How Local Businesses Can Make the Most of Seasonal Events and Busy Periods

For local businesses, seasonal events and busy periods can be some of the best opportunities of the year. Whether you’re a restaurant preparing for a packed Halloween weekend, a hotel welcoming visitors to the area, a shop creating a seasonal offer or a local attraction looking to increase bookings, these periods can bring a valuable boost in visibility, footfall and sales.

But the businesses that benefit most from busy periods aren’t necessarily the ones that simply have the best offer. They’re the ones that start marketing early, make it easy for customers to find them and give people a reason to choose them.

With major events taking place across Meath this autumn, including Púca Festival, Spirits of Meath and the Samhain Festival in Kells, now is the perfect time for local businesses to think about how they can make the most of seasonal opportunities.

Don’t Wait Until the Event Is Here

One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is waiting until an event is just around the corner before starting to promote themselves.

By that point, potential customers may already have made their plans, booked accommodation, chosen where they’re going to eat or decided which businesses they want to visit.

The earlier you start, the more opportunities you have to get in front of them.

Think about what someone attending a major event might be searching for in the weeks beforehand:

• Where can I stay?
• Where should I eat?
• What is there to do nearby?
• Where can I get a drink?
• What businesses are open?
• What should I book in advance?
• What can I do with the family?
• Where can I park?
• What events are happening locally?

If your business can answer those questions through your website, social media and online presence, you’re already giving yourself an advantage.

Have a busy season coming up? Now is the time to start planning your marketing rather than waiting until the last minute. Get in touch with Back Office Marketing to discuss your seasonal marketing strategy.

Think About What Visitors Actually Need

A major event doesn’t just benefit the business hosting it.

When thousands of people visit an area for an event or festival, there are opportunities for businesses across the local community.

For example, someone travelling to Meath for Púca Festival might need somewhere to stay, somewhere to eat before or after an event, somewhere to enjoy a drink, things to do during the day and somewhere to shop.

The same applies to visitors coming to experience Spirits of Meath or the Samhain Festival in Kells.

Think beyond your own product or service and consider the reason someone is visiting your area in the first place.

Then ask yourself:

How can my business become part of their experience?

That could mean creating a special event offer, putting together a seasonal package, extending your opening hours, creating a relevant blog post, collaborating with another local business or simply making sure visitors can easily find you online.

Create Seasonal Content That People Actually Want to See

Seasonal content doesn’t have to mean posting “Halloween is coming!” repeatedly.

Instead, think about what your audience needs and create content around it.

If you’re a restaurant, you could share your autumn menu, showcase your atmosphere or create content around where to eat before a local event.

If you’re a hotel or accommodation provider, you could create a guide to things to do nearby or highlight how close you are to a particular festival.

If you’re a retailer, you could showcase seasonal products, gift ideas or Halloween-inspired offers.

And if you’re a local attraction, you could create content showing visitors what else they can experience while they’re in the area.

For businesses in Meath, events such as Púca Festival, Spirits of Meath and Samhain Festival of Food and Culture can give you a natural reason to create relevant content that connects your business with something people are already interested in.

It could be as simple as:

“Coming to Púca Festival? Here are 5 things to do in Trim while you’re here.”

Or:

“Planning a Spirits of Meath weekend? Here’s where to eat, stay and explore.”

This type of content can help you reach people who may not have discovered your business otherwise.

Make Sure Your Website Is Ready

Your social media might be getting plenty of attention, but don’t forget about your website.

If someone discovers your business through a social post or Google search, your website is often where they go next for more information.

Before a busy period, check that your website clearly shows:

• Your opening hours
• Your location and contact details
• Your latest offers or seasonal information
• Event-related information
• Booking or enquiry options
• Up-to-date prices where relevant
• Any changes to your usual services
• Links to your social media channels

It’s also worth checking your website on mobile. Visitors searching for somewhere to eat, stay or visit while they’re out and about are likely to be using their phones.

Not sure whether your website is ready for the busy season? Back Office Marketing can help you review your website and identify opportunities to improve your online presence.

Don’t Forget Local SEO

When people are visiting an area for an event, Google can become their best friend.

