It’s that time of year again! Everyone’s favorite time of year. Fall fashion, holiday parties, gift giving, uncontrollable eating, being surrounded by loved ones, and not to mention a little time off from work if you are lucky. If social media is a part of your personal marketing or branding efforts to grow your business, there are no holidays so to speak. In fact the holiday season is the PERFECT time to amp up your online presence!
Creating a social media network is one thing, but maintaing it year round is another thing and can be quite daunting at times. The world around us, especially the world online, is constantly changing faster than we can sometimes keep up with it… especially around the holidays.
So, what do you do? You prepare in advance, that is what.
I know it is our natural reaction to push this to the very bottom of our holiday to-do list, but not capitalizing on this emotional and vulnerable time of the year could mean losing the loyalty of potential and current customers. People are more active online during the holiday season than any other time of the year. If anything your strategy should increase, not be abandoned.
The time is NOW! We are just about to leave the calm before the holiday storm. With that being said, below are some of the tips we suggest to stay on track with social media during the upcoming season while still having time to conquer your check lists.
1. “Festivize” your logos
If only for a short time, you can do something creative to display your company brand in a photo that you can post to your social media pages. Carve your logo into a pumpkin, arrange the Thanksgiving place settings or center pieces as your logo, draw it in the snow, create a mini christmas light logo, place it on an ornament and take a picture of it on your tree… the options are endless. Creativity knows no boundaries.
2. Share your recipes
I imagine this holiday social media practice is a no brainer for most everyone. Remember the 80/20 rule: 80% of your posts should entertain and entice, while 20% should push product or promote. This is an optimal time to take advantage of that 80% with little to no effort at all. Desserts are always a crowd pleaser.
3. Make it personal
This time of year the focus switches to friends and family, and often our marketing efforts get lost in the viral world where we forget there are human beings behind the brands we interact with online. Post REAL photos of you and your family or coworkers celebrating the holidays. It could be a product party, a dinner, cooking together, shopping, you name it! Put a face (literally) behind the brand that your fans are interacting with. Emotions are running high right now, so tap into them before it ends!
4. Highlight quintessential holiday traditions
We associate this time of year with so many pop culture traditions. These traditions, or nationally recognizable events, are what draw people together, despite their differences throughout the rest of the year. There are some things we just ALL like: parades, NFL games, ABC Family’s 25 days of Christmas, Black Friday, Christmas angels, light shows, and of course the infamous Pumpkin Spice Laté.
5. #Hashtag, #Hashtag, #Hashtag
During the holidays your trending hashtagging options increase exponentially. Do a little research to see what some of the more successful leaders in your industry have posted in the past or are posting this season. It doesn’t have to be out-of-this-world creative either. In fact this is probably one of the easiest social media holiday strategies to master. It could be anything as simple as #HappyHolidays to #ThanksgivingTradition.