The holidays are here!   Chances are you've pulled back a bit from traditional marketing (except for some holiday cards) and you're looking forward to a little bit of down time to plan and take stock of where you are.

So what are you doing with social? No doubt you have a great plan to take you through the holiday season and really maximize the social platforms.

No? Forgot to plan for social? Don't think you needed anything special?  Not to worry.  There are still some easy and powerful things you can do to keep your social networks buzzing this season.

  • Add some "festivity" to your logo or cover image with some holiday "updating".
  • Show your personality. What's happening in your office? Horrible holiday sweaters? Decked out cubicles? A different holiday party? Take photos and share.
  • GIVE. Are you doing anything for charities this holiday season? Make sure everyone knows and if possible, have them join you. Post photos of a 'Toys for Tots' drive and ask for gifts; share a bit about some of your favorite charities and why you give; or offer a match program for your followers.
  • Share the lighter side of the news. Bing "holiday news" for great stories like how to celebrate a safe holiday or follow sites that have holiday news sections (One exception to the lighter side of the news: what to expect next year and trend type articles are still tops in social media and big at this time of year, so if you see them - share them .)
  • Engage. People love to share their holidays. Ask a question. What's their favorite holiday tradition? Best holiday? Most unusual? Ask EVERYONE to participate - your employees, family, friends and vendors. If you want to take it a step further, add a promotion - small gift cards for the first ten stories. Combine giving with promotion and offer gift cards to a charity. Using Twitter as your only social network? You can run the contest on your blog and let people add their comments there.

Bottom line - social is about BEING social. Holidays are a great time to return to the social side. And if you can keep some of that personality going throughout the year - even better!

For more marketing tips, visit www.ThePartnerMarketingGroup.com, or opt into our monthly newsletter by texting the letters TPMG to 22828.

 

By Barbara Pfeiffer, Virtual Marketing Director at The Partner Marketing Group