Marketing can feel particularly loud in December.
Seasonal events throughout the year, like Black Friday, Christmas, Valentine’s, Easter and even “new year” trends, often trigger sudden bursts of activity for small business owners.
Seasonal activity can work well as part of an integrated campaign. But it rarely delivers long-term value from a single post. You promote an offer or join a conversation because everyone else is. And yet, when marketing is reactive or sporadic, it stops supporting your business' broader goals - the opposite of what brand-led marketing is designed to do.
It’s here where you, as a small business owner, often feel the pressure - the sense that you “should” be visible, even when you’re not entirely sure what the outcome will be. And that type of reactive activity rarely builds anything meaningful.
There is a structured, more effective way to approach marketing. One that continues to work long after the seasonal noise has died down. That’s where long-term, brand-led strategy makes all the difference.
When your marketing has a clear direction, seasonal moments stop feeling like urgent prompts and start becoming optional opportunities; something you can tap into when it fits, not something you must respond to.
Short bursts of marketing don’t build relationships
Seasonal activity - whether it’s a Valentine’s discount, an urgent Christmas push or a one-off topical post - can drive attention. But attention alone doesn’t build trust or familiarity.
If activity is only driven by the calendar, your audience sees inconsistency. They feel the burst, but they don’t get the clarity. Long-term, brand-led marketing provides that clarity and builds stronger relationships.
Without context or consistency, those seasonal touchpoints float around on their own. They may spark a moment of interest, but they don’t help someone understand who you are, what you do or why it matters - the things that actually move enquiries forward.
For example, a quick Valentine’s Day discount may feel relevant, but on its own, it may not reflect the depth of service you offer. A Black Friday “deal” might attract views but not meaningful enquiries. A New Year message might get engagement, but it won’t necessarily move someone closer to working with you.
These moments can only carry so much on their own. It’s the work done outside of those peaks - the steady, structured, brand-led activity - that shapes how people understand and remember your business.
Strategy: The backbone of your marketing
When I work with clients to help them structure their approach, I typically start by creating a marketing strategy. I break down what goes into it, and we then begin to figure out who their typical client is and who they need to market to. Alongside this, we explore the challenges and pain points of their clients.
This work is the backbone of any marketing - knowing who you’re talking to and why. It gives you something to anchor every piece of communication to - a clear sense of what matters, what you want people to know and how your services genuinely help.
Use me as an example. My target audience includes small business owners. Whatever time of the year, they always need:
more structure
clearer messaging
a plan that fits their capacity
an understanding of what’s working
confidence in their activity.
These needs don’t shift because it’s December or February. They are present all year, and that’s precisely why long-term, brand-led marketing works - it gives you a way to show up consistently in the areas your clients care about most.
Seasonal noise can make those consistent challenges even more visible. And when your marketing already speaks to those challenges with clarity and relevance, weaving in a seasonal angle becomes effortless.
What is brand-led marketing?
Brand-led marketing is the thread that runs through everything you put out into the world. It’s shaped by the work you do at the strategy stage: understanding your clients, the problems you solve and the value you want to be known for. From there, your brand becomes the way you communicate who you help, how you help them and why your business exists in the first place.
When your brand is consistent, clear and aligned with your audience’s needs, every decision becomes easier. It shapes the messages you share, the tone you use and the experience people have when they interact with you. It builds recognition, strengthens trust and helps clients feel confident in the work you do together.
Brand-led marketing doesn’t sit separately from your content or campaigns. It flows through them. When your content reinforces your brand’s message and purpose, it amplifies your voice and deepens relationships - long before any seasonal moment appears on the calendar.
When seasonal marketing does work
Seasonal marketing activity becomes powerful when it reinforces your core message - the brand-led marketing work you’ve already done - not distracts from it.
For example, my recent marketing activity includes:
A December blogpost outlining how small business owners can balance seasonal marketing activity with a long-term brand-led approach.
A social post providing links to blogposts that help small business owners plan effectively for the new year.
A timely social post breaking down GEO vs SEO for small business owners, given the ‘buzz’ on LinkedIn.
A topical news item that links directly to a problem you solve.
Seasonal/topical content becomes valuable when it has intent.
It works when it connects back to your bigger picture - your strategy, your message and the experience you want your clients to have. That’s when seasonal activity stops being noise and starts becoming useful.
How can long-term, brand-led marketing support seasonal activity?
This is where an integrated approach really earns its keep. When you have a clear brand and a simple marketing strategy in place, seasonal activity stops being a scramble and starts becoming an execution choice.
You already know who you are talking to, what you want to be known for and which services you want to promote. You have a sense of the problems you solve and the language your clients use. Seasonal moments then become a way to shine a light on that existing work, not a reason to invent something new at speed.
Instead of asking “What can I post for Valentine’s?” or “Should I be doing something for Black Friday?”, you can ask more useful questions, such as:
How can I connect this point in time to the challenges my clients already have?
Do I have a piece of content, a webpage or a case study that would be helpful to share or repurpose now?
Can I use this as a reminder of the value I offer throughout the year?
This line of questioning can also help you decide when not to join in.
You don’t need to react to every seasonal hook if it doesn’t meet your target audience’s needs. Sometimes, the most effective decision is to stay consistent with your existing messaging.
Long term, this is what makes your marketing feel calmer and more joined up. Seasonal activity becomes a layer that sits on top of your foundations. It supports your business goals, keeps your brand present in relevant conversations and gives you more control over when and how you show up.
When marketing is built this way, with brand-led marketing at the heart of it, it becomes the gift that keeps on giving. It works quietly in the background, supports you during busy moments and continues to build familiarity long after the seasonal noise has faded.