For all Starbucks die-hard fans like me, the availability of their Toffee Nut Latte Christmas beverage marks the beginning of the holiday season. In a few weeks, offices and malls will be filled with Christmas decorations, colourful ornaments and Christmas jingles, setting the mood for the year-end holidays. This is also the time when businesses ramp up their marketing campaigns to get shoppers ready to indulge in their shopping treats.
While we have a group of shoppers who believes in traditional mall shopping, there are a majority of them who prefer to chill and scroll business social media platforms for their gifts inspiration. For any small business, this is a great time to pump up your Christmas social media content and get more engagement. Curating fun, quirky, heart-warming content helps to build the excitement and gives a reason for your customers to come back and check what you have in store for them.
Here are 10 social media content ideas for you.
1. Decorate your social media platforms with festive images, logos and backgrounds.
Set the mood for your customers as they scroll and take notice of your backdrop on your Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and all your social media platforms. Dress them up with holiday motifs on your backgrounds, add audio and holiday images of the season. Consider bright colours to entice your readers to your page and stay on it.
2. Conduct polls Increase your engagement by conducting a holiday poll. For example, you can ask how far along they are in their shopping for their family or what is the must-have dessert in their family during Christmas to create buzz among your online fans and followers.
3. Hold a photo competition
Create an online competition by encouraging your readers to generate content on your social platforms. Get them to share images of their babies and children at their first Christmas celebrations, or their favourite clothes and get your readers to vote for their favourite photo. This is one effective way to build a community for your business.
4. Conduct a charity drive
People generally are more generous and in a mood to donate to charity during this season. Include a charity element to your product and service. For example, you can let your customers know that a percentage of the sales will go to a charity of your choice. This way, you can increase awareness of your product and thereby increase sales. At the same time, the charity element can help raise your business image as a brand that supports social causes.
5. Create gift ideas for everyone
All of us have been in this situation, not knowing the best gift to get for our loved ones, family and friends. Offer a list of items from your business, including images for His and Hers or Mom, Dad gifts and so on. That way, not only will it be helpful for your customers but it also gives you an opportunity to show what you have in store.
6. Share wrapping ideas
With the gifts, comes the wrapping challenge. Not all of us are hands-on and creative people. I know I am not and appreciate videos or step-by-step wrapping guides which are a big help. How about those who still need help? Consider offering gift-wrapping services for free if they purchase your products or services up to a certain value.
7. Share recipes
Add vibrancy and offer information that is beneficial to your community. Offer them Christmas recipes and lead them in to get some items from your store or consider your service. Consider a discount coupon every time they share a story or provide feedback on your product or service on your page. User-generated content is the best testimonial for your business.
8. Inspirational and Motivational Quotes
Everybody loves inspirational or motivational quotes during the holiday season. Add a dash of those on your social media platforms to bring joy and positive vibes to your customers. Get them to like and share on their platforms. By doing this, your brand gets more visibility as well.
9. Go-behind-the-scenes storytelling
Take the opportunity to share the great people behind your business. People love human interest stories. Take pictures and share short stories of your baristas, your chefs and your customer service team who are all hard at work to bring the best for the season. When they see how important your employees are to you, there is a higher chance of them buying your products or services. Psst, they may even consider working for you too!
10. Announce your opening and closing hours
It is important to share with your customers your opening and closing hours. If you are open during the festive season, let them know how and who they can call to get assistance. Nothing beats excellent customer service.
There are many ways to boost your engagement on social media this season. Take time to discuss with your team and get more ideas on what your customers would like to see and make it fun!
(This article was first published on Marketing in Asia on 10 November 2019)