Snow is starting to fall, the halls are being decked with holly, Frosty the Snowman tunes have returned to the radio, and marketers are fervently working to make their social strategy holiday-friendly with the addition of holiday keywords and copy. You may think you’re ahead of schedule having already done this, but with the jolly man’s holiday just around the corner, have you revamped your social strategy to incorporate the winter holidays within your Facebook marketing messaging? Have you revamped and fully “seasonalized” your Facebook strategy and content schedule – including profile picture, messaging, holiday offers, etc.?
Here’s what you can do to make your social strategy more holiday-friendly, starting with your Facebook marketing:
1. Branded calendars
Here is your chance to increase daily engagement with your fans. This Facebook strategy takes its roots from the advent calendar. For each day, reveal something meaningful to your fans. You could 1) provide a tip of the day, 2) select random days to give away a special prize, 3) reveal a coupon each day, or 4) give clues for a contest. The beauty of this advent calendar-inspired Facebook marketing idea is it isn’t limited to only Christmas; you could do an 8 Days of Hanukkah countdown or a 31 Days of Social Media in addition to 12 Days of Christmas – be creative, the possibilities are endless!
2. Holiday-related questions tied to your brand
The trick is to keep the question simple, something your fans don’t have to think too intensely about before answering. For example, Kraft Foods asked its fans how they use leftover Halloween candy and provided a link to a post-Halloween treat recipe. Short and simple!
3. Promotion reminders
Do you sometimes forget something if you don’t write it down? So do your fans. Post reminders to give your fans a gentle push to enter your sweepstakes. Ask fans to share the contest link with their friends. And don’t forget to mention when your Facebook marketing promotion ends to create a sense of urgency – no one likes to miss out!
4. Take advantage of nostalgia
Engage your fans with Facebook messaging that asks them to share holiday stories they have with your brand. For example, to make its social strategy more holiday-friendly, Nestle Toll House shared one of its customer’s Halloween baking stories then asked the fans to tell their stories.
5. Highlight seasonal products and services
Are you running seasonal promotions? Incorporate it into your Facebook strategy! Highlight the release of any seasonal products or services within your Facebook messaging. There’s something about the holidays that make new products that much more exciting.
6. Advice for fans
Fans like exclusivity, so give them the inside scoop! Post season-specific advice and tips, especially if your brand wants to be an industry thought leader. A great example is how HP informed its fans that taking a Halloween snapshot at night could result in red-eye, blurriness and underexposure.
7. Give your fans a special treat
It’s good to mix things up. Occasionally offer your fans a little surprise. To ramp up its holiday Facebook strategy, Vevo created a Halloween playlist and shared it with fans.
8. Humanize your brand
Add a personal touch to your social strategy by showing the people behind your brand and how they celebrate the holidays. It allows fans to see who makes your company so great. Levelwing used this concept by posting a photo album of its employees in their Halloween costumes.
9. Suggest holiday-themed uses for your brand’s products
Use your creativity to brainstorm ways to put a holiday spin on your products or services, and share them in your Facebook messaging. The holidays provide a great opportunity to highlight a way to use your product that your fans may have not thought about before.
10. Have fun!
It’s simple: the more fun you’re having, the more fun your fans will have! Post a Facebook photo as a holiday card or get creative with Photoshop, like Silk did for Halloween, when it posted a ghoulish version of Silk, Silk Pure Brains.
How is your business integrating social media into your holiday marketing mix? Leave us a comment below or comment on our Facebook profile! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sala-Social-Marketing/122955221135179
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