Tips for Marketing on Social Media During the Holidays
The holiday season is just around the corner and, before you know it, it will have come and gone! For obvious reasons, however, the holiday season can be a cumbersome one to anticipate and prepare for.
Not only does it come with the expectation that it will be your largest quarter of earnings but it’s also accompanied by the pressure to perform, prepare, and profit.
As a business owner and/or marketing professional, it’s important to strategize your marketing efforts for the holidays in preparation for the uptick in consumer spending and the logistical complexities that accompany it.
By identifying your goals and objectives early on, acting in a proactive fashion, and becoming aware of common failures and mistakes many businesses make during the holiday season, you set yourself up for the ultimate holiday success story.
One primary pathway that must be prioritized, especially in today’s digital age? You guessed it… Social media!
Brief History of Holiday Marketing
Advertising has used the iconic imagery of Christmas since the late 1800s-early 1900s, with themes of Christmas portrayed through promotional materials of products and services.
In fact, in 1931, Coca-Cola was the first to advertise its products and promote its brand through the use of Christmas-related content, specifically, with the iconic figure, Santa Clause. This strategy enabled Coca-Cola to elicit emotion, trigger nostalgia, create social significance, and ultimately, drive traffic and boost their bottom line.
The role that advertising has played with respect to the Christmas holidays, both in history and in modern, digitally advanced times, has been tremendous. It has shown the power of content when it comes to promotion and the encouragement of consumerism.
Social Media Marketing During the Holidays
Since the globalization of Christmas, and in more recent years with the rise of social media, content has become king. Failure to take full advantage of the holiday season, particularly via social media marketing, is a failure to capture a sizeable piece of the pie that is holiday consumerism.
In order to optimize holiday conversions and increase online engagement, a well-thought-out social media marketing strategy must be created. Below are three social media marketing tips on how to do so:
Start Early & Create a Schedule
As noted in the preface, the holiday season is quickly creeping up and will be over before we know it. As such, it’s important to act now by scheduling your holiday content in advance.
Scheduling doesn’t only include organic content, either. Instead, it should comprise key shopping days, promotions, and so on…
Not only will this create buzz and momentum for the promotions that follow but it will reduce your burden as a business, allowing you to focus on the more important logistical tasks once the holidays officially begin.
Appeal to Emotion
No matter the time of year, an effective social media content strategy appeals to the emotions of the consumer. This becomes particularly evident during the holiday season.
Whether through nostalgic content or holiday-themed imagery, sharing content that elicits some emotional response will inevitably increase the likelihood of conversion, and at the very least increase engagement.
Create a Sense of Exclusivity
Whether through holiday-themed giveaways, sales, or promotions, creating a sense of exclusivity inevitably increases the interest of the consumer, further encouraging them to convert.
Simply put, in order to use Christmas-related content to your advantage, consider using Christmas-related hashtags, launch exclusive campaign giveaways, and ensure that the content your distributing is engaging and relevant.
A Final Word
The holiday season has the potential of being a business’s peak selling season, largely due to the inevitable uptick in consumer spending. As such, holiday digital marketing efforts, both on social media and otherwise, are crucial.
Not only does it provide the ability to increase sales and profits but it also allows for the acquisition of new customers; not to mention, it also opens the doors for clearing out excess inventory, making room for the new year!
Choosing the platform is the easiest thing; it is behind the scenes that is hard. Download our Social Media 101 Guide to help you with the basics of social media.
