The 13 best holiday marketing campaigns for social media: Post ideas to boost metrics and crush end-of-the-year goals

T’is the season for holiday campaign planning! While there’s still plenty of summertime to enjoy, the holidays will be here before we know it. You can hold off on getting holiday decor out of storage, but now’s the time to start thinking about your holiday marketing campaigns. The next few months are crucial for meeting annual targets, so you’ll want to be prepared.

To help with your holiday social media strategy, we’ve put together a list of creative holiday marketing ideas. Let’s finish the year on a high note and crush end-of-the-year goals!

When should I start holiday marketing?

We suggest planning your holiday marketing calendar in August. But, you can never start too early.

In a worldwide survey, Bazaarvoice found that 23% of people start shopping for the holidays in August or sooner. TikTok also reports that 1 in 2 people on the platform use their For You Page to find holiday gifts and event inspiration. Being part of the conversation early helps put you at the top of everyone’s wishlists and build leads for Q4 retargeting. 

The 13 best holiday marketing campaign ideas for social media

To make planning holiday content for social media easier, here’s a list of 13 campaign ideas to customize for your brand.

1. Holiday giveaway campaign 

Giveaways are a great way to increase social media following, reach, and engagement. During the holiday season, they help brands connect with new audiences and build leads.  

Campaigns can be for one big prize pack or smaller giveaways with winners on multiple days like PetSmart’s 12 Days of Pawlidays. 

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Simple “like and share” contests work great. Or get creative and increase engagement by having people answer questions or create content to enter.  

2. Holiday sales campaigns 

The holidays are a popular sales period. A holiday social media campaign can help boost messaging for any promotions you have planned throughout Q4. 

For example, Gymshark goes all out for Black Friday and promotion includes paid ads, website updates, and email sequences. Leading up to and during the sale, they also build hype on social media. 

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Given the number of promotions during the season, it’s important to find ways to stand out. Use organic social media to test sales messaging and new creative to see what resonates with your audience.   

3. Creator collaborations 

Working with content creators for holiday marketing campaigns can grow your audience and brand trust. Since creator content is from the perspective of a fellow consumer, it’s usually seen as more authentic. Collaborating with creators can even be a cost-effective way to scale content creation for the season.

Creators can help promote giveaways, gift-giving, sales, new products, unique features, events, and fun ways of getting in the holiday spirit. In 2023, Peacock worked with @aguyandagoldenn to promote the holiday movie selection on its streaming service. 

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Have fun with creators and trust their creativity, these people know their stuff and what works for their audience.

4. Holiday gift guides  

Your holiday marketing strategy could also include a social media campaign about finding the perfect gifts. 

Gift guides can be videos, infographics, carousels, or quizzes and they’re a great way to show off all your great products and services. In 2023, Amazon posted gift ideas for home improvement enthusiasts, fashionistas, kids, stocking stuffers, hosts, and more. 

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This type of campaign is a chance to be there for your audience, making gifting simple and being the one-stop shop for everyone on their list. 

5. Holiday or sale countdown  

Countdowns help build excitement for the holiday season and are a great way for your brand to be part of the fun. A series of holiday posts for social media can countdown to a big celebration or sales promotion. 

Brands like David’s Tea even create products for counting down the days until the holidays. Last year they announced preorders for their annual advent calendars in September and had a series of posts about the countdown throughout Q4. 

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6. Wishlist inspo    

Another fun holiday social media post idea is to help your audience find inspiration for their own wishlist. We all know someone hard to shop for and some smart shoppers create wishlists for personal shopping during promotional periods like Black Friday and Boxing Day. 

Have fun with this kind of post and use it to highlight a variety of products. For example, Homesense created a video of customers finding items in-store for their holiday wishlist. 

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Some brands even allow customers to save and share wishlists while shopping online. 

7. Holiday-themed UGC or engagement campaign  

Holiday marketing campaigns can also encourage engagement. Posts can ask simple social media engagement questions or generate UGC related to a brand’s products and services. 

For example, Orlando International Airport (MCO) created a holiday display where travellers could take photos or videos and share them on social media using #FlyMCO. 

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Engaging with your audience builds community and UGC content can be used in future campaigns. If you have holiday engagement posts for social media planned, make sure your community management is on point! 

8. Holiday-themed trending content    

It’s also a great idea to incorporate trends in your social media holiday calendar. As you plan content for the season, leave room to add posts that follow trends at the time of posting. 

