Holiday Hustle Without the Burnout: Marketing Tasks You Can Automate & Schedule
The holiday season is a busy time, both personally and professionally. Between year-end planning, client campaigns, and much-needed time off, it’s easy to feel like you’re scrambling to keep the marketing machine running.
However, the truth is that you don’t have to choose between stepping away for a break and maintaining your brand's visibility and engagement.
With proper planning and automation, you can enjoy holiday downtime and start January feeling strong, rather than digging out of an inbox avalanche.
In this article, we’ll break down smart marketing tasks you can automate or schedule ahead of time, plus a few tips to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
Marketing Tasks to Automate or Schedule During the Holidays
1. Social Media Scheduling
The holidays are a great time to lean into evergreen + seasonal content. Schedule posts ahead so you don't feel pressure to post on Christmas Eve.
Tools: Later, Hootsuite, Buffer, Meta Planner, Canva Scheduler
Post Ideas:
- Holiday hours & closures
- Customer appreciation messages
- “Year in Review” highlights
- Holiday tips relevant to your industry
- Teasers for January launches or promotions
Pro Tip: Use engagement-boosting posts, such as polls or questions. Low lift for followers, high impact for algorithms.
2. Email Marketing Automation
Don’t let your email list go cold while you’re warming up cocoa.
Automate:
- Holiday greetings + appreciation emails
- Year-end value content (top resources, best blog posts, client wins)
- January prep emails (announcing upcoming offerings or events)
- Drip campaigns for lead nurturing
Bonus: Add a “We'll respond after the holidays” note in your footer to set expectations and reduce stress.
3. Blog Posts & Content Publishing
Evergreen content doesn’t need to stop because you do. Draft and schedule blogs in advance to maintain consistency and SEO momentum.
Content Ideas for December:
- Industry year-in-review
- Trends to watch in the new year
- Best resources/tools roundup
- Common Q&As from your audience
- “What we learned in 2025” insights
4. PPC Campaign Rules & Budget Automation
Paid ads don’t take a holiday, unless you tell them to.
Schedule in advance:
- Budget adjustments to account for holiday CPM increases
- Holiday-specific messaging
- Seasonal promotions
- Pause dates for campaigns you're not monitoring daily
5. Review & Reputation Management
You don’t need to manually watch reviews over the holidays.
Use tools that:
- Notify you when new reviews come in
- Send automatic reminders for customer feedback
- Schedule thank-you responses and review follow-ups
Tools: Podium, Birdeye, Google Business Profile automations
6. Lead Intake & CRM Workflows
Make sure new leads don’t sit unattended.
Automate:
- Inquiry confirmation emails
- Lead assignment or tagging
- SMS replies for contact forms
- Calendar booking flows
And add a simple “holiday delay” message so expectations are clear.
Extra-Credit Time-Savers
- Out-of-office email + voicemail scripts
- Pinned social post with holiday hours
- Chatbot auto-responses
- Shared calendar block for return-to-office catch-up time
- Scheduled year-end reporting reminders
Little things = big sanity preservation.
Holiday Automation Strategy Checklist
Save this for quick planning every year!
Take a Break. You’ve Earned It.
Great marketing isn’t about working nonstop. It’s about working smart.
The holidays are the perfect reminder to:
Recharge
Reset strategy
Return with clarity
With automation and planning, your brand can stay active while you rest, and in January, you will be grateful.
Ready to start the new year strong?
At TargetMarket, we help businesses build marketing systems that work, even when you’re off the clock.
Schedule a strategy call with our team to prepare your 2026 marketing plan.
