Everything feels different around the holidays.
There’s a warm glow of excitement in the air that anyone – even dyed-in-the-wool grinches – can feel.
People are in a giving spirit and are thinking about the coming year.
Often, this leads to lots of online browsing and shopping.
Leveraging social media marketing is vital to gaining and maintaining customers if you run a business.
Be it a classic holiday, like Christmas or New Years Day, or one of the smaller holidays, like Columbus day or Memorial day, the holidays are a prime time to post.
Read on to learn some tips and advice to help you post relevant content that appeals to your target demographic and increases your online presence.
What Is a Holiday Post?
As the name implies, a holiday post is any post that has holiday-related content.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be an ad for your product or business – although it can be – as long as it is holiday-themed and draws attention to your brand somehow.
Should You Post on Holidays?
Posting on holiday helps you connect with potential customers, making them feel like they are a part of your family during this special time.
You’re sharing your holidays with them in a small yet significant way, and they’re likely to remember them in the coming years.
Why Publish a Holiday Post on Social Media?
There are plenty of reasons why posting about a holiday on your company’s social media could benefit your business.
Here are some that stand out the most.
1. Emotional Appeal
The holidays are an emotional time for most people.
It’s common for individuals to seek connection and meaning during these seasons.
Advertisers have known this fact and capitalized on it for decades.
We’ve all seen the change in T.V. advertisements in the weeks before Christmas.
More ads feature nostalgia, children, romance, and other powerfully emotional topics.
You can use similar strategies for your holiday content, but keep in mind that people want to feel that your effort is honest and genuine and not manipulative.
2. Advertise Holiday Shopping
Does your business offer products or services people can give as gifts or use during the holidays?
Then you want to create holiday posts about shopping.
Many shoppers enjoy buying things for their loved ones, but life gets busy.
They may not know they want or need your products until they see an ad and think, “THAT’S where I need to go!”
3. They’re Timely and Relevant
This is the most apparent reason to post during the holidays.
Posts that draw attention to your business should be relevant and speak to the current mindset of your potential customers.
When you frequently post content for different seasons and holidays, your timelines will show a healthy, robust activity history.
If your holiday content is compelling, people will want to share it.
That’s good news for your company.
When Should You Post on a Holiday?
Generally, it is wise to post once early, wishing your customers and potential customers a happy holiday.
Then, you can post again later with a cute ad or video showing something personal, like your own Christmas festivities or your employees at the annual holiday party/barbecue.
Best Times To Post (In U.S. Time Zones)
Some suggestions:
First post:
Morning.
Schedule it early.
Let’s say 6 am Pacific time.
That would mean that it would be 9 am EST, and 8 am C.T.
If you’d prefer not to get up that early on a holiday, you can simply post the night before, wishing them a safe, happy holiday in advance.
If someone wants to buy from you that day or order online, they can see your ad first thing on the holiday morning.
Second Post:
Evening.
On the evening of the holiday itself, when you are ready to post your warm fuzzy content, aim for around 9 pm EST, 8 pm C.T., and 6 pm P.T.
That’s around the time a lot of folks are relaxing after their holiday meals, scrolling social media, and feeling happy and relaxed.
Post Your Content When It Matters
Learning the best times to post on social media can make or break your content strategy.
Are you familiar with when these times are? If not, familiarize yourself today!
Tips for a Holiday Post
Every holiday has a different meaning or appeal, so it might seem daunting to find the perfect way to celebrate it on your social media.
However, you’ll be able to successfully complete the task with these tips in mind.
1. Place the Emphasis on a Charity
Giving feels good.
People tend to be generous around holidays, and they like seeing others make a difference in the world, which is why donations to charitable organizations skyrocket around the Christmas holidays.
If you can show your business reaching out to those in need, you’re demonstrating to potential customers that you’re an ethical, caring company active in the community.
You can also encourage your followers to get involved in a good cause.
2. Show Gratitude
We all have something for which we are thankful.
You can join in this feeling of gratitude by posting highlight reels of your year and thanking your customers for being loyal.
Then, you can invite them to participate in the conversation, commenting on what they are grateful for in their own lives.
3. Celebrate
Mark the passing of time and the rituals people enjoy during these meaningful times of the year.
4. Advertise a Holiday Sale
Are you having a sale around the holidays?
Let people know! Using relevant imagery and inspiring words, tell your followers what you’re offering, how long it will be available, and how they can buy it.
5. Holiday-Themed Contest or Giveaway
Holiday contests and giveaways are popular ways to draw new customers or get people more involved in your social media.
