‘Tis the season to be jolly, but before you rock around the Christmas tree and pour cream over yet another mince pie, it’s important to think carefully about your Christmas social media marketing campaigns! With 8/10 digital shoppers being influenced by what they see on the net and e-commerce sales expected to grow by 17%, it’s time to pop on your Christmas thinking hat. Not sure where to start? Then check out the innovative ideas from my Contentworks Agency elves.
Sparkle on Social Media
With UK advertisers cutting £44 million from their TV ad campaign budgets in the run-up to Christmas and focussing on digital media instead, it’s clear that social media is the place to sparkle this year! Having a strong online presence is a great way to increase brand awareness and extend outreach both now and in the New Year. Several businesses are in rush to improve their marketing campaign online, and Instagram is one of the platforms that reaps most customers. Social media growth services like Kicksta are utilized by big businesses, but some are still skeptical about these services. Well, does Kicksta work? Or does any of it work? Most of it does help with organic growth, but it is better to research before investing in these services. Besides improving growth, how can businesses improve engagements and stand out from the crowd?
#1 Be interactive
What better way to kick off your Christmas social media marketing campaigns than with a photo competition? Not only will this engage and entertain your followers but it will also result in a shed load of organic content for your brand. Keep things simple and don’t forget to include a branded hashtag, to help people follow all the latest action.
A great example of a festive photo contest comes from American retail company L.L Bean who have owned social media with their #12daysofpuppies initiative. The call to action was clear “share your dog photos” and be in with winning a prize. Groovy!
Takeaway #1: Connect with as many people as possible via omnichannel Christmas social media marketing campaigns. L.L. Bean takeover sites that benefit from visuals such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook during the festive months.
Takeaway #2: Come up with a catchy branded hashtag to ensure your campaign generates a buzz and is instantly associated with your company.
Takeaway #3: Offer an incentive to take part such a gift, freebie or trial of a new product.
#2 Tap into Christmas traditions
Christmas social media marketing campaigns don’t have to cost the earth. In fact, it’s all about getting people in the spirit, tapping into emotions and embracing traditions that people love to speak about. The more interesting your theme, the more likely your audience is to respond. But don’t forget to give all content a purpose. This applies to Christmas themed content as well as anything posted around New Year’s Eve and into 2019.
John Lewis & Partners showcased how to do this perfectly with their Christmas cracker joke post which links nicely through to their festive cracker webpage.
Takeaway #1: Don’t be afraid to ask questions – or respond to replies. By doing so you’re engaging with consumers and showing you care about what they have to say. You can even share or tweet the best replies as this is a great way to make followers happy!
Takeaway #2: Remember that all-important branded hashtag and try to link to relevant content on your site which will hopefully improve ROI. Essentially you want people to make a purchase but without being overly pushy or salesy.
#3 Make Your Brand Hard to Resist
We know that millennials distrust salesy banner ads. We also know that authenticity is key and therefore user generated responses help to give brands credibility – and it’s for these reasons that The Body Shop UK is onto a winner with their Christmas social media marketing campaigns.
The #fillyourstockings campaign encourages fans to follow the brand on Twitter and tweet their favourite product using two very specific hashtags – #fillyourstockings and #enchantedbynature. The latter being at the epicentre of their Christmas marketing efforts. There’s a fab prize up for grabs too but what we like is the fact that The Body Shop UK has encouraged users to showcase their range in style.
Here’s the Twitter post:
And here’s one of the replies:
Takeaway #1: Encourage user reviews as this is a great way to promote your brand without attempting any kind of over-the-top marketing.
Takeaway #2: Ensure your campaign is relevant to the holiday season by choosing appropriate hashtags.
Takeaway #3: Increase outreach with a direct call to action such as ‘follow us.’
Takeaway #4: Create a campaign so irresistible that users will want to share with their friends.
#4 Become a Go-To Brand For Christmas Tips
Christmas is a stressful time for many so why not become the go-to brand for tips and hints? No matter what sector you work in, you can always give useful advice on how to get through this time of year.
Article ideas include:
Gaming company – top ten games to play throughout Christmas and New Year
Brokerage – How to relax when you’re not watching the markets
Fintech industry – How to nail the festive shop, online!
Iceland has already received a load of publicity thanks to their banned ‘palm oil’ advert but they’re also rocking Christmas social media marketing campaigns by setting themselves apart as ‘idea givers.’ The link provided in the below social post leads through to a beautiful digital brochure completely packed with Christmas meal and treat ideas.
Takeaway #1: Be inspirational, get creative, set trends and keep people coming back for more.
Takeaway #2: Use enticing imagery to draw followers in.
#5 Embrace Corporate Responsibility
Iceland has also stolen the limelight when it comes to corporate responsibility. By removing palm oil from 130 of their food lines they strive to reduce demand by over 500 tonnes a year! While the advert featuring the cute little orang-utan Rang-Tang whose home was destroyed during palm oil production was banned, Iceland has used this character to promote their efforts online!
The brand’s digital brochure showcases Iceland’s dedication to removing palm oil and features a click-through ad which leads to Iceland’s palm oil-free product page.
Takeaway #1: Set and stick to your own brand morals and ethics.
Takeaway #2: Embrace clear and consistent marketing that people can relate to.
Takeaway #3: Give consumers a reason to back your brand.
Christmas is a great time of year to unleash your creativity – and it’s not too late! While holiday shopping typically begins in October, fear not, as last minute shoppers make up almost 30% of holiday sales! There’s still plenty of time to pull up your winter socks and dazzle on social media!
If you need help with any element of your content or social strategy going forward, contact me and the Contentworks crew today!