7 Creative Holiday Content Ideas
The holidays are the perfect time to switch things up with your marketing strategy. Instead of pumping out your typical content, consider making holiday posts to get your audience in the festive spirit.
Why Holiday Content Matters For Business
It’s no secret that the holiday season is the busiest time of year for retail. Spending has been steadily increasing over the past several years, with consumers expected to spend 40% more in 2023 than in 2022.
Because so many of their purchasing decisions are influenced by digital marketing, it’s imperative that companies look for any and all ways to appeal to their audiences. This festive period is a great opportunity to do that.
While your audience may have come to expect a certain type of content from you during the rest of the year, they’ll appreciate you taking a special approach to your holiday posts. Holiday-themed content offers the following benefits:
- Increased Engagement: Audiences are more likely to engage with content that resonates with current events and sentiments. Holiday content taps into emotions, nostalgia, and the festive spirit, prompting more likes and shares.
- Boost in Sales and Conversions: Retailers and service providers can leverage holiday-themed promotions to drive sales. Consumers are often in the shopping mindset during holidays, and tailored content can directly influence their purchasing decisions.
- Improved Relevance: By aligning your content with the season, you demonstrate that your brand is up-to-date and in touch with what’s going on in the world at the time.
- SEO Benefits: As the holidays approach, there's a surge in related search queries. Specialized content can help your website rank for these seasonal keywords and attract organic traffic.
- Strengthened Brand Identity: Sharing holiday greetings or messages can humanize your brand, showcasing its values and connecting emotionally with your audience.
- Opportunities for Collaboration: The holidays are a great time to consider partnering with other brands or influencers for joint campaigns. This can broaden your reach and impact.
- Building Tradition and Anticipation: Annual holiday-specific content can become a tradition your audience looks forward to, building excitement and increasing recurring engagement.
Effective Holiday Content Ideas
You don’t need to be a creative guru to make your brand shine during the holidays. Look at what other companies have done, taking note of what worked well for their marketing campaigns and what you might do differently with your own.
Here are some fun content ideas to get you started.
1. Offer a Sneak Peek Into Your Holiday Preparations
Many customers wonder what goes on behind the scenes of their favorite brands, especially during the holidays. Humor them and give them an authentic look into how your brand is gearing up for the season with some social media content.
Whether you're decking out your workspace with twinkling lights or designing an exclusive holiday product or service line, a behind-the-scenes glance is one of the best holiday content ideas for social media.
But why is this so effective? Sharing your brand's preparations for the holiday season creates an aura of authenticity. It invites customers and potential customers to be part of your journey, helping them feel connected to your brand and getting them more invested in your holiday posts.
You can offer this kind of behind-the-scenes content in numerous ways. For example, you can use short video clips or photo stories detailing your brand's holiday transition or show your content creation process for your holiday line. Your social media manager or other content creators on your team may also have fun doing holiday season day-in-the-life videos.
Remember to maintain a consistent content calendar with regular updates. Collaborate with influencers or internal team members to amplify your posts’ reach in real time and help achieve your marketing goals.
2. Promote Fanfare and Festivity With User-Generated Content (UGC)
Invoke the spirit of the holiday season by motivating your followers to create and share brand-related holiday content. By doing this, you're not just sourcing content ideas but showing your followers that you value their input. There’s a reason this content marketing strategy is so popular!
UGC can significantly expand your brand’s reach. As real users share their experiences, other social media users view them as genuine endorsements of your brand, creating a positive ripple effect in their holiday shopping decisions.
You can also organize social media challenges or competitions as part of your holiday social media strategy. For example, you might ask your audience to share their festive moments featuring your products with a unique hashtag. The most captivating entries could be rewarded and featured on your official channels.
3. Feature Nostalgic Holiday Throwbacks
Who doesn’t love a trip down memory lane? Dive into your archives and bring back memorable moments from past holiday seasons. Nostalgia can be profoundly impactful and give you an opportunity to showcase your brand history.
Use platforms like Instagram and Facebook to create content and capitalize on their throwback-themed features, like on Instagram stories. For an even greater impact, pair these with narratives of past moments, painting a full picture of the memory you’re reminiscing on. Consider creating multiple pieces of content focused on each holiday.
4. Have Daily Surprises and Offers
There are several ways you can incorporate daily surprises into your holiday content. Start with a digital advent calendar — every day, as the countdown to the holidays begins, you can unveil exciting content or offers.
Design a visually pleasing digital calendar with hidden content each day. Behind these digital “windows,” place exclusive discounts or even a daily gift guide catered to different segments of your audience.
The allure of daily surprises will keep your audience coming back to your platforms over and over again, significantly boosting engagement.
5. Showcase Personal Testimonials and Holiday Tales
During the holiday season, customers are especially receptive to heartwarming tales. Share moving testimonials linked to your brand, whether it be a tale of how a family integrated your product into their celebrations or a story about how your brand played a part in a meaningful community event.
The power of emotional stories cannot be overstated. A well-narrated tale can linger in a customer’s memory, creating a lasting positive impression of your brand. Leverage these feelings to your advantage and generate creative holiday season content ideas, whether through video interviews, blog write-ups, or even animated recreations.
6. Give DIY Guides and Festive Tutorials
A lot of people lean into their crafty sides during the holidays. Jump on this opportunity to share DIY projects or “how-to” guides around your brand. If you’re a culinary brand, you could share a guide on holiday-themed recipes; for fashion-oriented companies, styling tips for festive parties might work.
Guides like these are some of the most popular social media post ideas for a reason: they offer tangible value and cement your brand’s position as a go-to resource for the holiday season.
Feel free to get creative with your content! Explore different formats, including videos, infographics, and blog posts. Encourage users to share their renditions or results on your social media channels.
7. Shine the Spotlight on Diverse Holiday Traditions
During the holiday season, it’s important to acknowledge the diversity of your audience. Spotlight different cultural festivities to show customers that your brand is committed to inclusivity. This will strengthen your bond with customers, making them feel seen and cherished.
Engage with your audience by asking them to share their unique holiday traditions. That way, you can foster a true global celebration.
Create Fun Holiday Content With Maestra
The holidays are right around the corner, which means now is the time to start brainstorming content ideas. Every brand is unique, and your holiday content should be designed with your audience in mind — whatever that happens to be.
At this time of the year, content isn’t just about advertising but embracing the spirit of the season. It’s the perfect opportunity to form genuine connections with your customers and inspire potential buyers to check out your offerings.
Maestra’s transcription, subtitling, and voiceover services can be a great option for businesses looking to make their holiday-themed content more accessible. Get started for free, or contact us to request a demo.