The holidays are here again. That means it’s time to pull out all the stops to activate your current customers, bring in new ones, and close the year strong.
This time of year, it seems like every business on every corner has its most festive foot forward, whether physically in-store or online via its internet presence.
Speaking of internet presence, few places are the bright lights and shiny objects of holiday marketing so apparent as they are on social media. With Santa hats gracing every Facebook profile picture, social media marketing during the holidays can look like a field that’s just too crowded to fit any more advertisers.
So how do you cut through the noise that comes with holiday marketing? How do you grab the attention of your current and future customers, no matter how stressed or overwhelmed they are by the holidays?
Try these eight holiday marketing ideas, all of which we’ve whittled down to provide maximum efficiency and convenience to your campaigns. Check them out below.
8 Social Media Holiday Marketing Ideas
Perhaps you’ve thought of some of these ideas before. Perhaps they’re new to you.
Even if you think you’re familiar with one, we encourage you to read deeply and do your own research. There may be aspects you overlooked when assembling previous campaigns. Take notes, and we trust at least one of these can help you improve your company’s holiday marketing efforts.
1. Spruce Up Your Hashtags
“Hashtag” is a word we never used before social media existed! Now that it’s in the lexicon, it’s time to maximize this tool to your company’s advantage. The holidays are the perfect time to bust out festive and seasonally appropriate hashtags.
You can even have a little fun with them. Sure, there are the standbys, like #Christmas, #Hanukkah, #Kwanzaa, #Diwali, #happyholidays, #Christmasshopping, and #wishlist. But you can also add your own branding into the mix.
This is the time to get creative, so don’t be afraid to show your company’s sense of humor. A little #pumpkinspicesomethingorother goes a long way.
2. Create Sample Wishlists
This is where the research you have on your customers will come in handy.
Ideally, you know what some of your most frequent customers look like, demographically. So, depending on the product or service you offer, create sample wishlists for your customers. This can give them ideas for their own holiday wishlists.
Your customers will appreciate the suggestions, and they’ll seek out your company for the fulfillment of their lists.
To get you started, here are a few demographics to target during the holidays.
- Parents
- College students home for winter break
- School-age children
- Single people who may be celebrating the holidays in less traditional ways
3. Design Nifty Landing Pages
A landing page is an eye-catching way to show your company is in the holiday spirit and avoid the usual pitfalls of business web page design.
There are so many choices when it comes to how you can decorate your landing page. You can go holiday-specific, with Christmas trees and Christmas cookies or menorot and dreidels. Or you can pick a more general theme based on the weather or geography in which your company makes its home.
Once you’ve got these landing pages up and running, it’s time to promote them on your social media profiles. Link to them in your bios, and plug these links every once in a while to remind your customers you’re still in the giving and celebrating mood.
4. Gift Guides on Gift Guides on Gift Guides
The gift guide works like a wishlist from the inside out.
Instead of creating fictional ideal customers and proposing things they might enjoy, you’re giving your real customers ideas for what to buy for the people in their lives.
Here’s what this looks like in practice. A mother may use a wishlist to get ideas for what she wants other to buy for her. But if she’s shopping for a spouse, a child, a coworker, or a distant relative, that’s four gift guides she could consult to brainstorm.
Another benefit of the gift guide is its visual possibilities. You can post many images next to the products you list, and these images play well when part of a post on social media.
5. Make Eye-Popping Visuals
We’ve hinted at this suggestion in other items on this list, but it’s such a powerful tool that it deserves some attention on its own.
Social media is a visual medium, even on platforms like Facebook where you often read a lot of text. The posts that get attention first are the ones that come with tantalizing and evocative images.
Fortunately, the holidays are chock full of image post potential. There are recipes to share, completed meals to brag about, and unique new gifts people need to see for themselves.
6. Share Stories
Yes, we mean this in multiple ways. Of course, you want your ideal campaign to include a narrative which progresses throughout the holidays.
But just as importantly, you can use the here-and-then-its-gone power of stories on platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook to engage your customers right away.
As powerful as an image is, a well-crafted story post with funny and relevant video clips is even more powerful.
7. Host Competitions and Giveaways
This is where you can start to combine these ideas. You can use hashtags to promote your giveaway, and you can link to bright, powerful images in the lead-up to the giveaway. You can even cross-promote the fact that some of the items in your giveaways may appear on the wishlists and gift guide you’ve created.
8. Partner With Other Businesses
The holidays are all about the spirit of giving. What says “giving” better than teaming other with another business, or better yet, a charity that is relevant to your customers.
These partnerships can be win-win situations for all parties involved, and posting on social media is a powerful way to promote these partnerships. You receive exposure to a different customer base, and you show your existing customers your collaborative spirit.
‘Tis the Season to Be Posting
We hope you’ve mined these holiday marketing ideas for ways to put your company and brand over the top this holiday season. Marketing is often high-stress and high-stakes, but effective social media usage is all about being authentic and having fun. We think we’ve shown you how to leverage these platforms in ways that reduce rather than add to your stress.
We can also help if you’re looking for more information on social media marketing.
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