During the holiday rush, with its festive atmosphere and shopping sprees, effective social media marketing is key for brands to stand out and connect with customers. Creating unique, memorable experiences that tap into the holiday spirit allows brands to attract attention and build strong relationships with their audience, which is crucial for influencing shoppers’ decisions.
To help brands enhance their social media presence and boost their visibility this holiday season, we contacted Pamela Foley, a brand management and online visibility expert who founded AOU Creative and shares her top tips to boost brand presence around the holidays.
Festive Brand Mascot & Holiday-Specific Hashtags
Introduce a festive mascot or character for the brand during the holiday season. This character can be featured in various content pieces, adding a fun and unique element to the branding.
Beyond the usual #Christmas or #NewYear, create and use unique, brand-specific holiday hashtags. These can be related to holiday contests, special offers, or themed campaigns. This approach not only boosts visibility but also tracks campaign performance.
Interactive Holiday Countdowns & Festive Features
Use social media to create interactive countdowns to major holiday events or sales. Each day can reveal a new product, tip, or piece of content. This builds anticipation and keeps the audience engaged.
Create holiday-themed augmented reality filters or interactive social media features. This could be a branded filter on Instagram or a holiday-themed quiz on Facebook.
Holiday-Themed User-Generated Content & Polls
Encourage followers to share their holiday experiences with the product or service. Create a contest or incentive for the best holiday-themed photo or story featuring the brand. UGC not only provides authentic content but also enhances community engagement.
Engage the audience with holiday-themed polls or surveys. This not only boosts engagement but can also provide valuable insights into the audience’s preferences.
Teasers for the New Year & Behind-the-Scenes Holiday Content
Use the holiday season to reflect on the year’s achievements and tease what’s coming in the New Year. This keeps the audience engaged and looking forward to what’s next.
Share behind-the-scenes content of the team preparing for the holidays, whether it’s decorating the office or packaging holiday orders. This adds a human touch to the brand and allows the audience to connect to it.
Holiday-Themed Challenges
Launch a challenge or a series of challenges related to the holiday season. From a decorating challenge, a festive recipe challenge, or a holiday fitness challenge, these ideas encourage participation and content creation.
Remember, the key is to take advantage of the season and the excitement that comes with it while using it to connect with the target audience.
Pamela Foley is the founder of AOU Creative and a former lawyer. After building a successful law practice, Pamela wanted to focus on a job that allowed her to earn a living and be a mom. From real estate and coaching to writing an Amazon best-selling book, Pamela began to realize that creating a brand management agency was what she needed to do.
Holiday stock image by Irene Miller/Shutterstock
