October might feel a little early to start talking about holiday marketing, but for local businesses and nonprofits, this is exactly when the groundwork should be happening.
Consumers are already thinking ahead. According to Sprout Social’s 2026 holiday research, 50% of consumers say brands should begin holiday advertising in October, while 36% say they plan to shop earlier this year because of concerns about rising prices.
For businesses in Menomonee Falls, Greater Milwaukee and across Wisconsin, that means waiting until Thanksgiving to start promoting holiday offers could put you behind competitors who started building awareness weeks earlier.
1. Decide What You’re Actually Promoting
Before you start making holiday graphics or scheduling social posts, get clear on what you want customers to do.
For a retailer, that might mean promoting gift ideas, bundles, gift cards or special holiday hours. A restaurant might focus on catering, holiday parties or gift certificates. Service businesses can package seasonal services, while nonprofits may want to build toward Giving Tuesday or year-end donations.
You do not necessarily need a huge discount to get attention. Sprout Social found that promo codes are the top holiday purchase motivator for 30% of consumers, but shoppers also respond to useful content that shows products in action or helps them make a decision.
Think about the value you can offer rather than defaulting to a percentage-off sale.
2. Start Building Your Holiday Content Now
Holiday marketing works better when customers see your business more than once.
Instead of posting one Black Friday graphic and hoping for the best, use October to build a simple content calendar that carries you through November and December. Start introducing gift ideas, behind-the-scenes content, customer favorites, seasonal services and helpful reminders now.
Social media is especially important this year. In Sprout Social’s 2026 research, 46% of consumers said they plan to use social media for holiday gift ideas, tying physical stores as the top source for gift discovery. Among Gen Z, that number rises to 54%.
For local businesses, this is an opportunity. Your holiday content does not need to look like a national retailer’s campaign. A quick video showing a popular product, a staff recommendation or a local gift idea can often feel more genuine and useful.
3. Make Sure People Can Find You
Great holiday promotions will not do much if customers cannot quickly find your hours, location, services or products.
Take a few minutes this month to review your Google Business Profile, website and social media pages. Make sure your hours are accurate, your phone number works, your website is easy to navigate on a phone and your most important holiday information is easy to find.
This is also a good time to update photos, add seasonal products or services and start asking happy customers for reviews.
Consumers are increasingly moving between Google, social media, websites and AI-powered search tools when deciding where to spend their money. A consistent online presence makes it easier for both people and search platforms to understand what your business offers.
4. Put a Little Advertising Behind Your Best Offer
You do not need a massive advertising budget to make holiday advertising worthwhile.
For many local businesses, a focused Facebook or Instagram campaign targeted within your service area can be enough to get an offer in front of thousands of potential customers. The key is to promote something specific rather than simply boosting a generic “Happy Holidays” post.
Think about an ad promoting a holiday event, gift card special, catering package, seasonal service or limited-time offer.
With consumers paying closer attention to value this year, your message should quickly answer one question: Why should someone choose your business right now?
Clear offers usually outperform clever-but-vague advertising.
5. Prepare for People to Message You
Holiday marketing does not stop when someone sees your post.
Sprout Social reports that 86% of consumers expect to use social media for holiday customer service at least as much as they did last year, and 55% prefer using direct messages when contacting brands.
That means someone may see your Facebook ad, click your Instagram profile and send you a message asking whether an item is available, whether you offer gift cards or whether you are open on a particular day.
Make sure someone is watching those messages.
Fast, helpful responses can be one of the simplest ways for a local business to compete with larger companies during the holiday season.
October Is Your Head Start
You do not need every holiday campaign completely finished this week.
But you should know what you are promoting, who you want to reach and which marketing channels you are going to use.
A little planning in October can make November and December much less frantic.
At Go Local Marketing, we help local businesses and nonprofits throughout Menomonee Falls, Greater Milwaukee and Wisconsin turn ideas like these into practical marketing campaigns. From social media and paid advertising to websites, email marketing, content and reporting, our goal is to help local organizations reach the right people without making marketing more complicated than it needs to be.
If holiday marketing is still sitting on your to-do list, now is a good time to get it moving.
