In today’s world, it is difficult – maybe even impossible – to cultivate content that pleases everyone. This is especially hard when it comes to creating content with a holiday message: a difficulty every business must now face as social media and digital marketing have an increasingly crucial role in making (and keeping) businesses successful. Around the winter holiday season, your holiday marketing campaign and holiday greetings wording can make or break your conversion. Veem makes a great point in telling us that recognizing differences – like varying cultural backgrounds and beliefs – builds trust in and respect for your business. This recognition means potential business.
Now that you’re hooked on the idea of “potential business,” you may be wondering: how can I do this?
Open up your business to the widest potential customer base by being intentional to make your branding and content inclusive to people of all backgrounds and beliefs. Keep reading to see our best winter holiday marketing tips for creating and promoting inclusive social media that fits every demographic.
Diversify
Although the most popular, Christmas is far from the only winter holiday celebrated in the United States. Hanukkah, the Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa, and the Chinese New Year all happen within a few months of each other. Often, these “smaller” holidays can pass without any acknowledgment. Check out our post on how to use your holiday greeting wordings to honor the lesser known holidays, and consider trying a few of our festive suggestions to boost the inclusion of your social media holiday campaigns:
- Hanukkah is also known as the “Festival of Lights.” Consider sending out post a day – for each candle on the Menorah – bringing attention to causes your company favors that bring “light” to the world around us.
- Dumplings are considered a northern staple in celebration of the Chinese New Year. Grab your favorite co-workers, and take your best shot at making this traditional dish. Post the tutorial or end result on your social media and encourage your followers to post their results, too!
As cheesy as these simple suggestions may seem, a little effort goes a long way when it comes to finding common grounds with your customer base. However, there is a very fine line between appreciating other cultures, and trying too hard. If it’s not natural to celebrate – or even acknowledge them, or if there’s a chance your attempt could quickly become an epic fail, we suggest following our next tip.
Stay Neutral
Research shows that of the 92% of Americans who celebrate Christmas, only two-thirds view it as a religious day. Furthermore, 80% of non-religious people still celebrate the day as a cultural holiday. If you feel like your holiday marketing campaign and social media cannot celebrate the diversity of the winter holidays well, don’t try to!
In a marketing world where everything has been done and re-done to the point of absurdity, the most authentic, demographic-friendly thing you could do for your holiday marketing campaigns is to stick to the “safe” holiday points. By sticking to holiday greetings wordings and topics that remain neutral, yet festive, no matter your cultural background, pretty lights, time with family, snowmen, well wishes, and copious amounts of cocoa are guaranteed to make even the grumpiest of souls a bit less bearish.
Celebrate the Good
If neither celebrating the gambit of holidays, nor keeping your holiday greetings and social media marketing neutral is your style, celebrate the good you see in your company, and in the world around you. Partner with a non-profit for the holidays; advertise a sale with 10% of proceeds going to a charitable cause and take a company outing to do a good deed in your community. No matter the ideology behind the celebration, holidays are a great time to remember how blessed we are, and how we can give back to those around us.
If you wish to take the good further than your media, check out our post on how doing good can actually help boost your business. Use caution, though, there’s a fine line between using the happiness and cheer of the holidays to your advantage, and using the festivities as a thinly veiled vessel for another marketing ploy. Make sure you know the difference, because your consumer base certainly will.
Wrap Up the Year With Snap
We know creating and cultivating solid social media and content for the holiday season is no easy task. Check out our blog for tips and tricks from our best and brightest. Or, contact us! Our teams would love to sit down with you and brainstorm how Snap can help improve your social media marketing for the winter holidays. From our Snappy family to yours: happy holidays!