Build Followers Before the Holidays with Promotional Content

5 Types of 2019 Holiday Social Media Content to Create Now

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The holidays are right around the corner. Start preparing your social media content for the festive season.

Social media builds brand awareness and engagement for small businesses. This marketing channel is most effective when teams produce content ahead of schedule. So, developing a social calendar with specific content types will keep your brand relevant and fun.

Gear up your audience for the holidays. Here are 5 examples of social media content you can create today.

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1. Build Holiday Anticipation 

In 2018, “online shopping had a double-digit uptick, with gains of 19.1% on the previous holiday season.” For your small business, this news means a potential for more sales this season. Get your customers excited for the holiday rush by building anticipation with social media content. 

Your goal is to set a future expectation for your audience. It should appeal to their emotions and increase their eagerness. Anticipation comes in several different forms. You can post multiple clues leading up to a special VIP holiday event. Or you can express the desire to do a particular holiday activity, like spending time with your family near the fireplace.

Over the years, Starbucks’ announcement of its pumpkin spice latte marks the unofficial start of the fall. The coffee brand energizes its followers with tweets about the upcoming season.

With the purpose of building holiday anticipation, map out a plan to schedule these social posts. You don’t want to start too late. Rather, give your small business time to draw in followers and direct them to your website.

2. Spread the Holiday Spirit

The holiday season brings family and friends together. During this time of the year, people love brightening someone’s day with a smile or an act of kindness. Your brand can do the same by spreading the holiday spirit online.

Get your audience in the mood with holiday pictures. Post images of people decorating for the season or gathering around the dinner table to share a meal. Also, nothing screams the holidays like good music. You can jazz up your video posts with songs, like Jingle Bells or Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Home Depot spreads the holiday spirit with Facebook posts showing the joy of kids in Halloween costumes. It’s an effective segue into promoting the brand’s home decor products. 

holiday social media post

To expand your social media posts’ reach, Forbes contributor Lilach Bullock recommends using hashtags:

“Find the right holiday hashtags: using the right hashtags in your tweets and Instagram updates can make a big difference in reach and engagement. Take the time to research festive hashtags that you can use in your updates.”

3. Highlight Seasonal Products

Let’s not forget the holiday season equals shopping. Your potential customers are buying gifts for their loved ones. And of course, you want them to shop at your small business.

Shoppers don’t just purchase anything; they like to do research first. According to Square, “66% of customers do research on purchases of less than $50.”

Keep this fact in mind as you create social media content. Your posts should talk to informed buyers who desire specific details about your products. 

So, promote photos showing the product at multiple angles. Specify the product dimensions in your social copy, and add a call-to-action link for consumers to visit the product page on your website.

On Facebook, H&M wastes no time priming its customers for fall shopping. The fashion retailer couples an engaging photo with a link to purchase the products.

social media content for fall holiday season

Avoid being too salesy when highlighting your seasonal products. Consumers don’t want to feel forced into a purchase—only to have buyer’s remorse later. Instead, your team should frame these types of posts as recommendations and schedule them amongst your other content.

4. Promote Holiday Contests

Holiday contests pique people’s interest to engage with your small business. Winning a prize during this festive season would only make you fans’ day even better. 

Start with the social channel that gets the most engagement. You will use that platform as the main hub for your holiday contest. Next, decide how you want your followers to enter the contest. For example, you may ask them to post a comment on Facebook, or tag a friend on Twitter. 

If you want lots of people to enter, it’s important to promote a worthwhile prize. Taylor Larson, associate content creator at Ignite Social Media, offers some advice: 

“Expand your brand’s reach and incentivize followers by offering delightful prizes and running exclusive promotions, sweepstakes, and contests. Be sure to keep the barrier to entry low, to increase engagement and generate UGC.”

Samsung created a holiday sweepstakes for its Twitter followers. This viral promotion included tagging a friend, so both entrants could win a prize.

Get creative when hosting a holiday contest. You want people telling everyone they know about your seasonal giveaways. (Speaking of which, keep an eye on the HostGator blog to stay in the loop for our own holiday promotions and giveaways!)

5. Spotlight Holiday Causes 

The holidays center around giving back to less fortunate communities. It’s also an opportunity to amplify specific causes.

This holiday season, your small business should make it a priority to champion one cause. It’s the right thing to do, and it reflects a positive image on your brand.

For this type of social media post, the key is to stress authenticity. No one likes brands to show fake support for a cause just to get extra followers or media buzz.

Be genuine in your approach. Tell your audience exactly how you plan to help the community. Showing a picture (or two) of the impact of your giving adds credibility as well.

Walmart gives back in a special way and highlights the impact on its Instagram account. The big box brand made sure to tag its partner, the New York Yankees baseball team.

co-branded holiday promotion on social media

Engage your followers by encouraging them to support a nonprofit or cause of their choice. You can even ask fans to share pictures of them volunteering.

Create a Pre-Holiday Social Media Game Plan

With the holidays quickly approaching, your small business needs a social media holiday marketing strategy. You can prepare today by developing content that builds anticipation, spreads the holiday spirit, and promotes your seasonal products.