Social media ideas for your holiday campaigns + templates to get you started
When summer starts to wane, it’s time to kick off holiday campaign planning. Not only that, but it’s time to kick off the best holiday campaign your brand has ever done. Whether you’re capitalizing on upcoming seasonal events such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Years, it’s time to get the synapses firing for another memorable social media campaign that accomplishes your business’ goals. To get the cogs churning and serve some much-needed inspiration, here are 10 ideas for social media content during the festive season.
Summary
What makes a good holiday campaign?
While a successful holiday campaign ultimately contributes to your objectives, a great holiday campaign uniquely sets you apart from competitors, is clear on its message, appeals to your target audience, and comes with eye-catching design assets (more on that later). Above all else, this time of year is about joy – so make it fun and use any opportunity to lean into classic seasonal nostalgia and merry cozy vibes.
A great social media campaign:
- Includes a clear message and call to action (CTA)
- Stands out from competitors
- Is fun and seasonally relevant
- Is memorable
- Appeals to target audience
- Has eye-catching design
10 ideas for social media content during the holidays
1. Re-use your user generated content from last year
If, for example, you have a lot of user generated content from last year — perhaps of people purchasing or unboxing your product for Christmas — now is the perfect time to look back at last year and re-use this content in your upcoming Christmas campaign. Nothing is more influential than letting your happy customers speak on your behalf.
2. Gamify it
The end of the year is a time to relax and enjoy the seasonal spirit. What better way to kick back and have fun than by giving your audience a fun game to play. Examples of a game might be to find your company mascot hidden in some of your social media content, or to complete a ‘spot the difference’ challenge between two images, or even just a word search. Prizes might include discount codes or free gifts with their next order.
Further reading: Why audio is so important in social media
3. Offer a discount
A seasonal discount is a great way to give customers who are on the fence the nudge they need to make a purchase. It’s also a great way to give during this season and show some love to your audience. Include discount codes in all orders received for a short time period to be used on future orders or (if you want to make them work for it a little more) encourage your customers to post a picture of themselves with your product in exchange for a discount code.
4. Run a competition
For bigger prizes, such as a lifetime supply of your product, or a year’s subscription for free – a fun and seasonal competition is a great way to give back to your customers during the holidays. Competition entry could entail anything from purchasing a product to be entered into a ballot or posting a picture with your product and tagging you to enter.
5. Add a seasonal twist
A coffee shop that switches to seasonal to-go cups, or an online business that adds candy canes in their orders are thoughtful touches that go a long way. It’s a great opportunity to spread a little more holiday cheer and reap the rewards of user-generated content at the same time.
Further reading: Celebrating Diwali with Adobe Express
6. Tap into the power of music and film
Referring to a beloved holiday movie in your campaign can be a great way to stir seasonal nostalgia and associate your brand with something wholesome and well-loved. Whether you change the lyrics of a festive song to talk about your business, or borrow a line from a timeless movie, aligning your brand with something popular can help you go further.
7. Let your products lead the way
Instead of leaning on holiday sales and promotions, let your products stand out. Show your audience what you’re selling right off the bat and give them ample reason to make a purchase.
8. Be charitable
‘Tis the season to be giving, so a great seasonal campaign could center around giving a percentage of all purchases (or certain purchases) towards a charitable cause that is closely aligned with your mission and your customers’ hearts. Spread the word on social media and use this as an opportunity to show what your brand stands for and the difference you can make together.
9. Partner with an influencer
At this time of year, it’s incredibly common for influencers to post videos of gift suggestions — and if you’re strategic — your product could be featured. Find an influencer, or collection of influencers, who align with your brand and have high-performing posts, and reach out to begin a potential partnership ahead of the holiday rush.
Link – how to influencer marketing [link not live yet]
10. Tap into existing trends
Social media content that aligns with popular trends is always likely to be popular – and helps your business look ‘current’ and ‘trendy.’ There's nothing wrong with combining current social media trends with your seasonal content to put a fresh, new spin on an already popular format. Just take an existing trend and brainstorm how you can put a seasonal spin on things, then work it around your current objectives.
Bonus: Tips to make your holiday campaign more successful
- Launch your campaign as early as October — after all, the early bird catches the worm.
- Take a multi-channel approach but prioritize Instagram or whatever platform your business has the most engagement and largest audience.
- Have a selection of videos and images all contributing to your holiday campaign – don't just stop at one graphic and call it a day.
- Include Pinterest in your campaign roadmap — Pinterest is a popular, though often overlooked, platform for gift-giving inspiration, as well as a place to shop in-app.
Templates to help you get started
By now you have some campaign inspiration, so get started on the fun part: design! Check out this range of seasonal templates to inspire your next holiday campaign.
