As a digital marketer, before the festive season sweeps us off our feet, itβs time to think about Christmas from another point of view: your clientsβ point of view.
And now every step you take, every move you make, everything screams βYou need a Christmas social media campaignβ. And by βeverythingβ I mean βyour competitorsβ.
If you want your products or services to be under some lucky fellowsβ Christmas tree, you need to struggle a little to get bigger results.
Today weβre gonna find out more about developing a Christmas social media campaign and weβll look at some campaign examples to get inspired.
Top Christmas social media campaigns 2023
- Why do you need a Christmas marketing campaign
- How to create a Christmas social media campaign - A step-by-step guide
- What data to look at before developing your Christmas social media campaign
- Christmas marketing ideas to promote your brand
1. Why do you need a Christmas marketing campaign
Christmas is a celebration about togetherness, family, sharing gifts and joy like thereβs no tomorrow. Now I know your eyes stopped on βsharing giftsβ and you pondered there for a minute or so.
The reason why you need a Christmas marketing campaign is to keep up with the trends and to also show the versatility of your brand. At the end of the day itβs still ok to shift your marketing strategy and have a festive campaign.
You can bring something new or adjust your products to make them perfect as a Christmas gift.
Developing a Christmas marketing campaign can sound like a big deal, but it will surely pay off. The reward would be that youβll be top of mind for all those searching for Christmas presents.
Your power to adapt your products and services in such a way that you get seen every time thereβs a big celebration in your potential clientsβ lives, it will get you to accomplish your goals.
To be on Santaβs good peopleβs list, you need to make an effort to build a Christmas campaign that will make your clientsβ families and friends go crazy about your seasonal offers.
A Christmas campaign must include offers or even new niched products available only for a short period. The way you promote them on social media, in a playful, colorful and vivid way, it will surely draw people to gather around your brand.
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2. How to create a Christmas social media campaign - A step-by-step guide
Crafting a Christmas social media campaign is not an easy thing. You need a goal and a plan based on it. After sketching your ideas and establishing the steps you need to take to accomplish your goal, the only thing remaining is to get started.
I know in theory it sounds simple, but here is the guide you need on how to create your Christmas social media campaign:
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Set up your Christmas campaign goal and find a theme for your campaign
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Think about your target audience and its needs
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Consider a Christmas promo or a new line of product with a Christmas theme
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Think about the types of content youβd use to reach your audience and develop brand awareness
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Launch your Christmas marketing campaign (and you can even tease it with some social media posts a few days in advance to get the audience hyped)
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Measure your results while the campaign is unfolding
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Make up a social media report after your campaign is over
3. What data to look at before developing your Christmas social media campaign
When doing research for your Christmas social media campaign, you should first look at data and what other brands do before starting. Getting inspired is crucial.
Using a social listening tool like Socialinsider can offer you a lot of useful insighs and analytics that can offer you different perspectives to build a powerful marketing campaign.
Here I entered the hashtag #christmas in Socialinsider's social listening tool and I looked at the data for the last 6 months.
The use of this hashtag has increased starting October. This can offer you a perspective for next year, learning when it's the best time to think about your Christmas social media campaign.
Through Socialinsider's Instagram analytics tool, I discovered that the most popular type of post that features the hashtag #christmas is Reels. This means that you should consider posting more Reels in your Instagram Christmas campaign.
You can even check in what other popular topics these hashtags are being used. Β
Next, I looked at other related hashtags you can use in your campaign to attract your target audience that is in search of Christmas presents.
The great part is that you can even get data about top hashtags by average engagement, deciding to choose only those that lead to the highest engagement rates. Isn't that cool?
With our social listening tool, you get the insights and inspiration you need to get your Chrismat campaign started.
4. Christmas marketing ideas to promote your brand
Christmas is a time to get cheerful and grateful for everything you managed to accomplish in the year thatβs about to end, counting your blessings and reuniting with your loved ones.
The festive mood can set in way ahead the actual Christmas holidays. If youβre wondering how, just think about that one TV commercial that makes you think βoh, here it is. Christmas is comingβ.
And just like that, you suddenly feel the scent of orange and cinnamon floating in the air, and youβre making lots of cups of hot cocoa, while praying for some snow.
For me, the commercial that makes me think about Christmas is the Coca Cola one with Santa and his truck lighting up a whole town.
Thatβs a unique commercial that managed to stay with its audience time and time again due to its familiarity and seasonal use.
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Santa loves authenticity
Even what youβre about to say was already said by 83 other brands from your industry, they donβt have your superpower. And your superpower is to be yourself. None of those ahead of you didnβt say the story the way you are about to do it.
So (wo)man up and write that concept in a unique way, highlighting your brandβs mission this Christmas.
Remember that everyone loves stories, including your audience. Make sure youβll fire up their curiosity to make them engage with your content.
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More videos, more brand awareness
On Instagram, Reels are the most engaging type of content. How about you take advantage of this info from our recent study?
People are more likely to watch a video than to read a long text post. Make sure you set in place some creative video content ideas that make a combo between family time and getting presents and everyone will be stunned.
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Post different Christmassy content on every platform
If you have built a social media presence on 4 social media platforms, you need to accustom your Christmas content campaign to the different types of audience you may have on these social networks.
5. Top Christmas social media campaigns
This winter, retailers have been competing one against the other, showing off their creative ideas for Christmas social media campaigns like theyβd wanna get on top of Santaβs good peopleβs list.
Here are some of the best examples of Christmas campaigns you can find this year when it comes to creativity, inspiration and emotional campaigns.
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John Lewis
Their new Christmas advert is pure magic. The story it tells and the familiarity it triggers nurtures that warm fuzzy feeling inside that makes you go βawwwβ.
