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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 around 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.

Here’s a caption this post example from London Drugs:

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  • 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:

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  • 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!’

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!):

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  • 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:

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  • 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.

Make sure your Facebook contest prize is tied to your business. I suggest a gift card or one of your products (or a free month of your service). You might get Likes by offering cash or an iPad, but users won’t stick around once the contest ends. If you want leads, they’ll drop out of your email marketing faster than you can say ‘St Nick.’

Here’s a holiday contest example from The Home Depot:

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  • 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 [ofSomething]

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 from Home Depot:

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  • 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 business isn’t related to safety or winter gear; personalize the post with something like, “Our graphic designer slipped on black ice and injured their knee this morning. Get a bag of salt this holiday season and keep it by the front door. Your employees (and customers!) will appreciate it.”

Here’s an example of a winter safety tip post from Les Schwab Tires:

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