The holidays can be a stressful time. Between shopping, traffic, and family drama, there is very little bandwidth left to plan, create, and post holiday content that’s witty and engaging – that’s why it’s so crucial to plan ahead.
The sooner the better, but you should at least have your content scheduled before Thanksgiving. Because once turkey day comes and goes, it’s a landslide into the December holidays.
In this blog, you’ll find tips for planning and creating holiday social media posts that generate buzz and boost your brand.
Examples of Successful Holiday Social Media Campaigns
Remember those “Elf Yourself” videos that went viral a few years ago? Office Depot’s interactive app has been downloaded more than 92 million times, and the company doesn’t have to create a single one of these videos. The Office Depot brand isn’t as easily shareable compared with something like Starbucks, but with a fun idea, anything is possible. If you’re worried that your product or service isn’t “exciting” enough, use Office Depot as inspiration to think outside the box!
The Giving Machine is another classic feel-good holiday idea. Someone approaches the vending machine and instead of buying something for themselves, chooses to give items like shoes or books to those in need.
The promotional video doesn’t feel like an ad, making it the perfect example of a highly shareable holiday video. Your company may not have the budget for your own Giving Machine, but a local production company can help you create a polished video that your followers will want to share.
4 Easy Holiday Social Media Post Ideas
Here are a few ideas for companies that companies of all sizes and budgets can use to engage with their followers during the most wonderful time of the year.
1. Host a Giveaway
The old saying “you have to give to get” rings true in the world of social media. Retail stores are offering BOGO’s and gifts with purchases all season long, so why not host a holiday giveaway on your social accounts?
A simple and popular way to host a giveaway is to have your followers like, share, or tag a friend on your post. This strategy is an easy way to gain followers and boost engagement.
2. Run a Branded Contest
Another way to host a giveaway is to have your followers create content to enter a contest. This helps a social media manager tremendously not only in terms of having usable content they don’t need to create but also because user-generated content is a very high-performing type of free advertising.
3. Spread a Little Good Will
Is your business involved in a charitable cause? Now’s the perfect time to highlight that in your social posts. Promoting your values is an easy way to build trust with your audience while giving back to the community.
4. Be Yourself
You don’t always have to be promoting something – sometimes, the most effective branded social content has nothing to do with your brand. Posting your employees’ favorite recipes or holiday crafts adds a human element to your social media marketing that your followers can connect with.
How to Plan & Implement Your Campaign
Ideas are great, but you’re going to need a solid strategy to bring your holiday social media posts to life. Follow these steps to get your campaign rolling:
Step 1: Do Your Homework
Conduct industry-relevant research before adding holiday posts to your content calendar. Pick a few competitors to investigate and scan their previous holiday posts. Then, ask yourself a few questions:
- What type of messaging were they using? (Was it sentimental? Funny? Look at what worked and what didn’t)
- What type of content were they posting? (Videos, images, content from users? See what resonated and what didn’t)
- What can you create that your audience hasn’t seen before? (The holidays are the time to get creative and test unconventional content)
Step 2: Pick Products or Services You Want to Highlight
When planning content, whether it’s a photo, video, or blog post, there are a few things to consider regarding your products and services.
- Is there a product or service you offer that would make a great gift?
- Is there a popular item you would like to promote with a special holiday deal?
Along these lines, you might want to consider creating a unique landing page showcasing your holiday promotions on your website – you can link to it on all of your social media bios and holiday posts!
Step 3: Get Creative
And now the fun part – the creative!
Use the holiday post ideas above to create sentimental stories and videos, and to encourage user-generated content. According to Psychology Today, consumers are 39 percent more likely to share your content if it’s shown in a video format. It’s also 56 percent more likely to receive a “like” and 36 percent more likely to be commented on.
Tip: appeal to emotions, not just wallets. As consumers, we’re bombarded with aggressive ads to purchase things during the holidays, and you don’t want to present your company to your audience in that manner. Appeal to their emotions and interests, as opposed to sounding like an infomercial.
One final thing – it almost goes without saying, but whatever content you choose to create should be high quality. If you can not produce this type of content yourself, that’s where a production agency comes in. At Slice, we specialize in creating engaging photo and video content for your brand – contact us today to learn how.
Step 4: Add The (Jingle) Bells and Whistles
Think about incorporating a hashtag or tagline into your campaign idea. A hashtag is an easy way for people to piggyback off a campaign and post their own content.
In addition to creating a unique hashtag, you can improve your reach by adding some of the most popular holiday hashtags to your posts – so when people want to #shoplocalthischristmas or find a #christmasgiveaway, they’ll know exactly where to find you!
Step 5: Create a Content Calendar
A content calendar is an easy way to organize your social posts year-round. Here are some tips to keep yours organized and up to date this holiday season:
- For some people, Christmas starts the day after Halloween – try to start your holiday campaign ASAP!
- What channels and what aspects of those channels are you posting on? For example, don’t just jot down “Instagram” – make sure you specify whether you’ll be using posts, stories, IGTV, or all three.
- How often are you posting on each platform, and what is the best time to post?
- What hashtags are you going to use? Including these in your content calendar helps give you a big-picture view of your campaign.
If you don’t already have a social content calendar in place, check out these content and tracking calendars to help you save time.
Step 6: Schedule & Post!
Once you have your calendar ready, it’s time to import your content into a system that will post for you. That way, you can focus on other holiday happenings! Some popular scheduled posting services include Buffer, Hootsuite, and Latergramme.
Feeling inspired by the ideas above? Get the high-quality photo and video content you need for your holiday social media posts from a professional production and post-production company in Tampa, FL. Give us a call at 727-267-0650 or email [email protected] to see how we can help you create some holiday magic on your social channels!
