It is hard to believe that the holiday season is right around the corner and with that comes one of the biggest spending times of the year for consumers. For this reason, now is the time to start brainstorming about your holiday marketing strategy and get your social media feeds ready to go!

Below are some holiday marketing ideas to help you stand out in the sea of social media and really engage with your customers this upcoming holiday season.

Come up with a content calendar

Begin by highlighting the dates that are important for your  business’ success and build out your promotions from there.  Some ideas are Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday and of course Black Friday.  By doing this, you will be able to visualize your holiday strategy in an organized and clear way setting you up for success this holiday season.

Pick a social media platform

Less is more and this applies to social media as well. It may make sense to advertise across all the platforms but Instead, figure out which one the majority of your customers are on. Choose those to build a strong presence on for the holidays. Remember, consumers today rely heavily on social media for research, advice and comparison shopping before they make a purchase, especially during the holidays.

Try to stand out

Using motion in your content is a great way to stand out from the competition.  If it is not in the budget to have a professional create a branded video for your holiday campaign, consider using Facebook Live, animated gif’s or Instagram stories.  These are also great at capturing the attention of your audience.

Connect with your audience

As the end of the year approaches, it is a great time to connect with your followers by doing some sort of year in review of your brand. Do a recap of all the great things that happened throughout the year.  Consider sharing meaningful stories about employees as well as any milestones the company reached. Doing this will foster an emotional connection with your audience.

Make sure to be interactive

If you want to have a successful experience on social media, you have to be social and interact with your followers.  This will further boost your relationship with them and foster loyalty.   During the holidays, this is even more important. Whether you are doing a Thanksgiving contest or running a Christmas giveaway, make sure you are starting conversations and engaging with anyone that comments in order to encourage further dialogue.

Offer something extra to social media audiences

Make your social media followers feel special during the holiday season by adding a gift with purchase or any other “extra” exciting offer.  Consider putting some of your marketing budget towards paid ads.  By doing this, you will avoid looking like you are pushing too many promotions in your feeds.  Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest all offer paid advertising so pick which ones would work best for your audience and have at it.

Have a holiday theme on all your platforms

The holidays offer a great excuse to add some flare to your social media accounts as well as your website.  Give thought to creating a new header image for your social media pages as well as adding some festive designs to your website or app.

Offer a pricing discount

Offering promotional pricing may not seem all that exciting but it works.  Customers really appreciate the discount and sometimes that is all it takes to make a sale.  Make the offer related to your holiday campaign and be sure it is visually appealing as well. It is also a fun touch to make the promotional offer period or amount related to the theme you choose.  Like a 14% discount on Valentines Day or running the promo for a certain number of days (like 12 days of Christmas).