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‘Tis the season. Chestnuts are roasting on the open fire, carols are being sung in the snow and social media is rife with brands looking to capitalize off of the biggest spending period in the year.
If there’s ever a time to go all out on social media, the holidays are it.
But with so many content possibilities and promotional opportunities, it can be tough to know where to start.
Not only that, but the holidays can be extremely hectic in terms of logistics, customer service, and community management. So how do you brace your brand’s social media for the holidays?
Today we’ll be going over a checklist of things to look out for when planning your posts, successful Christmas social media marketing campaign examples and several Christmas social media post ideas that are sure to fill your audience with holiday cheer.
How important is social media for brands during Christmas?
The statistics speak for themselves. 23% of Christmas shoppers in the U.S. rely on social media to help them make the right buying decision. Visual platforms like Pinterest present a great opportunity for brands to share high quality holiday-themed boards.
Influencer marketing can also yield substantial rewards as influencers’ engagement rates are generally up during Christmas and New Years. This increase in screen time combined with consumer curiosity can be leveraged by brands to promote their products natively.
In addition, the month of December ranks highest for impulse purchases during the year, so implementing scarcity, discounts, and other promotional tactics can help boost conversions.
And since more than 60% of US consumers prefer to buy their holiday gifts online, e-commerce brands are especially inclined to leverage the power of social media to reach as many consumers as possible.
Planning for the holidays: what to consider when creating your Christmas social media strategy
It’s all too easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays. While Christmas may be the most wonderful time of the year in terms of profit (some brands make up to 30% of their annual profit during this time), it’s also generally the most frantic.
While the Christmas months offer amazing opportunities for businesses of all sizes, don’t get too transfixed by the money signs just yet. In order to make the holidays a glowing success, you need a rock-solid plan in place first. Here is a checklist of things to keep in mind when planning your Christmas social media posts.
Plan ahead
People usually need time to plan their holiday shopping and garner some ideas, so reminding your customers that Christmas is coming at the end of November is definitely a good idea. One way you can do this is by scheduling a series of newsletters that will go out at regular intervals before Christmas with a nice personal touch in them. It’s also a good idea to plan out your creatives. Think about the campaigns you want to know you’ll want to launch. Do they require videos, pictures, graphic designs or all three? Make sure you’re not cutting it down to the wire with content creation as that can cause several unnecessary headaches. You can also take advantage of platforms like Kontentino to schedule, create and organize your Christmas social media posts ahead of time. Planning ahead is one of the best ways to ensure you create great social media content.
Thinking about changing your social media management tool? Read our post about Best Hootsuite Alternatives and decide for yourself.
Align your branding
Christmas is a time of reds and greens, sparkles and snow. But what if that doesn’t fit with your branding? While many product-based businesses can make it work, some brands simply don’t have that level of flexibility. So instead of trying to force your product into the holiday aesthetic, take a page out of Porsche’s book.
Instead of overpowering their traditional, minimalist branding with an explosion of festive glitter, they stuck with muted tones and created the unmistakable shape of a Christmas tree from the tail lights of their five most popular car models.
Clear team communication
Normal workdays are laden with emails and Zoom meetings as it is, and the holidays are no different. As Christmas gets closer, it’s important to collaborate clearly with copywriters, managers, content creators, etc. to plan and approve social posts in a seamless manner. Using tools like Kontentino, designed to help social media teams save time and communicate effectively can give you breathing room to focus on customer service and putting together creative campaigns.
Survey the landscape
This is a good strategy to implement in general, especially true during the holidays. Every year, new trends, hashtags, and promotional methods become popularized that can give you inspiration for your own social media. Check out your competition’s social profiles and see how they’re preparing for the Christmas rush. Take note of any giveaways or contests they’re running. You can also use Facebook Ads Library to spy on their ads and take inspiration.
Christmas social media campaign examples
There’s no shortage of amazing holiday marketing campaigns out there, some of which are bafflingly good. Here are 3 examples of brands that took it to the level.
1. Air Canada
Air Canada’s #ACgiftofhome campaign was a social media campaign made to pull on the heartstring of Canadians worldwide.
The motive behind the campaign was “…to give Canadians living abroad one of the best gifts imaginable.”
The official campaign video showed two Air Canada pilots entering a pub and giving round-trip tickets to everyone present to visit Canada for the holiday season.
The video was 100% genuine and over 200 people were able to fly back home for the holidays, free of charge.
The Youtube video got over 3 million views and if the comments and Twitter threads are indication, the campaign was a smashing success.