Invite your followers to guess how many Christmas candies are in a jar or where the Elf On the Shelf will appear next.
Make it something fun they want to participate in, and make sure the prize is something desirable but realistic.
Sometimes you just want to have fun.
The holiday season brings out the kid in us.
Let your holiday posts reflect that by sharing positive, joyful, and funny content.
Blooper reels, pets being adorable, content showing food or family traditions, and more are all great ways to make your followers feel like they are celebrating the holidays with you.
You don’t have to show your own family or customers in these holiday posts if you don’t want to.
Instead, you can share cute, fun content from around the internet and caption it to remind people about your business.
Hashtags help your content get seen by more people.
They help your post get categorized under a commonly searched topic or saying so that you appear in more social media search results.
For example, holiday hashtags that are common around the holidays include #christmastime, #holidayfun #holidayshopping, #holidaysale, and many more.
If possible, try and get your business’ product or service in the hashtag to make it more specific so that people searching for your type of business can find it easily.
If you sell cars, you can use a hashtag like #carforchristmas.
Lists of tips and suggestions are always popular around the holidays.
Let people know how to do things more conveniently and more streamlined.
Let them in on life hacks for saving time and money.
If you can showcase your product or service, all the better.
For example, if you have a clothing store, you can make a holiday post featuring tips for staying warm while still looking stylish.
How to Write a Holiday Post on Social Media
Want some step-by-step instructions on holiday posts for social media?
Here are the basics:
Find your image.
Always use high-quality photos and videos in your posts.
Be sure the image prominently features whatever you want to draw attention to, whether it’s your employees, your products/services, a fun message, or a general holiday greeting.
Posting an eye-catching photo of inventory on a holiday-themed background is a good strategy if you’re advertising a product or sale.
Holiday posts should be short yet impactful.
People are busy during the holiday season and won’t have time to read long or complicated posts.
Give vital info.
If your post is a sales post, remember to let people know the date and location of the sale and when it will begin and end.
Look up which ones are trending at the moment and see if any could apply to your post.
Be sure to include your business name as a hashtag, as well.
Include links.
Make sure your post contains a link that takes your viewers to your business’s website or wherever you sell your products/services.
You can share your post across many social media platforms, and you can ask your friends to share it too.
The more eyes on your business, the better.
Pro Tip: If you’re looking to take your holiday post to another level, you can even look into asking questions on your Instagram story, an easy way to drive additional content engagement.
Holiday Post Examples
Depending on the business, what you post for the holidays could be generic or related back to your niche.
Large companies like Coca Cola have found their stride with their holiday advertising.
However, small businesses can create effective holiday social media posts using their own branding with extra decoration and personalized messaging specific to the holiday.
Ideas for Holiday Post Captions
General Holiday Greetings
Not all holiday posts involve a sale or reference to any product.
Earlier, we covered posts you can make on the day of the holiday that should include a general greeting.
Sometimes a simple shot of a Christmas wreath, Hanukkah menorah, fireworks, or whatever applicable holiday symbol you want is all you need, along with a good caption.
Try something like “From our family to yours, have a safe and happy holiday.”
Your customers just want to know you value them and remember them during the holidays.
You can still include a link to your company website or any other relevant links.
Christmas Caption Ideas
You can go with classics like “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the year” for General Christmas Greetings or “Warm wishes for a cozy Christmas.”
Or, if you want to be naughty and playful, try a caption along the lines of “We’re all like candy canes; sweet but a little twisted” and feature a photo of your crew/employees in Santa hats.
Hanukkah Caption Ideas
Many fun Hanukkah-related captions are food-related.
For instance: “Happy Challah-Days!”
Or “Have a latke fun this Hanukkah ”
Or you can go traditional with “May your light always shine” or “Celebrating the season of miracles.”
Fourth of July Caption Ideas
It’s easy to forget that the Fourth of July is a significant holiday because it gets overshadowed by the immensity of the Christmas season.
However, you can make the most of this summer holiday with some patriotic or warm weather-related social media posts.
“Wishing you a sparkling independence day” (with a photo of a sparkler).
Or “Happy Birthday USA” (with an image of a waving flag).
You can also use “Summer fun has just begun” with a video or photo of a tropical beach.
Wrapping Up
Social media can be one of the best ways to connect with your customer base during the holidays and all year long.
These are just some basic suggestions on holiday posts for social media.
Use your imagination and have fun coming up with new captions, photo ideas, and hashtags.
For even more inspiration, check out our guide: Things to Write About.
