can be toxic to pets.
If you’re not running a promotion on Black Friday, you need to! People wait year-round for the incredible deals that await them the day after Thanksgiving, and this is a great opportunity to get your business on the map.
Start promoting your Black Friday deals at the beginning of the month so customers will be ready when the day arrives.
You could even create a Facebook event for your Black Friday specials, where you can post updates and reminders and where followers can invite their friends and add it to their calendars.
If you’re in the grocery business, perhaps consider running a Black Friday sale…
What November marketing ideas post would be complete without a #SBS section? This is perhaps the best time of year to get your small business noticed, bring back dormant customers, and attract new ones.
You may also want to do a partnership with another local business, create and share a gift guide, or host a sidewalk sale. Remember to thank your customers for their support, and remind them of the importance of shopping small!
At some point, however, take a break from self-promotion and lift up other small business owners who have given it their all to make their company a success and a staple in their community.
Update your Google Business Profile
Having an optimized Google business listing is important for any month of the year, but especially in November because of Thanksgiving and Small Business Saturday. Here’s what you can do:
Provide your Thanksgiving hours.
Upload pictures of any November or Thanksgiving-themed products or services.
Create Google posts about Thanksgiving, Black Friday, or Small Business Saturday promotions,
Ask and answer questions related to visiting your store (parking info, for example), especially if you expect more traffic on Small Business Saturday.
Cyber Monday
And the sales never end! Prep for Cyber Monday and choose a few promotions to run on this day. If you don’t have a website, you can still run a Cyber Monday promo using your social media accounts or even paid social strategies.
One idea is to run a raffle or offer a special deal to the first ten customers who directly message you on Facebook.
Or, take another break from all the sales mayhem and post a video of what it’s like to be an Amazon employee on Cyber Monday…yikes.
Never be at a loss for creative November marketing ideas again
There are tons of ideas and examples in this post, but the best part is that it’s just the tip of the iceberg in terms of November marketing strategies. Model off of the ones in this post or use them as a launchpad for your own spinoff ideas. The key is to stay true to your brand voice—that’s what your customers want!
Kristen is the Head of Marketing at Hatch, a customer communication platform for service-based businesses. She was previously the Senior Managing Editor at WordStream. Her cat Arnold has double paws on every paw, and she finds life to be exponentially more delightful on a bicycle.
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