Including today, there are 18 days until Christmas and 25 days left until New Year. This means that we’re in the final stages of the holiday season countdown! Things have already begun to speed up and, with an ever list of things to do, being efficient is going to save us all a great deal of headache.
Preparing for this time of year doesnt have to be a chore. If anything, it can be more fun than usual! Here are a few of the small things to remember, that can make a huge difference!
1. Profile Picture & Cover Photo
This is one of the least time-consuming things that you can do to quickly make your profile more festive! As much as we all love a bit of Christmas glamour – try not to go overboard. Keep it simple by combining iconic holiday items such as Santa hats, candy canes, stockings and Christmas tree decorations with your logos & slogans.
You want to make sure that the profile picture and cover photo are consistent. Take a look at Coca-Cola’s Twitter cover, for example, this is subtle but incorporates some of the traditional Christmas cheer without overwhelming the page (even with the use of all those colours!).
2. The Festive Post
Luckily, you don’t have to be a photoshop wizard in order to create a great holiday graphic. With amazing tools like Canva and some neat free stock photography websites, you have everything that you need to create the perfect branded message for all of your social profiles. Canva also has templates for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram posts, so you have one less thing to worry about.
Also, try creating posts that put a spin on the typical Christmas & New Year festivities. Take a look at this post from Gag – chances are this has had more engagement than most holiday pieces.
Christmas, it’s the most wonderful time of the year https://t.co/VEoMm3DoWO pic.twitter.com/8r4p6zOAbH
— 9GAG (@9GAG) December 6, 2015
3. GIFs & Videos
Interactive visual content has started to take over social media. Having a fun and entertaining visual aid can really help your content stand out from the noise. If you want to grab their attention during this busy season. Use this as an opportunity to share any useful how-to’s that can generate traffic back to your website. Take a look at this great video by Stork – festive, helpful and fun too!
How do you ice a Christmas cake? @thepinkwhisk demonstrates in a few easy steps. #StorkBakesXmashttps://t.co/nkPiICh7FD — Stork (@bakewithstork) December 3, 2015
4. Competitions
Who doesn’t love a free giveaway during the festive season? Not to mention that this is the perfect opportunity to get your fans to create content. Why not ask them to post their own selfies, videos or other stand-out content in exchange for a gift. You can repost their content on your social profiles or use tools such as Tagboard and Storify to collect and showcase all of the great contributions. Infowars has done a great job of making their competition fun for everyone!
More of the competition! Enter your PC Christmas meme NOW. https://t.co/XUPsJshRHr Winner chosen by 5pm ct! #BanXmaspic.twitter.com/1GLWCTTaGD — infowars (@infowars) December 6, 2015
5. Brand Hashtags
Hashtags are a great way to target fans and generate more exposure. Not to mention that branded hashtags are also easier to track and measure. This provides you with an opportunity to start a conversation with your community and engage with them directly. Last year ASOS ran #instaadvent and generated over 2,000 photo’s during the twelve days of the campaign. Here are a couple of great examples from this year:
HURRY. Just one hour left to have a chance of winning this. Follow @bladeztoyz #12DaysOfJonesDAY6 pic.twitter.com/ZCyfOBsP6v — Peter Jones (@dragonjones) December 6, 2015
#WIN a year’s subscription to @creativereview with our #jellychristmas comp next week! https://t.co/qfhMHs4jlXpic.twitter.com/C92FfL3qfP
— jelly London (@JellyLondon) December 4, 2015
6. Content Series
During the countdown to the holiday period, many brands will release a series (whether it be photographs, blogs or videos) to increase the usual level of hype that surrounds the festive season. While this is a great idea, never produce content simply for the sake of it. Make sure that it is adding value to your users. It can be informative or entertaining, but it needs to be engaging enough to make your audience take notice of it.
7. Insight into Your Company
Behind every social profile is a person, or team, connecting with the community. If you want to truly connect with your followers, give them the inside scoop and allow them to see the real people behind each account. Get into the spirit and show off your brand’s personality.
Happy festive team HBY! Xmas party fun #specialtimes#specialteampic.twitter.com/Q6LqOv483J
— Hot Bikram Yoga (@hotbikramyoga) December 5, 2015
8. Running Polls on Twitter
Since being released last month, Twitter polls have quickly become a great way to have a bit of fun with your followers. They get to have a few seconds of fun and you can capture snippets of actionable data from your audience. It’s a win/win situation. If you really want it to get some more engagement, Pin the poll to your profile page.
9. Announce When You’ll be Away
This may only apply to the small businesses out there, but it is really important to let your community know when you won’t be around. That way, if they do reach out to you during your break, there’s less chance of any backlash for not replying for 3-5 days! Communication is everything. Don’t leave them guessing.
10. Show The Highlights of The Year
Now that the year is coming to an end, it’s a good time to identify the highlights and thank your community for making it possible. You could create a short looping video or a collage that captures some of the high points of your year. Make it engaging, fun and interactive!
I hope that you’re feeling prepared for the holiday season! If you have any more advice to share, feel free to mention them in the comments section below.
