I smell pumpkin spice when I pick up my tea latte at Starbucks. That’s when I know the holidays are coming. It’s not the natural shift in earth’s rhythms that declare a new season–in Middle Tennessee it’ll feel like summer until Thanksgiving day. It’s not the flipping through my calendar to take note of the upcoming family dinners and celebrations. Rather, its the shift in products and social media marketing that emphasizes all things pumpkin and holly.
When it comes to your business, there’s no time to wait for you to “feel” like the holiday season has arrived. If you’ve done that, you’re likely missing out on an opportunity to boost to your social media presence.
A full social media presence is linked to brand visibility and heightened customer engagement, which is especially important around the peak holiday season (think Black Friday – New Year’s). Tis the season to spice up your social media marketing and to tell your customers–new and old–what your brand is about.
Here’s your first gift of the season: Your Holiday Social Media Checklist
1. Change headers and profile pictures to match a holiday theme.
While staying on brand, consider changing your headers and profile pictures to bring a holiday feel to your page. For the months of October and November, consider a fall foliage look. In December a snowy backdrop or a cozy fireplace shot is a great option. This shows your attention to detail and gives your audience new images to engage with. Your profile picture likely stays the same the other nine months of the year!
2. Create a holiday content calendar with holiday-themed posts.
Your audience is anticipating holiday themed everything wherever they look, and that includes you! This provides an excellent opportunity to switch out your crusty evergreen content with something fresh and seasonal. Consider adding content from these categories:
- Sentiment. Create content that tells a story. How has your brand positively influenced your audience? Does it empower women? Does it make people look and feel their best? Whatever it is, share the stories that make people feel good about what you do.
- Holiday specific. Consider what holidays your audience celebrates. Not everyone celebrates Christmas! As you create special “Happy Thanksgiving” or “Merry Christmas” posts, consider creating a post for other special holidays during this time that your audience may celebrate such as Diwali, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah.
- Questions. Ask holiday themed questions. People love to engage with these types of posts. Consider asking, “What is your favorite holiday memory?” or “What are you bringing to your Thanksgiving dinner this year?” Be sure to respond authentically to comments.
- Tutorials. When the holiday season kicks in, we tend to get in the D-I-Y mood. If it matches your brand, consider making simple tutorial videos to inspire your audience. For example, if you’re ‘a hair salon, consider making a tutorial video showing how to do an easy updo for a holiday party; If you’re an interior designer create a tutorial on how to create affordable holiday home decor or tablescape. Engagement will boom!
3. Incorporate your holiday promotions into your social strategy.
It’s the greatest revenue generating season of the year! Utilize your social presence to strategically share promotions and upcoming sales while finding a balance between promotional content and the fun bonus content you post.
As you determine your sales for the season, keep these busy buying days in mind.
Black Friday: November 23
Small Business Saturday: November 24
Cyber Monday: November 26
Giving Tuesday: November 27
Super Saturday: December 16
After Christmas: December 26 – January 1
4. Schedule all posts in advance using tech tools.
Schedule everything in advance so you can shift your focus to engagement and evaluation once the holidays are in full swing. You’ll save your time, energy, and sanity if you have this completed in advance of the rush that floods your business and home during the holidays. You can schedule directly in Facebook, but consider using tech tools like SmarterQueue, HootSuite, or Later to do so.
5. Use social media as a tool to boost your charitable giving.
The holidays are the most wonderful time of the year because they inspire people to give generously to those they love and to their community. Consider ways your business can give generously this season — whether that’s with your time, treasure, or talent. Volunteer with team members at a homeless shelter. Purchase gifts for families in need. Support local nonprofits by making a charitable donation with your increased holiday season revenue. You can use your social media presence to boost the way you give this season.
- Spread awareness about the mission of a nonprofit your business is partnering with this season.
- Encourage your followers to give through your organization by collecting items (clothes, toys, food, money) to donate to a nonprofit organization in your community. Promote this on your social profiles, and be sure to create follow up posts that show your business donating all the items to the partnered organization.
- Create posts that emphasize how your business is socially conscious and “doing good” this season. Post pictures of employees volunteering together or dropping off donated items.
6. Evaluate and plan ahead.
As your scheduled posts begin to be published, check in periodically to see what is working well and what needs to be revised. Ask yourself, What type of posts are receiving the most engagement (likes, retweets/shares, comments)? What type of posts are receiving no engagement? What time of day are people engaging with my page most? Each social platform has their specific analytic features that you can review to better understand your audience and tailor your content to meet their interests. Based on your simple evaluation, make small shifts in your social media plan, and take note for what you can do next holiday season based on this year’s successes.
Now it is time for you to get busy! Have questions or comments? Find me in the Bombshell Business app.
About the Author
Abby Hyman
Amber Hurdle Consulting
Social Media
Abby Hyman is the Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator for Amber Hurdle Consulting. She is an expert in strategically coordinating multiple social media profiles for personal brand clients, consistently showcasing each client while maintaining a unique voice and staying on brand. With a background in nonprofit leadership and public relations, she uses her expertise for good, providing branding and organizational health support to community organizations. Abby’s passion to see women, people of color, and other marginalized groups succeed drives her compassionate and goal-focused approach to social media strategizing that brings awareness and increases sales.
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