Holidays on Social Media – Should Your Brand Interact?

One of the most common topics of conversation that we have with clients as community managers is creating social media content for [insert holiday]. Sometimes the holidays are things like Christmas, Veteran’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, but other “holidays” are a bit of a stretch. Days like National [insert almost anything here] Day. There is a “day” for nearly everything under the sun. The question is, if and when your brand should participate.

Tomorrow is National Pie Day, should my brand participate? Unless your brand sells pies—a grocery store, a bakery, or otherwise has some special tie to pies, it’s probably best to let this day pass.

Here are a few questions you should ask before creating social content around holidays.

  • Is this holiday relevant to my brand?
    • Think about the holiday that you’re wanting to support on social. Does it have anything to do with your brand’s values, content pillars or product in any way? Here’s an example from our #client Altar’d State, a faith-based fashion retailer. This is a natural tie to feature a Bible verse on Christmas that is relevant to the brand.

Halo Top also took a unique spin on a post around the Christmas holiday. Keeping the product center of focus, they were able to tap into the mindset of consumers during this time frame and create a fun social post for their audience.

  • Can my brand join the conversation in an organic way and provide value?
    • Maybe you’re wanting to jump on the “National ________ Day” train. Think about whether your brand can join the conversation in an organic way. For a brand like Krispy Kreme, #NationalDoughtnutDay is your day. The brand has a natural tie and is providing value to their fans and followers.

  • Could my brand’s participation be perceived in a negative way at all?
    • Take some extra time to think about this one from an objective perspective. Ex: If the holiday is focused around memorializing a person/persons, it’s probably not the best idea to create social posts (or run ads) that are focused heavily on purchasing your product on that day, as it can be seen as insensitive. Pause the marketing jargon for one day to save your brand potential backlash.

 

The bottom line? Take some time to think strategically before just throwing up a post around holidays.

Have questions? Drop up a line. We’re happy to help!