20 Ideas to Include in Your Holiday Social Media Posts

The Holiday season is coming, and social media trends are coming with it. Stay caught up, and elevate your holiday social media game. 

Marketing is only tapping into human psychology and figuring out what a human brain likes so that you can leverage that to provide the best products and services and increase engagement and sales for your brand. 

During this merry and bright holiday season, everyone wants to see content that gives festive vibes. We bring this well-curated list of 20 ideas for holidays that you can use to take inspiration. 

20 Ideas to Include in Your Holiday Social Media Posts

Spread joy, build connections, and create unforgettable moments on your social media platforms with the help of these creative ideas for holiday social media posts. Let the festive magic begin!

#1. Launch a product 

Many brands in the past have gained so many eyeballs just by introducing a new product on the holiday. Also, you can provide special holiday offers on this new product. However, the key is to launch the product on a different day than the exact day of the festival but to hype it up weeks before the actual launch and holiday. 

This builds anticipation, and customers become more curious when the product launches. A lot of brands leverage this anticipation to make actual sales. 

#2. Launch a limited-edition campaign

According to psychology, the human brain is designed in a way that we want to have unique and limited things. Do you remember when you wanted to buy something online and saw a timer running beside that product? You bought it because you knew it would not be available after the timer ended.

You can also use this technique and create a sense of urgency through a limited-edition campaign. 

#3. Boost a seasonal product 

A seasonal product is unique, and what did we say about a unique product? People want to have it. Holiday products have a festive ambiance around them that customers find resonating. 

Ways in which you can boost a seasonal product are: 

• Highlighting your best-selling product and mentioning how it's perfect for this holiday season. 
• Launching a new product or service that is just for holidays. 

#4. Share a holiday-relevant playlist 

Nowadays, people like putting songs in their pictures. They are always in search of trendy songs to put in their post. Ask your team members to make a playlist of their favorite songs and share it on a post; people will thank you. Make a mix for every mood that caters to different moods and occasions. From upbeat hip-hop tracks to slow, soulful songs, have a list that compliments every festive moment. 

#5. Create a Holiday-Themed Contest or Giveaway

Who doesn't love gifts? Organize a giveaway in which you can ask people to comment, like, and share your content and choose a lucky winner randomly. This way, you can bring engagement to your social media profiles and provide some gratitude to the community you have built. Giveaways are a type of user-generated content that helps you build brand visibility. There are plenty of tools available on the internet that let you choose a winner without any bias. 

#6. Share Behind-the-scenes festivities

We live in a world where people are interested in watching behind-the-scenes life; it humanizes a brand and builds genuine engagement. 

Here are some behind-the-scenes post-related ideas:

• Share a video post of the team decorating the office 
• Reveal a product production session 
• Post a photo of your team in a meeting, brainstorming ideas for the next campaign 
• Give a sneak peek at how your employees are celebrating the holidays 

Finally, caption the post by asking your audience to share their behind-the-scenes. 

#7. Shift the spotlights to the customer

Showcase customers' happiness with your products and services by sharing their positive reviews and testimonials. This practice will make the present customers feel important, and the potential customers will find you credible. Present the center stage to your happy customers! Share how they are celebrating their holidays, as they are the actual stars of the season—our customers.

Let your followers know the magic your customers found in your products and services. 

#8. User-generated holiday contests

Make a personal hashtag for your brand and ask your audience to share photos and stories with this hashtag for a chance to win a present. Some general guidelines for creating contests are:

• Announce a theme, such as "Share your festive traditions" or "Surprise us with your holiday decor creativity."
• Use an original and easy-to-remember branded hashtag for participants to include in their entries. 
• Provide clear and concise submission instructions.
• Reveal the prizes to create excitement. 
• Explain judging criteria such as originality and creativity.
• Mention contest duration like start and end date.
• Clearly state where you will do the winner announcement. 