When the ad starts with a little boy and his grandma, you know itβs gonna be emotional. The whole story revolves around the idea of having a different Christmas tree, one thatβs more alive, like a carnivorous plant.
Yep, thatβs unique. Even if for some this idea gives them shivers, the story ends on a hopeful note. The entire family starts accepting the odd Christmas tree and the happy ending is inevitable.
From a marketing perspective, the story in the advert makes people so fond of the brand that they immediately go on the website to see if thereβs at least a similar Christmas tree (at least as a toy).
The thing that attracts the audience is also the idea that everything ends well after all, triggering empathy that we should all be kind, especially around the festive season.
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Boots
This advert that was also promoted on social media by Boots is soooo cute. Especially because it turns the lens towards something not a lot of people think about, like the fact that Santa does not receive presents for Christmas.
We all know that if you give, you will also receive. But what about Santa? He is the one in charge of all the presents in the world, but it seems he is the one that remains giftless. The little girl and her mother starring in this Boots ad want to change that.
Their journey to the North Pole says a lot about life and how we leave little gifts and parts of us everywhere we go.
From a marketing point of view, this ad is smart because it triggers emotion, relatability, familiarity and it also makes you think about how kind have you been lately.
The thought works its way through so deep in your brain that you wanna go on their website and order some presents for your loved ones. So they pretty much get you.
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Aldi
This Aldi commercial with everyoneβs favorite character, Kevin the carrot, is so heart-warming.
Even if this commercial looks like itβs made for kids, so vivid and cartoonish, itβs actually made to attract the parents even more.
The ad that also reached social media has something from the Hansel & Gretel story, but mostly from the movie βCharlie and the Chocolate Factoryβ.
The ad is also meant to offer viewers a reminder that Christmas is not about being selfish, but about caring for your family and your dear ones.
From a marketing perspective, this Christmas campaign from Aldi is meant to bring out the good in people, triggering their audience to see Christmas shopping as a fun time, not as a burden.
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Barbour
Barbourβs festive campaign is meant to melt peopleβs hearts. This time, some cute animals are playing the role of Santaβs helpers and prepare a nice surprise for their favorite human.
Even if they try to build something by themselves, the present is not what their friend expected. And so, they reach to Barbour and just buy the so much needed clothes.
The marketing idea behind this Christmas social media campaign is that youβd better buy it from them, instead of struggling to build it by yourself.
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Walmart
On Instagram, Walmart is all about the festive mood. This is only one of the many Christmassy posts of this retail brand.
They have also developed a series numaed RomCommerce, which looks like a romcom, with a love story happening in Walmart around Christmass.
The cheesyness of this Christmas campaign attracts all those who are in love with overly romantic Christmas movies.
Their Christmas campaign relies on the idea that they donβt only wanna make people add to cart, but also add to heart. And thatβs amazing.
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Target
Target is sharing Christmas posts on their Instagram like thereβs no tomorrow. They have a lot of products Christmas related, including gingerbread houses.
In their Instagram posts, they showcase the products available for the festive season and they always use them in familiar contexts. Through the Reels and photos, Target empowers the idea of family and togetherness.
Their marketing campaign triggers that Christmas shopping rage in everyone seeing the posts. You cannot not want some of those colorful Christmas glam. Itβs contagious.
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Shein
Besides winter outfit ideas, Shein is going strong with their Christmas campaign, promoting all sorts of products that you can buy as a gift for your loved ones.
On Shein you can find literally everything youβre thinking about and it is clear that their new Christmas products are made to make you want them.
And their Instagram product hauls are just the right thing to make you search for those products you want on their website.
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H&M
H&M is launching their Christmas collection with amazing dresses and sparkly outfits. Their Instagram posts about this festive campaign make the wait even more difficult to handle.
Their clothing items are meant to inflict the celebratory mood that floats around Christmas and New Years. And if youβre planning to have a festive Christmas dinner, youβd definitely want to wear one of these memorable clothes that feel like art.
The new Christmas Capsule collection inspires women to be bold and wear amazing outfits even if some may call them extra. Who doesnβt want to feel fabulous especially for Christmas?
Final thoughts
From a marketing perspective, Christmas time is one of the most intense periods of the year, as the brandβs competition for their target audienceβs attention is getting fiercer than ever.
Therefore, since it holds such great weight in a businessβ yearly sales and revenue stream, starting early and planning ahead would be the most desired way of dealing with Christmas social media campaigns.
Hopefully, the Christmas marketing suggestions listed above will help you craft some catchy social media Christmas posts this year.
Frequently Asked Questions
1.How do you plan a Christmas campaign?
- Plan goals/desired outcomes from the christmas campaigns.
- Create branded Christmas content.
- Consider a promotion or offer.
- Begin with Black Friday.
- Don't stop when the big day comes.
- Get creative.
2.When should I start a Christmas marketing campaign?
Success in the Christmas holiday season demands meticulous planning. While the allure of early campaigns might seem tempting, bombarding your audience with Christmas messaging too soon can lead to brand fatigue. Aim for a balanced approach by initiating your campaign in the latter half of September/early October.
3.How do you create a holiday marketing campaign?
- Decide what you will promote. Take stock of the products you want to promote and how you will promote them.
- Create your messages. Identify key marketing messages that will inform your marketing strategy.
- Determine your sales' target customers. ...
- Plan events. ...
- Assemble a holiday marketing team.
4.What makes a successful Christmas advert?
Inject concepts about family and community in your holiday season adverts to speak to your audience on a deeper level. Christmas is a time of giving and sharing happiness, so don't shy away from creating moving scenes that convey this message. π Father Christmas tip: Story is a key element of successful adverts.
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