To stay up-to-date, check out our blogs on trending CapCut templates and audio trends. Both are updated weekly, so you’ll be the first to know about holiday social media trends. 

9. Holiday DIY ideas 

DIY projects are a fun way to get into the holiday spirit. As you plan your holiday marketing campaigns, consider posting relevant DIY recipes, decorations, and other activities. 

For example, Michaels created a post showing a fun way to decorate holiday cookies using supplies found in their stores.  

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Especially during a time when everyone is gathering with friends and family, why not suggest a way to include your brand in the excitement? 

10. Last-minute holiday preparation 

Throughout December, holiday marketing campaigns can target last-minute shoppers. Whether it’s last-minute gifting or decor tips or an in time for Christmas campaign promoting fast shipping options, it’s a chance to be there for your audience in a time of need.

In 2023, Macy’s worked with content creators to promote same-day delivery, gift cards, in-store pick-up, and gift ideas for last-minute shoppers weeks before the holidays. 

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This messaging creates urgency and can be combined with shoppable ads and email campaigns to encourage purchases. 

11. Housekeeping holiday posts 

As you plan your holiday content, also think about anything you want to inform your audience of during the season. For example, a holiday hours social media post would be helpful if your store or online customer service team are working adjusted times. Or maybe you want to create a simple happy holidays social media post. 

Before signing off for the holidays in 2023, The Body Shop informed its audience and took the opportunity to make customers feel good about gifting their products. 

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12. Post-holiday Q5 marketing  

After the holiday rush, an opportunity is emerging marketers call Q5. A Meta survey found 41% of people continue shopping after the holidays. From late December until mid-Janaury, Q5 is when customers treat themselves, invest in resolutions, snag post-holiday sales, and spend gift cards and cash gifts. 

Since many brands reduce ad spending after the holidays, smart marketers can benefit from lower competition and prices during Q5. To help, Meta and TikTok created downloadable guides for Q5 advertising. 

Of course, Q5 is also a great time to post on social media.  Given the amount of downtime, users are engaged in social platforms. In 2023, TikTok saw a 25% increase in video views during Q5 compared to a typical week. 

So, it’s smart to incorporate Q5 social media content in your holiday marketing campaigns. For example, Macy’s worked with a creator to showcase how they planned to spend gift cards received during the holidays. 

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13. Year-in-review campaign    

A final holiday marketing tip is to wrap up the season with a year-in-review or New Year’s resolution campaign. Companies with a social mission can showcase their progress throughout the year. Year-in-review content also makes fun holiday social media posts to highlight special brand moments and successes. 

Think Spotify Wrapped, but make it your own! Here's HeyOrca's take on the trend.

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Holiday marketing FAQs 

Since you’ve started thinking about your holiday marketing ideas, here are some answers to FAQs about planning for the season. 

Does social media usage decrease during the holidays? 

Social media use may decrease slightly during the season as people spend time with friends and family. However, holiday breaks also mean a lot of downtime. In a 2023 survey, TikTok found 81% of respondents planned to spend the same amount of time or more on the platform towards the end of December. 

Does social media engagement drop over the holidays?

Social media engagement is known to drop between November and early January. It’s a pretty consistent cycle for most brands. Since the holidays are a heavy sales period, there’s a lot of noise and users are more focused on shopping than engaging with content. 

How to automate social media during holidays

With the right tool, it’s easy to automate holiday posts for social media throughout the entire season. For example, HeyOrca is a social media management platform that allows you to schedule posts on all your accounts. It makes planning for the holidays easy! 

After scheduling your content in HeyOrca, your holiday marketing campaigns will post automatically while you enjoy time with friends and family. 

When to post holiday hours on social media

Generally, it’s best to give your customers at least a few days notice before switching to holiday hours so they have time to plan. 

Should you post on social media on holidays?

This depends on your overall marketing strategy. The holidays can be a great time to connect with your audience, but avoid posting just to post. There’s a lot of noise during the holiday season, so it’s important to know your audience and post content they’ll resonate with to stand out from the competition. 

Holiday marketing campaign ideas to start your planning 

Hopefully, our seasonal social media post ideas have gotten you thinking about your strategy for 2024! Now’s the time to start planning your holiday marketing campaigns, so you’re well-positioned to boost metrics and meet end-of-the-year goals!

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