#9. Year in review 

Share how the previous year was for your brand. Tell the ups and downs stories, if you had any setbacks, and how you overcame them. If you launched a new product that did well and the number of satisfied customers. 

Create a visual recap full of pictures and videos of your milestones and memorable moments. 

Our suggestion? Make a retrospective highlight that showcases your brand's success, expresses gratitude, and engages with your audience. It will be like a diary entry ritual you can do every year. 

#10. Be good and share Charitable initiatives 

Promote the art of giving back to society through seasonal causes and charities. Many brands share information like they plant a tree for every sale in a forest or they share a percentage of their revenue in students' education. 

This brings positivity to the brand's name and positively impacts the customer. Some charitable initiatives that your brand can take and make posts about on social media can be:

• Supporting a local cause

• Organizing a donation drive

• Partnering with a nonprofit organization

Once in a while, create a post on such charitable initiatives taken by your brand to keep the human side behind the brand alive. 

#11. Hosting an "Ask Me Anything"

AMA sessions are the best type of interactive audience. Effective communication is a two-way communication. AMA sessions allow the audience to give feedback and ask questions to complete the communication loop. 

Ideas to make AMAs compelling are:

• Share anecdotes

• Answer burning questions

• Fill it up with pictures and videos

AMA sessions can engage and shed light on your shortcomings. Respond in a way that keeps the conversation flowing.  

#12. Play games

Games are a great way to bond with your online audience during the holiday season. Some exciting game suggestions are: 

• Trivia challenges that test your follower's general knowledge 
• Interactive quizzes on pop-culture knowledge 
• Ask the audience to guess the product by sharing a close-up picture of your product 

#13. Follow trends

Following trends keeps your content fresh and relevant. Here are some popular trends, and you can include them in your Social Media Marketing strategy: 

• Spotify and YouTube wrapped
• Festive challenges 
• Ugly sweater day photos 
• Year-in-review challenge 

#14. Make a countdown calendar

A countdown calendar informs your audience how your coming year will be. Elements you can include in your countdown calendar are: 

• Influencer and celebrity collaboration can be expected 
• Daily post routine 
• Exclusive discounts and offers they can avail 
• Product reveals that are going to be launched 

#15. Share gift suggestions 

People search for gift ideas during the holiday seasons, gifts they can give to their loved ones. Become the ultimate gift guide for your audience. Make posts that explain why your products are gift-worthy this holiday season and sort their holiday gift shopping. Don’t just stop at your products, but go selfless and suggest some actually good products that can benefit your audience and align with your brand’s voice. 

#6. DIY ideas 

People search for Do-It-Yourself ideas during holidays as they are fascinating to watch and they are actually helpful. Hence, you should use this time and incorporate DIY posts in your social media strategies. Especially during the holiday season, people want to indulge in handmade home decor, recipe videos, gift-wrapping inspiration, home improvement hacks, seasonal decor DIY, etc. Get creative this holiday season, and save money by creating DIY projects. 

#17. Introduce your team 

Create different posts or carousel slides introducing each team member. Include a photo, their role, and a fun fact about them. Different ways in which team members can participate are the following:

• Let each team member take over the social media profile for a day and let them share their minds 
• Let team members talk about their experience with the brand 
• Make employee appreciation posts by sharing their achievements 

#18. Encourage local businesses

Elevate your community by supporting local businesses. People are looking for recommendations during the holiday season. They would be grateful if you suggested a few local entrepreneurs without redirecting them to your competitors. This will make you trustworthy in the eyes of your audience, and they will come back to your content for more recommendations and products.

#19. Host a Fun Virtual Holiday Livestream

Virtual events let you communicate with the global audience as it reaches beyond boundaries. Conventional in-person meet-ups cost way more than virtual events. People who can't be with their families during the holiday like being part of these events to feel the human connection. Make a post announcing when the virtual event will happen and share login credentials. 

