Need to know how to get the most out of Facebook this holiday season?
You’ve planned your Facebook Posts to promote your holiday marketing campaigns. You’re well and truly entrenched in seasonal promotions. But, why aren’t your messages getting the results you need?
It’s not too late to increase your sales. Here are 12 Facebook tips to give your holiday marketing the boost it deserves.
1. Caption This!
‘Caption This!’ posts are easy and effective in the holiday season. It’s simple to find a funny or odd image based on opening presents, cooking the holiday meal, playing in the snow, etc.
Test out a prize for the best caption, or incorporate Instagram into the mix.
- Use images of children, pets, or holiday hilarity
- People like humor in the holiday season
- Participatory Facebook Posts work well during the holidays, as users love to share
2. Recipes
The Holidays are a time of good food and family. Tap into the personal side of your business and share favorite recipes. The holidays aren’t a time for snappy, corporate interaction – rather, use social media this Christmas to make your business about individuals, by individuals.
A tip to do this is using ‘me, you and our’ as well as ‘our marketing manager loves…’ or ‘it’s cold out here in Chicago, what’s the weather like where you are?’
Here’s a recipe post example from Safeway:
- Holiday recipes are a great way to encourage engagement
- They elicit responses of ‘my favorite!’, or ‘I added more nutmeg’. Comments are currency on Facebook
- If your brand isn’t suited to recipes, make the recipe post personal like ‘Our CEO makes the apple-cherry crumble, here’s the recipe!’
3. Link to Holiday Album
Holiday albums are another way to make your business look awesome – a best practice we usually associate with Pinterest and Instagram. For the holidays, though, use this tactic on Facebook as well.
If your business doesn’t have photogenic products, make an album of your colleagues in holiday get-up, at a holiday party or just bundled up from the cold. Albums get way more engagement than any other post on Facebook, so do whatever it takes to make one.
Here’s a holiday album post example from Safeway (incorporating Pinterest, as well!):
- Photo albums get 180% more engagement than regular posts
- Encourage the movement of traffic between social media platforms to increase brand awareness and involvement
- Take photos of your holiday parties to make your business look fun and festive
4. Nostalgia
The holiday season is a time when people like to remember the good ol’ days (when their children didn’t ask for the new iPhone for Christmas, but a train). Bring back the rosy hue of yester-year with a nostalgia-inspiring post.
Here’s an example of a nostalgia post from The Home Depot:
- It’s the holiday season, and people love to reminisce
- Nostalgia-oriented posts encourage people to start a conversation
- Target your posts at the appropriate audience (older generation vs 90s kids, etc)
5. Contests and Coupons
Money is always tight around the holidays, making it a great time to run a Facebook contest. People will take any opportunity to save some money. And for the price of a simple ‘Like’ it’s the easiest kind of contest they’ve ever entered.
Remember to make your Facebook contest prize business-related. I recommend a gift card or one of your products (or a month free of your service). Sure, you’ll get Facebook likes if you offer straight cash or an iPad, but the user won’t hang around after the contest is over. If you’re looking for leads, they’ll unsubscribe from your email marketing campaign faster than you can say ‘St Nick.’
Here’s a contest example from The Home Depot:
- Everyone loves a great deal for the holidays – so give your customers what they want. Run a Facebook contest or Facebook coupon.
- Try a recurring contest, in which a smaller prize is given away each day for 12 days.
- Focus it around the holidays, with either the prize being holiday-related, or the theme.
6. #12 Days of [Something]
Hashtagging your holiday marketing campaign creates continuity and increases its virality. With hashtags now on Facebook and Google search as well as Twitter and Google+ (and everywhere else…) including a hashtag will increase the chance of your campaign, or contest, or product, being seen.
Here’s an example of a #12Days post:
- 12 Days is a term synonymous with the holidays. Use it to evoke the warm feelings of gift giving
- Use popular holiday hashtags like #12DaysofGifts to provide continuity in your posts
- Hashtags are especially useful if you’re promoting a series of products, a Facebook contest, or a campaign
7. Winter Safety Tip
Show your business is family-conscious, and a trusted source of information, with a safety tip Facebook Post.
It doesn’t matter if your company has nothing to do with safety or winter weather gear, make the Post personal with something like ‘Our graphic designer fell on black ice and hurt their knee this morning. Buy a bag of salt this holiday season and keep it by the front door. Your employees (and customers!) will thank you.’
Here’s an example of a winter safety tip post from Les Schwab Tires:
- Winter safety tips are a great way of encouraging conversation
- They associate your brand with trust, too
- Incorporate the safety tip with your brand’s products. Try winter fashion tips, tips on how to save this holiday season, etc.
8. Gift Ideas
Gift ideas are the easiest way to promote your products during the holiday season.
Just post about your products, and make sure they’re related to the festive season. Include who these gifts would be a good idea for, and use attractive photos to highlight these products from a holiday perspective.
Here’s an example of a gift idea post from London Drugs:
- Everyone is shopping this time of year, so they’re looking for great gift ideas
- This gives you a chance to advertise and sell more products
- This is an easy way to inspire quick new sales
9. Holiday Craft Tip
Like safety tips, question posts and recipes, the holiday craft tip post increases your brand’s reputation as personable, fun, and creative.
The holidays are a time when family is together, and people are hosting. People like to get in the festive mood by baking and making things. I also recommend design ideas (like making a string of snowflakes across doorways, or easy-to-do boughs of cedar and holly).
- People love crafting in the holiday season. The internet is full of great crafting ideas for you to share
- It’s less necessary for these kind of posts to be directly related to your brand. Focus on being personable for the holidays
- Remember to respond to your post’s comments with suggestions or help of your own
10. This or That
One of the most reliable Facebook posts to generate engagement, the simple ‘This vs That’ post is one of my favorites. Focus the competition around two similar but competitive holiday ideas, like ‘Hot toddy or mulled wine?’, ‘Skiing or snowboarding?’ or ‘Ham or turkey?’
- “This vs That” posts get conversations started
- People love to share their opinions, and love responding to other people’s opinions as well
- Test a ‘Share’ if you like _, ‘Like’ if you prefer _’ post to encourage the voting process
11. Christmas Story
Everybody has a holiday story they like to tell. For their families, the time Uncle Ted slipped in gravy and knocked over the Christmas tree has been heard a thousand times, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to share it one more time.
Remember to put time and energy into keeping your Facebook Posts alive. Be active about responding to people’s comments. This is especially important during the holidays, as people like brands that are festive and individual.
- Again, this post gets people telling stories
- It’s vital you respond to these stories to increase engagement. Try, ‘Oh no! what happened next?’ or ‘Haha! I can’t believe that!’
- This is another instance of how important it is to put the social in social media during the holidays
12. New Year’s Resolution
This is a standard Facebook Post idea, but one you shouldn’t forget. Many people like to share and discuss their New Year’s resolutions. Share your own resolutions or those of your colleagues to get the ball rolling.
- Use this post between the 25th and the 31st of December to get people thinking and sharing
- Test a ‘most creative new years resolution gets 50% off any purchase’ to encourage participation
- Try making it into a hashtagged competition
Conclusion
Hopefully, you’ve seen a few Facebook Post formulas that will inspire you to engage over the holiday season. Get creative, and come up with your own posts based on these formulas. Ask people for their funniest Christmas present stories, give tips on fighting a cold, share your favorite holiday beverage, or talk about how your office is fighting the cold and gray of the city.
Further Reading:
Have you used any of these Facebook Post formulas before? Do you have any others you found work well? Start the conversation below.
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