There’s not a moment to spare when the holidays hit. After Halloween, it’s a sprint through Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s Day, and other major holidays. It’s good practice to have a plan in place ahead of the winter holidays. ‘Tis the season to shop online, take time off from work, and unwind with social media. Here are key tips to ensure that your content will pull in more attention than the star on top of the office Christmas tree this season.
Deck the Website
Just about everyone decks the halls for the holidays in some form or another, so why not take a little time to rebrand your social media platforms with matching icons, banners, and other themed imagery too? Your followers will appreciate the cheerful touch of pumpkins, garland, and fireworks for each respective celebration, and you’ll have fun decorating your online presence too. It’s a win-win!
Be Respectful
People hold deep personal reverence for many of these holidays, so while we encourage you to celebrate them alongside your fans, do your best to be respectful of the customs and meanings behind the holidays that your brand is taking part in.
Greggs forced to apologise after PR shots promoting advent calendar replace baby Jesus with a SAUSAGE ROLL pic.twitter.com/q0qwd4ISxh
— Andrew Bloch (@AndrewBloch) November 15, 2017
For instance, you don’t want to do anything like what British bakery chain Greggs did by using an insensitive photo of a Christmas manger scene that replaced Jesus with a sausage roll as a part of their Advent calendar. Christians took to Twitter to express their outrage over how the marketing campaign disrespected their faith, and the bakery was forced to issue an apology. We don’t care how funny or clever you believe something may be, think before you post!
Be Openly Festive
Have fun by giving everyone a little glimpse behind the scenes to see what your team is doing behind the scenes to celebrate. Did someone bake the prettiest pie you’ve ever seen? Post it! Don’t let that epic Jack-o-lantern go to waste- Post it! Did everyone wear goofy Christmas sweaters to the office today? You’d better post it!
Wishing you and your families a very Merry Christmas from all of us here at Rare! [ER] pic.twitter.com/3J3iuEjg5h
— Rare Ltd. (@RareLtd) December 25, 2014
Demonstrating that your social media channels are run by genuine, caring, and fun human beings has been proven to be a core tenet for building an online following that people will actively appreciate. It’s a nice way to show the world just how relatable you are by sharing the ways that you are celebrating the holidays with your followers.
Get Everyone to Share the Cheer
You’ve decorated, sent warm wishes to everyone, and stayed on your best behavior, but there’s more you can do to ensure that your fans keep you on the nice list of social media. Running giveaways, donating to charity, and encouraging positive holiday-themed engagement such as recalling fond memories and sharing tasty recipes are excellent ways to spread the cheer to everyone who has been following you all year.
This special season comes only once a year, and the majority of your followers are energetically posting all over social media about making creative costumes, wrapping presents, and sharing the “tastiest thing ever,” so keep in mind that ignoring the holiday season can be a letdown to your followers. Your brand is expected to celebrate alongside your fans, so plug in the holiday lights for Facebook, use every red and green sprinkle in the bottle on those cookies for Instagram, break out the best “cats falling over because their owner put them in a sweater” GIFs for Twitter, and have fun with it!
