Does seasonal content work?

All companies nowadays understand the importance of branding, and creating a cohesive and recognisable face for your business across all customer touchpoints. One way to take this a step further is to invest in some seasonal branding, which is especially effective over social media.

‘Tis the season to stand out

Visually, this offers you the opportunity to give your feeds a fresh look without a complete overhaul. Keeping your branding the same, with just some slight seasonal tweaks, allows you to remain recognisable whilst also stopping your followers from becoming desensitised to your usual content. It also indicates to your followers that you are active on your platforms, and creates an ice-breaker that invites conversation and interaction with them, making them feel that following you is worthwhile.

From a sales point of view, it’s a perfect way to promote seasonal or limited-edition products (if you have them), as well as to showcase any offers or deals you have. This can lead to an upswing in website traffic, social media engagement, sales – whatever your main goal is. As with any social media strategy, it’s important to set a goal that you’d like your seasonal branding to help you move towards.

Looking beyond sales to the bigger picture of how you present yourself as a business, using seasonal branding allows your followers to form an emotional connection to your brand. For example, Christmas evokes many emotions of nostalgia and happiness in people which can convey a positive image of your brand. It positions you as being more personal and real, as it shows you’re paying attention to what’s happening and what’s important to people.

Make a list, and check it twice

But how can you utilise these seasonal benefits across your social media platforms?

As well as slightly tweaking things visually with design (such as a seasonal cover photo, or profile picture) there are other ways to utilise your social media platforms seasonally.

To begin with, having a solid plan of action ahead of time will help. To get the most out of the seasonal branding, it’s probably best to have a plan for the lead up to, and even after, the holiday or event. This allows you to generate a lot of content that’s a break from your usual posting plan, and to perhaps showcase new things like your office, staff, and behind the scenes glimpses which you may not normally share.

You could also tap into popular hashtags (this can be something as simple as #Christmas, for example) which will ensure your posts get seen by a much larger group than just your followers. It also means your posts can be aimed at people who might not be your normal target audience to gain new followers or new leads, although be mindful to not forget about your core target audience completely.

Another great way to take advantage of holidays and seasonal activities via social media is to run/host a competition. This is a particularly great one at Christmas, a season known for its generosity, as it helps generate activity on your platforms and can direct traffic to your website, as well as showing you in a positive light.

To go one step further, if there are relevant topics that tie in with both your business and the holiday, you could write and share blog posts. This is a great opportunity to link your followers to your website, especially if you find that your posts are attracting newer followers from a larger audience who you can introduce to your brand and services.

 

To wrap up, just remember these points to ensure your seasonal branding hits the right mark:

• Don’t stray too far from your branding and keep it recognisable
• Plan ahead of time
• Have a goal in mind
• Remember who your target audience are
• Vary your post styles
• Make it fun!