The holidays can be a digital marketing strategist’s dream or nightmare. With Christmas coming up, it is a season rich with sales opportunities. However, the competition will also be intense, so you need to come up with unique, catchy ideas to stand out. It can also be the time to work on social media Christmas campaigns to capture the attention of your target audience.
Christmas is technically the season for gift giving. People flock to all kinds of stores to try and find the perfect gift for their loved ones. They are also attracted to discounts and promotional bundles - because with all the looming expenses, minimizing expenses is vital too!
It is crucial to take advantage of, especially when planning your marketing efforts this season. And of course, what better way to broadcast these seasonal offers than through social media marketing campaigns?
Why Market Through Social Media?
It gets the message across more quickly. In a statistics report from We Are Social, social media users are now recorded at 3.196 billion. People are glued to their phones now more than ever, which is why social media is one of the surefire methods of getting their attention.
The trick is in identifying what strategy will work and anticipating possible loopholes. There are several ways to utilize each platform, and coming up with an attractive campaign should be at the top of your list.
Source: Statista
As of the 3rd quarter of 2018, 2.27 billion people are on Facebook monthly. This statistic shows just how vast the potential reach can be. You can take advantage of this by using Facebook for promotion.
Aside from posting visuals or CTAs that display your discounts or offers, another strategy would be to hold a Facebook Contest. These activities can quickly be promoted on your wall and available for your followers and non-followers.
The contest can promote a seasonal product or a bundle specially made up for the holidays. Several contest types are available, and you need to choose one that will encourage your audience to participate. You can ask your followers to post photos or testimonials on how they use your product or offer the product as the prize to be won at the end of the contest.
One example would be the contest Gillie’s Coffee ran during the holidays, exclusive to their Facebook fans. The prize was only valued at $25 - 1 Aeropress coffee maker and one 12-ounce bag of Gillies’ Bleecker Street Espresso - but the contest got 2,274 entries. It was simple yet professionally done and tailored to appeal to their target market.
Instagram, on the other hand, is all about visuals. It is a great photo-sharing app that, when used strategically, can be as effective as any marketing channel. It is slowly transitioning into an app for business, implementing new tools like advanced analytics and shoppable Instagram posts.
With the help of attractive, stylish images, it can be an excellent channel for more visual buyers.
Source: Wishpond
Outside of showcasing new products on Instagram, you can also conduct contests on the app.
This can serve two purposes: aside from promoting your products, you can ask participants to follow your page as a qualifier. The contest can center around how they use your product daily or a creatively presented testimonial photo. Another idea would be to create a short video promoting a service you are offering for the holidays.
Poopourri successfully illustrated this in their creative promotional offer.
Source: Dash Hudson
The offer showcases their products, inviting followers to take advantage of the exclusive Christmas deal.
Twitter is a microblogging platform that can also be used to participate in trending global or local topics and issues.
However, businesses have found ways to maximize their Twitter accounts into commercial opportunities. Some companies even use Twitter for customer support, especially for concerns where customers want immediate attention.
You can use Twitter for promotional activities, but you can also look into ramping up efforts to establish a stronger customer relationship. Replying to your followers’ Tweets and staying active can go a long way to establishing your Twitter reputation.
You can also maximize your hashtag usage by creating specific ones for your brand. Add these hashtags to your Tweets and use them when you host Twitter chats, which can center around your brand or particular products.
You can post questions like what people love most about your brand or how they use your products and have customers answer with your brand hashtag at the end of their responses.
Source: Market Watch
Wendy’s is an all-time favorite example of a brand that has pulled off its Twitter efforts. Their approach tends to be risky and has had its fair share of mishaps. For the most part, people love Wendy’s cheeky and spunky Twitter attitude. Wendy’s Tweets range from roasting people to casually sniping at Mcdonald's, all in good fun.
Their following is currently at a 2.87M count, and it looks like it’s not dropping anytime soon.
LinkedIn, on the other hand, tends to be formal. It leans more towards networking and recruitment opportunities. However, they are slowly incorporating more updates to keep up with other social platforms. Company Pages has also been relaunched as LinkedIn Pages, providing additional valuable features to customers.
You can use LinkedIn as a means to join conversations that matter. With mobile admin activated, you can quickly respond to comments or post to your company page via mobile. Sharing related media like PDFs, docs or videos are also possible now.
As to the nature of your posting plan, you can go for more employee-centric posts. These can range from sharing your employees’ posts this season or your company activities leading up to the holidays. If promoting your products is applicable, you can include them in the posts without hard selling.
An example of a successful company page based on LinkedIn’s list is Hays. They showcase their company leaders through branded imagery, establishing a consistent look to their visuals.
Another is Schneider Electric, where they use their page to share company wins and successes.
Image source: LinkedIn
YouTube
Image source: Influence Marketing Club
YouTube is now ranked as the 2nd biggest search engine, with more than 1.8 billion registered users watching 5 billion videos daily. Users use the platform to upload varying videos, from vlogs to documentaries. When utilized using best practices, it can become a video portfolio for your business.
In line with this season’s celebration, your videos can center on short films that touch on the emotional aspect of consumers. Christmas-themed videos that feature your product usage can be your video production's central concept. Tie these up with your contests on other social platforms, where winners can get an additional free product.
Another option is to invite customers to create unboxing videos that you can feature on your channel. Asking influencers to review your products is also another option to promote your products.
Image source: The Inspiration Room
M&S hit all the right notes with their Paddington & The Christmas Visitor #LoveTheBear 2017 TV Ad with a whopping 6.8 million views. It retains the M&S philosophy ‘Spend It Well,’ encouraging customers to focus on people, experiences, and things that matter. It was a brand platform established in early 2017, but to keep things aligned, they were able to incorporate it for Christmas Season.
Conclusion
Social media marketing has so much potential, primarily when used appropriately. There are plenty of features to be utilized that can lead to marketing opportunities. You can use all social platforms and align your promotional efforts, but you can also focus on one that is more effective for your brand.
And although a sale is always the primary goal, it doesn’t always have to be the result. You can also focus on strengthening customer relationships or establishing the importance of your brand and products in your customers' lives. This should be done in a unique and creative manner so that it won’t be ‘just another ad.’
Give our team a call if you’re currently at a standstill with your holiday marketing plans.
Our specialists can help you plan your brand's unique Christmas digital campaign.
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