What makes brands stand out from the competition during the holiday season? Many people are turning to social media to find inspiration and purchase their gifts this year, and having a solid content marketing strategy can help you get noticed when (and where) it matters most. But what is content marketing? In a world littered with disruptive ads overtly trying to sell something, content marketing isn't overtly promotional. Creating memorable content on interactive channels like social media allows you to have a dialogue with your customers, spark interest in your brand's products and services, and build trust.
Getting Started
There are endless ways you can incorporate quality content into your marketing strategy, including:
Social Media Content: With over 4 billion social media users worldwide, you are more than likely to find your target audience on social media platforms - each with its own personalized way of sharing and creating content.
Blogs: Blogs are a great way to draw inbound leads to your website, and leave plenty of room for creativity and personality.
Videos: Video content is a great way to humanize your brand, and incorporating sound and moving images is a great way to appeal to your customer's senses and motivate them to take action.
Podcasts: Podcasts are a great way to highlight your brand's personal story and values. Don't have the resources to produce your own? A guest spot on another podcast can give you content to repurpose on your own channels and help you reach an untapped audience.
Social Media Content: With over 4 billion social media users worldwide, you are more than likely to find your target audience on social media platforms - each with its own personalized way of sharing and creating content.
Blogs: Blogs are a great way to draw inbound leads to your website, and leave plenty of room for creativity and personality.
Videos: Video content is a great way to humanize your brand, and incorporating sound and moving images is a great way to appeal to your customer's senses and motivate them to take action.
Podcasts: Podcasts are a great way to highlight your brand's personal story and values. Don't have the resources to produce your own? A guest spot on another podcast can give you content to repurpose on your own channels and help you reach an untapped audience.
Types of Holiday Content Marketing
To choose the right kind of content marketing for you, it is important to know your audience and how they use your product. Do an analysis on your competitors to see what types of content perform well for them, and then put your own spin on it. Take a look at last year's metrics to see what performed well and optimize your content strategy from there. Here are some holiday content marketing ideas to get you started:
Instructional Articles or Videos: Showing how your products are made, how users integrate them into their lives, or their versatility can show their value without feeling like a sales pitch. Syncing up your videos to seasonal music and getting creative with filters adds a memorable touch.
Gift Lists: Want to highlight your brand's specialty or promote a new line of products? Write a gift guide with product pictures, features, and benefits to inspire holiday purchases. Blogs are a great way to give people a sense of your brand's personality, so get creative with your copy and use keywords throughout the article so it populates on search engines.
Playlists: Create a holiday playlist on Spotify or YouTube to get your target audience in the holiday spirit.
Wallpapers and Filters: People look at their phones - a lot - making wallpapers and filters a great way to boost brand awareness.
Share Holiday Hacks: Share special holiday recipes, tips for success, and life hacks to make it through the busiest time of the year.
Ask Questions: Get to know your customers by running polls on social media. Where are they spending the holidays? What's their favorite holiday food? Turkey or Tofurkey?
Holiday Icons: Connect your brand to iconic holiday themes with memes is a great way to create shareable, relatable content.
Interactive Personalized Content: Things like Augmented Reality (AR) means you can showcase your brand on your customer’s arm, in their living space, or you can create apps where they can try on and use your product virtually. No special equipment is required: most smartphones can produce a reasonable AR experience.
Optimize for Success
It can take a lot of trial and error to find the type of content that resonates best with your audience. Working with a team of experts that can create quality content and use data to optimize it over time can help you reach your goals faster and free up some time in your calendar - so you can focus on the stuff that matters. Discover how SLTC helps businesses scale and get in touch to see how we can help you reach your marketing goals over the holiday season and beyond.