#20. Holiday-themed memes

People like sharing humor that resonates with them and aligns with the holiday season through memes. Ask your team to make memes that go well with your brand voice. 

1) Show Gratitude to Your Family, Friends, Colleagues, and Local Businesses

2) Provide Special Holiday Offers

3) Re-Theme Your Account for the Holidays by Changing Your Visuals

4) Share Fun Holiday-Themed Lists

5) Host a Fun Virtual Holiday Livestream

Why it's essential to include holiday posts in a Social Media Marketing Campaign?

Now that you know what to post, let's move on to why to post. Big brands run a unique social media marketing campaign for a reason; some of those reasons are discussed below: 

1. Increased engagement 

People use a lot of social media platforms on holidays to watch and share content. Use this opportunity to share the content that resonates with the season. Holidays present an opportunity for brands to engage their audience more effectively. Festive posts encourage the audience to interact with your posts. 

2. Opportunity for storytelling

The festive season provides a thematic backdrop that allows brands to tell compelling stories through social media campaigns. Use this joyous period of the year to build a human connection; one thing every human loves is stories. Convey stories through sharing traditions, highlighting team celebrations, or showcasing charitable initiatives. 

3. Drives sales

Higher engagement directly translates to increased sales. People find your content shareable and will bring in more followers, hence, more sales. People wait for the holiday season, and they add products to their cart so that they can avail of offers. Incorporating holiday-themed promotions, discounts, or exclusive offers on your social media posts can help your audience to purchase. The holiday season often sees an increase in consumer spending.

4. Stay in seasonal trends

Capitalize on trends by following the trends. Social media trends often reflect the current season or cultural events. Incorporate trends such as making DIY gifts, holiday-themed memes, significant discounts, package deals, etc., into your SMM (Social Media Management) strategy. Through trends, you demonstrate that your brand is current, relevant, and engaged with the world around it. 

4 Tips to Enhance Your Social Media Holiday Posts

Want to ace your social media game this holiday season? Use our 4 tips to level up. From including interesting pictures to engaging storytelling, our tips can make your brand shine. 

1. Re-Theme Your Account for the Holidays by Changing Your Visuals

Toss in some photos. Use high-quality, aesthetic, holiday-related images that align with your brand voice and the festive theme. Eyeballs usually follow visual content rather than just textual content. 

What photos can you use? Use a mix of photos, such as product photos, employee introduction photos, behind-the-scenes photos, faces of happy customers, holiday-themed graphics, and many more. 

2. Create a conversation 

Be a good listener and encourage interaction by posing questions about the holidays. The audience doesn't just want to listen to brands babble; they would love to be engaged if you invite them. 

How to create a conversation? Ask about favorite holiday traditions or gift ideas. Run Polls on Instagram to converse in a fun and interactive way.

3. Show gratitude 

Express gratitude to your audience for their support during the year. Don't just do it to milk content out of it, but mean it and personalize it accordingly. 

What are some ways in which you can show gratitude? Consider creating a special holiday message or graphic to show your appreciation. Leverage user-generated content to showcase how grateful you are to help your followers. 

Note: User-generated content (UGC) is the content created by your followers. It can be the testimonials and reviews you received, personal DMs, or pictures of happy customers benefiting from your goods and services. It not only demonstrates appreciation but also builds a sense of community.

4. Show your bestsellers off

Promote your bestsellers or most popular services during the holiday season. Create posts with these items and explain why many people liked this product. Create a sense of urgency by mentioning limited-time offers or exclusive holiday discounts. Psychologically, the human brain works so that if something is not available in abundance, we want to have it. 

Final Thoughts: What would you post this holiday season?

As we wind up these 20 holiday-inspired social media post ideas, we hope we were successful in enlightening you with the creativity you can use to make this season even more magical. Gone were the days when alone an excellent product could make your business successful. In today's digital, you need a solid social media presence. Make the most of your online presence and drive engagement and sales to your business this winter.