Follow the guidelines below to make your Christmas social media campaign glitter like a Christmas tree! 😉
#1 Check out your competition & get personal
First things first, you need to figure out what your competitors are doing. This way, you can head in a different, more well…engaging direction. 😉
Now, since you do need to plan your campaign ahead of time, look to their past attempts to see if they stick to a pattern. This kind of research can also be helpful in figuring out what works and what doesn’t.
Once you have some idea of what your competitors may be up to, try to figure out how you can display your brand’s Christmas spirit differently – most importantly, in a way that is not all about sales.
For instance, if your competitors are all about Christmas shopping, you can construct your posts’ subject so that it promotes engagement instead: e.g. sharing personal Christmas stories, photos, recipes or present ideas. This will give you an edge and could also help raise your brand profile.
Once you have launched your own campaign, it is a good idea to keep an eye on what similar brands are doing. Again, this will show you which tactics are effective and can help you improve on your own plan.
#2 Celebrate Holidays Within Holidays – & Do Something Unconventional
Everyone knows the superstars of the holiday season – Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day. Now, while these are undoubtedly important, they are also what other brands are going to be focusing on. So, you can expect your audience to be a bit fed up with the constant attention focused on these dates.
This leaves an opening for you to switch things up with your own Christmas social media campaign. See, if you take a look at the National Day Calendar, you will discover that there are numerous smaller celebrations that you can use to engage your audience. There is everything from Cyber Monday to National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day. So, you will certainly be able to find a few suitable niches for your brand.
Since you will be taking a slightly different approach to Christmas, this particular tactic is sure to drive more people to your platform. So, make sure to execute this perfectly.
#3 It’s All About the Feels
As you are already aware, emotion is often more powerful than facts on social media. This is because people tend to have an automatic reaction to content that triggers an emotional reaction from them. And, when you consider that Christmas is often associated with positive feelings by itself, utilizing positive, uplifting emotions is key to a successful Christmas social media campaign.
- touching stories of family reunions
- stories of helping someone in need or being helped
- stories of big surprised and unexpected positive events
Of course, there are a few things to keep in mind when utilizing this tactic. First, authenticity is key. Your target audience will pick up on insincerity, particularly if it is to increase your likes and views. So, if you aren’t careful, using emotion can backfire on your campaign.
A great way to elicit emotion and be genuine about it is to find someone to help – directly or via a charity. Select one that seems to be in line with your business – there are plenty to choose from. Then, use this as a focal point of your Christmas social media campaign. Since Christmas is a time of giving, this is a point that will certainly hit home. What’s more, there is the added bonus of marketing without promoting your brand or its products.
#4 Encourage Personal Contributions to your Christmas social media campaign
In line with this sentiment, you should also construct your campaign so that people can contribute their own personal images or stories. Once again, this will fall within the “feel good” elements of Christmas. This tactic also helps take the spotlight out of brand marketing and place it back on Christmas. As a result, your campaign will feel a lot more natural and less promotional.
Asking questions and hosting polls are a great way to encourage personal contributions. Often, most people are simply looking for an opportunity to add some of their own content. What this means for your brand, though, is engagement. And, as you are aware, the more engagement that you have, the better, particularly during the holiday season.
#5 Have Focused Giveaways and Competitions
Competitions and giveaways during the Christmas period are the centerpiece of many a Christmas social media campaign. This, of course, is only natural. After all, this is the time when everyone is looking for presents. Thus, they will jump on board for any opportunity to cut down on time and cost with their Christmas shopping.
Before hosting a giveaway or a competition, though, it is important to think about what you would like the final result to be. For the customer, this would mean winning a present. However, these competitions hold an entirely different appeal for your brand. With the right tactic, you can increase your number of followers, improve engagement, or even grow your email list.
Of course, this will only be possible if you use the right strategy. For instance, do you want to increase your mailing list? Then, have people sign up to enter the competition. Want more followers? Well, set up the competition so that your current followers must tag someone else to enter.
Nevertheless, make sure that it is easy for people to enter the competition. If you make them jump through too many hoops, people may not be interested, especially if the prize isn’t that great. So, keep the terms and conditions simple wherever possible.
There are plenty of ways to make your Christmas social media campaign stand out. By following the tips mentioned here, you should have no problem keeping your brand apart from the crowd. In turn, you will be able to ensure that your Christmas social media campaign is a huge success as well.
