Five marketing ideas to help your brand stand out this Christmas

Waking up from lockdown and heading straight into the Christmas season is quite daunting for struggling small businesses. Christmas is fast approaching and honestly, social media may be the least of your worries.

But getting your marketing sorted for the silly season doesn’t have to be a chore, and your accounts should not be neglected over this period, regardless of how busy you are.

In fact, this is the time you want your brand to be most active, especially if you’re selling a product or service that could be a gift.

Adopting these five simple ideas across Facebook, Instagram and your other marketing streams will help your business switch up content to utilise your most important asset: your customers.

Five ways to pivot your marketing

1. Take advantage of user-generated content

   Think of user-generated content as visual reviews of your business. If someone is voluntarily posting your product or service on their social media, that’s the highest accolade. Consumers see it this way too, with 79% of customers saying that user-generated content plays an important role in their purchase decision.

   Receiving user-generated content is easier than you may think. One of the easiest ways to get your consumers to create this content is to run a competition, with Christmas being a great hook and prizing opportunity. You don’t need to know high reach followers to succeed; simply ask your followers to post a photo of them using your product or service for them to go in the draw to win a voucher or free product/service.

2. Take part in a ’12 Days of Christmas’ campaign, or run another offer

   There are no rules when running this campaign (it can be as extravagant or laid back as possible), as long as it ties in with your business’ persona. After all, Christmas is the season of giving, so why not give out 12 products, discount codes, or prize packs? This is also another way to team up with other local businesses for some cross-promotion.

   Once you’ve decided on how you will structure your giveaway, you then need to consider the content — and creating content for Christmas campaigns like this is simple.

   Create (or find) one great template, then simply switch out your photos, graphics and text as need be for each day of the giveaway. Just remember to include basic terms and conditions to cover you legally, and abide by the platforms guidelines for promotions.

3. Switch up your artwork

   Just like your physical store, it’s important to dress up and decorate your social media, marketing assets and your website. Even if it’s turning your logo into holiday colours, sneaking a little Santa into your profile picture or festive baubles on your cover photo, it shows that your company is getting in the spirit and getting customers in the festive season.

   It’s also a good idea to add some festivities into your posts: use Christmas colouring for the month of December, or hone in on the emotions of the season by sharing thoughtful and kind content.

4. Engage your followers with some merry questions

   Capitalising on the holiday season is a great conversation starter! Emphasising organic content on socials not only keeps your followers more engaged, but drives your engagement rate up to bring more eyes to your content and accounts. Running a Christmas themed ‘This or That’ on Instagram or Facebook stories can create direct communication between you and your followers.

   Everyone loves to give their own opinion online, so why not ask your followers what they wish for this Christmas? It shakes up the usually static posts to a more fun, interactive feed that will really boost engagement.

5. Create a unique Christmas gift guide filled with your products and services

   It’s the perfect time of year to scream and shout about your products, so do it in style and volume. Showcasing your products in a gifting light can help generate sales and build inspiration for your followers to start their Christmas shopping early and beat the rush.

   You don’t need a degree in graphic design to create unique, fun looking posts. There are plenty of free software and apps you can utilise to design a series of posts that will bring your products to life and let customers know the must-haves on offer for the gifting season.

From switching your account and website graphics to festive colours, to utilising user-generated content and encouraging merry engagement, you can easily harness the power of social media and marketing to engage with your consumers this festive season.