When it comes to social media posts, avoiding the “seven deadly sins” is a darn good rule of thumb.
Let’s face it, your customers and the world in general will certainly let you know when a social media post or campaign shows too much “pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth”.
Of course, with the holidays just wrapping up – and many of us stepping on the scales or checking our credit card balances with one eye closed – gluttony is front and center and got me to thinking: are holiday social posts necessary or do they just contribute to the “Internet gluttony”?
Information Overload: Are Holiday Posts Necessary?
The Internet in 2022 can feel like the online version of a teenager’s room … a chaotic cacophony of items strewn everywhere!
The trick is to make sure that your holiday social posts are relevant and connect with your audience in a meaningful way rather than contributing to the clutter.
My gut feeling is that holiday social posts are fine and can contribute to building your brand, but only if you put an effort into crafting them.
If your holiday post plan is basically to post on autopilot every single holiday including obscure celebrations (National Ex-Spouse Day! or Take Your Pants for a Walk Day!) then you may do more harm than good.
(Seriously, National Ex-Spouse Day is “celebrated” on April 14 and Take Your Pants for a Walk Day falls on July 27!)
“For many people, they’re [holidays] a really sacred time, and not necessarily a time when they want to be marketed to,” Annabelle Nyst told HubSpot. “So, it’s important to be extremely intentional about how and where your brand is showing up on social media during the holidays.”
Personalize Your Holiday Posts to Reach Your Audience
When choosing when and what to post on holidays, keep your audience in mind and make your posts personal and relevant to them.
Holidays at their best are about family and community and your social posts should tap into that.
“Holiday posts also foster a sense of community. Sure, you might take this opportunity to offer a super deal to your audience, (people tend to spend more money around the holidays) but a well-crafted holiday post can encourage people to feel a part of something bigger,” writes Neal Schaffer author among other books “Maximize Your Social”.
Veteran’s Day or Memorial Day, for example, can be genuine opportunities to post personalized thanks to a colleague or former colleague.
Do not force your holiday social posts – this is not a time to overthink or be too strategic with your posts. If your holiday posts are natural, sincere and organic, then they will touch your audience.
Creating Successful Holiday Posts are Important
At this point, you might be thinking “okay, maybe I should just avoid holiday social posts” and that would be a mistake; as done correctly, they can add value to your social media long-term strategy.
Schaffer says there are four main reasons why this type of content is so important:
- Holiday Social Post Content is Easy to Create: You do not need to be a rocket scientist or have a marketing MBA from an Ivy League school to create holiday social posts. Heck, there are so many tools available for creating holiday-themed posts that you do not need to fret if you do not have a graphic designer on your staff.
- Holiday Social Posts Can Have Emotional Appeal: Holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Fourth of July are touchstones in many of our lives and holiday social posts can channel those emotions. Remember, for holiday social posts make it more about being a part of something larger than about selling your product or service.
- Holiday Social Posts are Timely and Relevant: Part of the battle for social media campaigns is to create content at the right time and delivered to the right person via the right channel. If you are sending out Thanksgiving greetings in the last week of November – and not in June! – then your message will be timely. While timely is good, relevant is even better so make sure your holiday social posts are relevant to your audience, your company, your community, your industry and so on.
- Holiday Social Posts Can be Shareable: Studies have shown that people tend to post more during the holidays so your well-planned holiday posts have a chance to be shareable.
“Holidays that bring people together provide you with an opportunity to create simple, visually appealing posts that are shareable,” writes Schaffer.
7 Sure-Fire Ways to Make Your Holiday Social Posts Count
The key to creating relevant holiday social posts is not to reinvent the wheel – the building blocks of a good social media post remain the same.
“It’s a simple formula: know your audience, then aim to surprise and delight them. You can engage your fans and followers and generate more likes and shares with engaging content – and holiday and event posts are some of the most engaging,” writes Shaffer.
Shaffer says social marketers should look for these seven sure-fire ways to make their holiday social posts count:
- Promote the Art of Giving to Seasonal Causes and Charities
- Show Gratitude to Your Family, Friends, Colleagues, and Local Businesses
- Create a Holiday-Themed Content or Giveaway
- Provide Special Holiday Offers
- Re-theme Your Account for the Holidays by Changing Your Visuals
- Share Fun Holiday-Themed Lists
- Host a Fun Virtual Holiday Livestream
While these are great tips, remember to pick and choose your holiday posts wisely – just because your calendar says February 20 is Hoodie Hoo Day, does not mean you have to post about it!
