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It’s not too early! Tips for planning your holiday social campaigns

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Summer has said its goodbyes and the road to the holidays is just around the bend. As marketers, planning ahead is key, and since most shoppers start their holiday gift gathering just after Halloween, it’s not too early to hang the social media ornaments.

The holidays are the most crowded time on social media. It can be difficult standing out in the marketing frenzy before December, but it is essential that you get it right. Here are some tips and platforms that can help marketing, PR and social media pros harness the power of he holidays.

The more the merrier: Plan out multiple campaigns to increase engagement and sales. Design them to target niche audiences with specific rewards and gifts. Space them out, though; don’t release six different promotions in one week. Social marketing platform OfferPop reports that while brand holiday campaigns spike in the second week of December, there is a high fan participation rate in early and mid-November. That’s a great window to either kick-off holiday campaigns or introduce a heavy hitter, such as a holiday shopping spree contest or 50% off one-day coupon special.

Coupons: Speaking of coupon specials, no, they’re not just for the crazies on TLC. Fans love getting discounts from brands during the holidays, and it’s an easy and obvious incentive to shop at a specific establishment for gifts. Coupons should have a small shelf life during the holidays, and can be offered in the form of codes (make graphics fans can share) or you can plan an more complex process, such as codes for friends that, once used, unlock more savings.

Mobile coupons are essential. Make them easy to pull up at the register from the Facebook page or Twitter account. As OfferPop’s Mark Cooper states, “The download and print coupon days are well behind us. Make sure you’re making mobile a priority.”

Don’t neglect channels: Facebook is the network to focus efforts on, but don’t forget to utilize popular sites such as Instagram and Pinterest with holiday-oriented campaigns. Niche campaigns specific to the networks are an obvious and appropriate choice, such as winning a dream “board” or an outdoor photo and hashtag contest.

Allocate big budgets to social media during the holidays: Planning ahead means setting budgets for advertising, design, etc. Provide the times around Black Friday, Cyber Monday and during the second week of December the greatest amount of ad dollars, as they are the highest traffic times. Give your campaigns plenty of attention, but also use your dollars on tactics aimed to increase your overall fan base. Sponsor posts and buy ads.

Run Timeline contests: Facebook’s recent announcement that contests no longer had to be run through a third-party app opened up a brand new door of opportunity for fan pages. Take advantage of it by running holiday-related contests on the Timeline to engage your fans. Ask for shares and “likes” so it’s more likely to be seen by friends of fans. If you’re dry for contest ideas or have a variety of pages you must keep up on, consider using Post Planner. They just launched a new feature that has more than 300 built-in contests you can pick from, quickly edit and post directly to your page. Make sure they are holiday oriented — get in the spirit!

The main idea is to plan ahead and get creative. Give everything you do on social media a little touch of holiday magic or cheer. And don’t forget the green, red and gold colors!

Abbi Whitaker is the CEO of The Abbi Agency powered by Boost, a digital engagement firm offering services in public relations, content marketing, social media and design. Abbi has more than 15 years of experience in the public relations industry winning awards for technology, travel, and food and beverage campaigns. She has offices in Reno, Nev., and downtown Las Vegas. You can follow her @abbijayne and @theabbiagency on Twitter or visit www.theabbiagency.com.

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It’s not too early! Tips for planning your holiday social campaigns originally published by SmartBlogs


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