Holiday content creation guide

November 8, 2021

Things can get a bit crazy before the holidays, including on social media. This is a key time of year for a lot of companies, and the content you share really needs to stand out. Here are some of our best tips and tricks to help you pull out all the stops.

Stand out from the crowd

There is ample evidence that people want to celebrate in style this year to make up for the disappointment of last year. Everyone will be scouring the web for inspiration, which is why companies need to be prepared to establish a presence and engage users with eye‑catching, relevant content. Now is the time to show off your creativity! That doesn’t mean you need to spend all your time scraping together original content, but you do need to make sure you’re not boring users with the same old content they see every day.

You need to think outside the box and innovate to provide your followers with added‑value content that can draw their attention away from the ocean of content washing over them day after day. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Who are they? What do they need? What kind of help with their holiday preparations would they like? Give them advice or original ideas. If your products might be of use to your followers, now is the perfect time to show off what you’ve got!

Timing is everything

You need to develop a strategy and share your content at just the right time. After all, you don’t want to miss the boat. People plan their Christmas parties, meals and presents well in advance, and studies based on data from Statistics Canada show that Black Friday sales are pushing December purchases up into November. The shift is gradual, but it’s becoming more and more noticeable.

In our experience, gift‑related searches reach their peak between the last week of November and early December. However, these are just trends. You should base your own strategy on your experiences from previous years (if you have that information) by identifying the time of year when your interactions and sales are at their highest.

Get on Pinterest

Some platforms are more effective than others for reaching a large number of users during the holiday season. Here are just a few of the reasons Pinterest should pique your interest:

More than 400 million people use Pinterest to find inspiration.[i]
62.7 million people use Pinterest to get ideas for the holidays.[ii]
55% of Pinterest users log in to makea product purchase.[iii]
Users are 3x more likely to click over to a brand’s website on Pinterest than any other social media platform.[iv]
The year‑end is the busiest time of the year for Pinterest, with 321 million searches.[v]
There are 4.7 times more conversions when Pinterest users are exposed to ads earlier in the holiday season.[vi]

People start looking for holiday inspiration in September, which goes to show just how important it is to plan your holiday content strategy as soon as possible!

Make sure you have a content plan (Facebook, Instagram, newsletters, website, blogs, etc.) that is consistent, effective and in line with your brand image. Link your posts together to generate more traffic!

Create special events

Engage your followers by interacting with them regularly. Friendly tip: keep a festive tone! The holidays are the perfect time to appreciate your followers and thank them for believing in you. Hold giveaways, launch a Christmas countdown with prizes or create a special offer for all those last‑minute shoppers—there are tons of different ways you can get creative while still keep your content relevant for your audience.

Other good ideas

Cultivate your image. Share modern, high‑quality visual content that isn’t too traditional or old‑fashioned. After all, you want attention for the right reasons!
Mention your products or services in your posts. For example, if your company has a holiday gift guide or ideas for festive recipes, now’s the time to highlight them!
Give your followers a peek behind the scenes. One example would be to post pictures of your team working the holiday rush. This helps your audience get to know you and embrace your brand.
Post video content. Share a message to your followers, create a funny themed video or deck the halls with your employees. All of these are great ways to stand out! Plus, video gets a lot more eyeballs than other types of content.
Create a themed hashtag for holiday posts.
Revise your SEO strategy to generate more traffic. Learn more about the basics of developing a good SEO strategy in our article, “Why Invest in SEO Management.”

However you plan to get people’s attention and showcase your brand in and around the holidays, your content needs to be original, eye‑catching and relevant. Stay alert and make sure you share your posts at just the right time.

Feeling overwhelmed or out of ideas to help you stand out? Don’t hesitate to talk to our content creation and social media management experts. They’re happy to help!

[i] Pinterest Predicts. (n.d.) Pinterest Internal Search Data, Global, comparing searches from Oct 2018–Sep 2019 vs. searches from Oct 2019–Sep 2020. Pinterest. https://www.pinterest-assets.com/m/5fb1f1731fa52f72/original/Pinterest-Predicts-Report.pdf

[ii] Walgrove, A. (January 17, 2021). The Complete Guide to Pinterest Advertising for the Holidays. Sprinklr. https://blog.sprinklr.com/pinterest-advertising-holiday-guide/

[iii] Frost, T. (n.d.). Pinterest Stats You Should Know. Tabitha Frost. tabithafrost.com/pinterest-stats/

[iv] West. C. (March 3, 2021). 23 Pinterest stats and facts marketers must know in 2021. Sprout Social. sproutsocial.com/insights/pinterest-statistics/

[v] Tchepannou, N. (January 10, 2021). Statistiques Pinterest en 2021. Zenu Académie. https://zenuacademie.com/marketing/statistiques-pinterest/

[vi] Pinterest Business. (2021). Be their next holiday idea. Pinterest. business.pinterest.com/en/holiday/