Pittsburgh’s WWSW-FM has been playing holiday music for weeks now, and I’ve barely touched my radio dial since the constant stream of joy and cheer began. And while I love a good sing-along in my car on my way to the office, I love that many holiday songs provide a lesson to listeners.

And because I happen to be a marketer…I may have pulled some extra lessons out of my holiday jam sessions. If you’re looking to improve your content marketing this holiday season, maybe all you need is a carol or two. Just in case, here are seven holiday songs and the marketing lessons they can teach you:
 
Lyric: “Every mother’s child is gonna spy to see if reindeer really know how to fly.”

Lesson: Your customers are doing their research.
 
According to Compete, 94% of online shoppers do research before they make their purchase. This means that they are using social networks, search engines, review sites, and emails to make informed decisions about where they are spending their money. It’s important to have a presence in each of these places, but it is also important to be effectively promoting your brand on these sites. The next time you question whether or not your Facebook page is giving you ROI or if anyone is looking at that good Yelp review, remember that you are dealing with consumers who probably looked extensively into your product or service before they bought. Make sure there is great content for them to look through!
 
Lyric: “Although it’s been said many times, many ways, ‘Merry Christmas to you.’”

Lesson: Make sure you’re saying all of the right things in all of the right ways.
 
It’s smart to look back on all of your communications and check if you are effectively broadcasting your message. Can you make your sentences tighter? Can you use adjectives that put your business in a more professional light? You might be saying what you want your customers to read, but are you saying it in the best way?
 
This catchy lyric also contains a lesson in SEO – that there are plenty of ways to state your keywords. Google is smart, and it recognizes that synonyms for words used on your site mean the same thing. So the keyword “ladies adult footwear” could be found in a search for “ladies adult shoes.” Feel free to incorporate a variety of keywords with the same meaning into your content. Not only will it still help with SEO, but it will make your writing more interesting and easy to read for customers.
 
Lyric: “So he said, ‘Let’s run, and we’ll have some fun now, before I melt away.’”

Lesson: Timing is everything.
 
Listen to Frosty’s advice and consider good timing in your marketing. There has been a lot of extensive research put into finding the right moment to share on social, send email, and post blog posts:

 
However, there are too many variables involved to know for sure. B2B emails may have a better open rate on a different day than B2C emails. Your target demographic may check Facebook at a different time than the general user. The important thing is to know when YOU get the most engagement, and which interactions you consider to be most important. If you are aiming to get more Facebook likes, track how your posts do in a week. If you get more likes in the morning than in the evening, continue posting when you get to the office in the morning.

Lyric: “The three words that best describe you are as follows, and I quote, ‘Stink, stank, stunk’!”

Lesson: Know how you want your business to be described.
 
When I sit down with a client to begin writing their website client, I usually ask them to describe their business in 10 words. Not only does this help me get a sense of their business, but it helps me figure out the story we are trying to tell their customers and gives me adjectives that I can work into content.

 
When someone hears your business’s name, you want positive descriptions to come to mind. Another part of that happening is having a credible reputation. This is achieved through good customer service, providing top-quality products and services to customers and consumers, and by having a web presence through outlets like a blog so that you can prove that you truly know what you are talking about. Basically, be a resource (and not a Grinch.)
 
Lyric: “Faithful friends who are dear to us gather near to us once more.”

Lesson: Cherish loyal customers and clients.
 
Happy customers become loyal customers, and they return to you time and time again, recommending you to family and friends. Staying in contact with former customers is good practice if you ever get business through word of mouth. When building your email list, made sure that you segment, having a specific list for past customers. Send them messaging that is catered to them, thanking them for their business and reminding them that you will be there if they ever need you again.
 
You can also reward past customers on social media. Consider a discount for returning customers when they give you the coupon code you provide on Facebook and Twitter.
 
Lyric: “Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say: ‘Rudolph with your nose so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?’ Then all the reindeer loved him as they shouted out with glee, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, you’ll go down in history!”

Lesson: A good testimonial can work wonders.
 
One great review could sway a potential customer from choosing the “other guy.” And while traditional PR and digital marketing can get your name out there, it is up to you to make sure your name is getting the praise it deserves. If you come across a particularly happy customer, don’t hesitate to ask them for a testimonial and share it with others. Social media, websites, and brochures are just three places where you can include a blurb from a customer to boost your credibility.
 
Lyric: “He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!”

Lesson: Google knows all.
 
Sure, you can try to get away with old tactics. You can write poor-quality, keyword-stuffed blog posts in hopes of moving up the search ranks. You can make fake social media accounts to leave good reviews and positive comments on your business page. You can even pay to get on sites that build less-than-credible links back to your site.
 
But Google can’t be fooled.
 
The Google algorithm is constantly being refined to weed out things like poor content and link farming. And at the end of the day, businesses using those tactics are losing Google’s top spots, and their websites are filled with articles that provide no value to customers.

Don’t risk getting on the naughty list. Follow best practices and write great content.