Holidays and Social Media: The Do’s and Don’ts of Holiday Posting

July 10, 2023 | admin

When it comes to holidays, social media plays a major role in what gets shared and how it’s celebrated. It might seem like a no-brainer to tie your brand into any and every holiday, but does it fit your brand’s purpose and what will be the results? Whether you plan to focus on Christmas or the Fourth of July, it’s essential to have a plan in place and maintain a balanced social media presence leading up to any holiday – there is such a thing as too much and too little. The simple question stands – do you post about the holidays on your social media? Let’s dig deeper to understand when and how to post during the holidays. 

The answer is different for every company. What may work for a B2C foodie brand, might not work for a B2B non profit focused on sustainable agriculture. Many questions should be addressed when it comes to promoting your brand in relation to a holiday, for instance: does this holiday fit your audience/niche? Do you have quality holiday-specific visual content? Would a promotion drive engagement? Can you offer followers beneficial tips or other original content about that holiday? What is the respectful approach to posting during this holiday? How can you get your brand included in gift guides worth sharing? Should I include influencers on social media strategy? All of these questions and more play a factor in whether you should post during any given holiday, and it’s good to figure out what you want to prioritize ahead of time and have a plan of action in place.

The most important thing to remember is to be mindful when choosing and posting during holidays. You don’t have to post about every holiday. If you have a product or expertise that is specifically relevant to an upcoming holiday, absolutely capitalize on that! Do not let the opportunity pass by to promote, for instance, a great recipe incorporating your product for a 4th of July BBQ or how your product could help people stick to their New Year’s resolution. However, promoting your product on holidays like Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day is not appropriate and should be approached with respect and mindfulness. There are smaller holidays that are often trending on social media and can be a great fit for your brand. It can be advantageous and refreshing to utilize a more unique ‘holiday’ or awareness month, such as National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day or Better Sleep Month. There are numerous resources online for finding both serious and quirky things to commemorate.

How do you generate holiday specific content? A lot of businesses have holiday specific photo and video shoots for their product. Valentine’s Day, Mother’s and Father’s Day, Halloween, Christmas, etc. are just a few example holidays that generate content. If your brand has an Instagram or TikTok account, share these images and videos, but have a plan prior to the shoot so you can get the right shots and content for each platform. What works for Instagram might not on TikTok. It will depend on your niche, audience and trends on that specific platform. You can also cross-post this content to other platforms like Facebook and Twitter, but be aware of post timing and trends for each platform along with photo and video sizing specs. If your brand’s budget does not include professional photography sessions, you can work with influencers who offer content rights so you can get user generated content to share for the holidays. If you want to share holiday themed content after the holiday, try to limit posting to your account to the day after a holiday is over. Anything past that will feel stale to viewers, and likely give you a lower reach and engagement rate.

As far as promotions or discounts codes you might have for your products, this is when you want to start thinking about social media ads. Native reach in recent years has decreased for many brands, and it can be hard for your followers to see the discounts you might have on a holiday. Social media ads can get more eyes and clicks on your website with offer codes and reach campaigns, both of which are easy to set up and easy to monitor. If you want to reach your followers only, be sure to make the distinction in your ads settings, and your followers are more likely to purchase those who have never been exposed to your brand.

Also consider working with influencers around the holidays to increase your reach and sales. More companies are working with influencers in lieu of traditional advertising because it can be more affordable and have better results. With the increase in popularity of nano and micro influencers you can seek out partnerships within your budget without limiting the effectiveness due to their organic engagement and dedicated following. Work with the influencer to come up with a content strategy that will meet your specific goals whether that’s brand awareness, education or increasing sales. Influencers have the inside scoop on their audience’s preferences and the platform’s current trends that you can incorporate into your marketing plan. 

Last but certainly not least is the media coverage you gain leading up to holidays. Every brand wants to strut their stuff when they have been featured in themed holiday articles, gift guides or prized TV segments. When it comes to flaunting your press placements, always be timely and post them as soon as you have a link. Even better, share the feature from the outlet if they put it on their own social media, which supports them and gets you more reach. However, one rule to bear in mind: if you get a lot of press all at once, space out your posts to one or two per day at totally entirely different time frames. That way you are reaching two different audiences to help increase your reach.

No matter the holiday, have fun with what you are posting! Be proud of the features you earn for your brand and experiment with content creation to have engaging visuals of your products. And that’s the gist of what you need for holidays and social media.