Remington BeggOne of the best ways to keep your social media account both engaging your current followers and attracting new people is to share relevant posts, capitalizing on trending holidays and news stories. This is often referred to as “newsjacking”- meaning you inject your own ideas and brand into a breaking news story to reach people directly and generate name recognition. This will capitalize on the popularity of a news story to amplify your sales and marketing success. While some news stories happen fast and it can be a struggle to produce a remarkable piece of content that is appropriate, this is not the case with holidays. You know Christmas is coming, and you know people will be talking about it, so plan for it!
Include Everyone
First and foremost, remember that “the Holidays” don’t necessarily mean “Christmas.” This can be a touchy subject to people on both sides, just look at the recent Starbucks cup controversy. Exactly how much focus you put on one specific holiday is up to you, but remember to keep your buyer personas in mind when deciding. If you’re a Jewish deli or a Christian bookstore, you’re choice may be pretty easy, but for a plumber it’s probably best to stay generic. Snowflakes, snowmen, and pictures of families spending time together all convey the holiday spirit without excluding any one particular group.
Decorate Your Profile Photos
Decorating your profile photo on Facebook and Twitter is an easy way to show your holiday spirit. Your photos should always primarily represent the values and personality of your brand, so if you want to get your audience in the seasonal spirit you can change it to reflect that. When you change your profile or cover photo on Facebook, it will alert all of your fans on their newsfeed, so it’s a fantastic way to keep your brand fresh in their minds.
Share a Season-Only Offer
The holiday season means a lot of your followers are looking to buy presents for their loved ones. Messages like “one day only”, “limited quantity sales”, “buy-one-get-one free”, “holiday coupons” are sure to get people clicking. For the best results, share these offers in an image, so people won’t scroll to quickly and miss it.
Start Holiday-Related Conversations
Social media is meant to be social, so use the holiday season to give your posts some festive spin. This way, you can get people excited not only about the season but also about your brand.
Create posts that create a dialogue, like asking people for their most memorable Christmas moment, favorite holiday food, best part of the holiday season.
Schedule Posts Before Leaving the Office
While you may be tempted to think your social media account can go dark on Christmas Day, that’s when many of your followers will have the down time to scroll through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. But you don’t have to actually work over the holidays if you schedule posts before the leave the office. This way, your fans will see your cheery holidays message and you can enjoy some much-needed time away from your desk.
Social media doesn’t have to be business-only, make it fun and festive! You’ll get more people excited about your brand, while keeping yourself from running out of bland content at the same time. For more helpful suggestions, download our free eBook Mastering Social Media for Business.