They might search for things like:

“restaurants near Púca Festival”

“things to do in Trim”

“hotels near Kells”

“Halloween events Meath”

or

“where to eat near me”.

That means local SEO can play an important role in helping your business get discovered.

Make sure your Google Business Profile is up to date and that your website contains relevant information about your location, services and the areas or events you serve.

You can also create useful website content around seasonal searches.

A well-written blog post or landing page can continue attracting people through search long after you’ve posted about it on social media.

Make Your Offers Easy to Understand

Busy periods aren’t the time to make customers work to figure out what you’re offering.

If you have a seasonal promotion, event package or special offer, make the details clear.

Tell people:

What is it?

When is it available?

How much does it cost?

Who is it for?

How do they book or buy?

And most importantly:

What should they do next?

Your call to action could be Book Now, Contact Us, Reserve Your Table, Shop Now, Find Out More or Get in Touch.

A strong offer with a clear CTA is far more likely to turn interest into action.

Collaborate With Other Local Businesses

Seasonal events are also a brilliant opportunity to collaborate.

A visitor doesn’t experience a destination through one business. They might stay in one place, eat somewhere else, visit an attraction, have a drink, go shopping and attend an event all in the same trip.

So why not work together?

A hotel could collaborate with a local restaurant. An attraction could partner with a café. A retailer could work with another local business on a seasonal promotion.

You could cross-promote each other’s social media content, create a joint offer or simply recommend one another to visitors.

For events such as Púca Festival, Spirits of Meath and Samhain Festival, this kind of collaboration can help create a stronger overall experience for visitors while giving local businesses additional exposure.

Use Paid Advertising Strategically

Organic social media is valuable, but busy seasonal periods can also be a good time to consider paid advertising.

The key is to avoid simply putting money behind a post and hoping for the best.

Think about who you want to reach and what you want them to do.

For example, you could target people interested in visiting Meath, promote a seasonal offer to people within a particular area or retarget people who have already visited your website.

You don’t necessarily need a huge budget either. A well-planned campaign with a clear objective can be much more effective than spending money without a strategy.

Thinking about running paid ads for an upcoming seasonal campaign? Talk to Back Office Marketing about creating a targeted campaign for your business.

Keep Marketing During the Busy Period

Another common mistake is stopping your marketing once the event begins.

In reality, this can be one of the most important times to keep showing up.

People may be making decisions while they’re already in the area.

They might see a post about your business while they’re looking for somewhere to eat, discover your offer through Instagram or search for something to do that evening.

Share what’s happening in real time.

Showcase the atmosphere. Highlight your offer. Share customer experiences. Remind people where you are. Let visitors know what’s available.

And don’t forget about user-generated content. If customers are tagging your business or sharing their experience, reshare it where appropriate.

It provides social proof while also creating authentic content for your own channels.

Think Beyond the Event

Once the busy period is over, your marketing shouldn’t simply stop.

This is the perfect time to look at what happened.

Which posts performed well?

Did website traffic increase?

Where did your enquiries or bookings come from?

Which offers worked?

Did you gain new followers?

What questions were customers asking?

What could you do differently next time?

Keeping track of these results means you can use what you’ve learned to make your next seasonal campaign even stronger.

And remember, seasonal marketing isn’t only about Halloween or major festivals. The same approach can be applied to Christmas, Valentine’s Day, bank holidays, school holidays, summer, local events and other key periods throughout the year.

Make the Most of the Opportunities Around You

For local businesses, seasonal events can bring a huge amount of potential customers right to your doorstep.

But simply being located near a popular event isn’t enough.

The businesses that make the most of these opportunities are the ones that plan ahead, understand their audience, create relevant content, optimise their online presence and give customers a clear reason to choose them.

With events like Púca Festival, Spirits of Meath and Samhain Festival bringing visitors to Meath this autumn, there are plenty of opportunities for local businesses to get involved and put themselves in front of new audiences.

So don’t wait until the crowds arrive.

Start planning now.

Need help with your seasonal marketing?

At Back Office Marketing, we help businesses make the most of their marketing through social media management, content creation, digital advertising, SEO and marketing strategy.

Whether you’re preparing for a busy seasonal period or simply want to get more from your marketing, get in touch with us today and let’s talk about how we can help your business get noticed.