Give the gift of convenience with these 3 social media marketing tips for the Christmas season

The festive season has well and truly arrived, with this year being an unpredictable year for all Aussie businesses. For businesses wanting to capitalise on the season, you want to ensure your social media content and accounts are getting the attention they need, writes Sarah Russo, Head of Content Marketing, Localsearch.

If you’re selling a service or product that could be a gift, this is the perfect time for your digital presence to be the most active and driving business. People are looking for solutions to tick off those Christmas shipping lists, so why not take advantage of this by allowing yourself to scream and shout about your products.

Here are four golden social media tips to spark inspiration this Christmas

1. 12 Days of Christmas… but make it collaborative

Christmas is the time for giving, and as a business, this is a way for you to connect with your customers and community. A 12 Days of Christmas campaign is an easy way to tie the sentiment in with the season and your business’s persona, either on your own or by partnering up with other local businesses for some cross-promotion.

This is ideal for those upcoming businesses who don’t have the resources to have massive sales or giveaway prizes. One day could be a 10% discount, another could be a collaborative gift from another local small business. Once you’ve got your list, and checked it twice, creating the content for your campaign is simple.

Create one great template, then simply switch out your photos, graphics and text as you need — also remembering to switch out the day number. Be sure to include some basic terms and conditions to cover you legally and abide by your chosen platform’s guidelines for promotions.

2. Start a conversation with your audience with some Merry questions

Starting a conversation is a great way to engage your audience, afterall, social media is ‘social’. Conversations and engagement with your posts, stories and content helps not only your business in direct ways, but also helps drive up your visibility of those posts to even more people. Running a Christmas themed ‘This or That’ on Instagram or Facebook stories can create that direct engagement with your followers, and even those who don’t.

Keep it simple by utilising the poll feature and some complementary imagery and ask your followers some seasonal questions. Everyone loves to give their option, so ask them if they’re ham, turkey or tofurkey family! Do they like gift wrap or gift bags? Are gift cards a faux pas or much appreciated gift? It shakes up your static posts and helps people feel included, while also boosting your analytics too.

3. Voice your promotions for the festive season

‘Tis the season of giving, so you should be letting people far and wide know about any discounts and sale promotions happening in the lead up to Christmas. Given Australia’s recent economic recession, people are more likely to shop savvier.