2. Coca-Cola
No marketing campaign example list is complete without Coca-Cola. The fizzy drink distributor is one of the biggest advertisers in the world and has poured billions into creating heart-warming ads with incredible production value. Coca-Cola’s Christmas Commercial 2020 highlights that perfectly which makes it stand out as a great example of a Christmas social media post idea. It features an emotional story, conflict, and of course, flying whales. While Coca-Cola’s 2020 Christmas ad isn’t exclusively a social media campaign, the video garnered nearly 9 million views and helped bring awareness to the importance of family during trying times. Their short yet sweet description was the cherry on top:
“This Christmas, give something only you can give.
Be it in person, over an awkward video call, or just a quick message, making time for the ones you love is what makes Christmas truly the most special time of year, no matter how you do it.
Wherever you are, we hope you have a good one.
Merry Christmas”
Coca Cola is a perfect example of how great storytelling, relatability and exceptional visuals can make or break your campaign.
3. UPS
Another good example that you can add to your Christmas social media post ideas is from UPS. The point of UPS’s Wishes Delivered was to turn the dreams of customers into reality. Customers were asked to upload their holiday wishes along with the hashtag #wishesdelivered on social media and some of those wishes were fulfilled by UPS. The campaign was also connected to several non-profit organizations such as the Salvation Army, Toys for Tots, and Boys & Girls Club of America. Money was raised for these charities every time a special wish was made using the hashtag. The strategy for the campaign was to create a positive message during the busiest time of the year for delivery service providers. UPS didn’t want to simply market how amazing their services are, they wanted to connect with people through authenticity. According to UPS the campaign produced 374,000 shares, 29+ million video views, 130 million impressions, and 330k positive social interactions. The video was even nominated for a Shorty Award.
Some key things to take away from these examples are the importance of authenticity and emotion in marketing, especially during the holidays. Christmas is a time of people, giving, and unity. When planning out your Christmas social media campaigns make sure to keep the spirit of Christmas in mind; you’ll be sure to connect with your audience.
Christmas social media post ideas
Now that you have a checklist of guidelines to follow and a few shining examples of Christmas marketing done right, let’s go over some Christmas content ideas.
Contests and giveaways
People are competitive by nature and they love winning. Not only that, but your engaged audience of returning customers would love nothing more than being featured by a brand they love. An obvious prize to offer would be a free product, but if your budget is tight then something like a discount will do.
Creative life hacks
Whether it’s a tutorial on how to roast the perfect turkey, gift wrapping techniques, or a 100 step guide on how to get along with the in-laws, sharing holiday-themed how-to’s are a great way to add value and make your audience’s lives easier.
Promotional offers
Who doesn’t love a good discount? With 22% of Americans worried that their Christmas spending may put them in debt, offering a discount isn’t just a good marketing move, it’s a way to embody the giving spirit of the holidays.
12 days of Christmas
The Twelve Days of Christmas is a staple Christmas carol worldwide. Marketers can take inspiration from the song and post a thematic timeline during the 12 days before Christmas. For example, you can share 12 ways to use your product/service.
Holiday-themed boards on Pinterest
Atmospheric marketing has a very strong tradition: a 1998 study by Yoo, Park and Macinnis showed that design, as well as lighting, music, and decoration, had a major influence on consumers’ tendency to buy on impulse. We touched briefly on the importance of keeping your branding in line with any holiday-themed posts so think of ways you can fit your product/service into the aesthetic of Christmas while keeping it feeling natural.
Countdowns to New Year’s
The countdown to New Year is one of the most highly anticipated events of the entire year. You can leverage this excitement and get creative by showing how your team counts down to New Year, or you can just share a video of stunning fireworks shows. For 2019 New Year’s Eve, The Telegram showed off Dubai’s countdown.
Showcase your products as “the perfect gift”.
This technique may teeter on the basic side but considering it’s the giving season, might as well remind your audience of that. The small things can go a long way in terms of boosting conversions.
Implement UGC
UGC (user-generated content), is a staple content strategy at this point and also could serve you as a great example of christmas social media post idea. Having your audience come up with fun and creative ways to portray how they use your product/service is a great way to get the shares rolling and keep your social media profiles populated with content.
That’s a wrap for Christmas social media post ideas
We hope that this guide got you in the Christmas mood and inspired you to get out there and create amazing social posts for this holiday season.
You don’t have to be a big fish to create buzz around your brand during this whimsical time of the year. All of the ingredients for a successful holiday period for your brand are probably already at your disposal and all that’s left is to take action.
Merry Christmas everyone!
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