D2C Caffeine - Issue No. 18

For an extraordinary brand presence, people look toward social media..

But the algorithms used by social platforms are tricky.. When asked “Trick or Treat”, it’s very rarely ‘Treat’ - meaning, the organic reach you expect or want is restricted greatly.

From #InternationalDogDay to #NationalHugDay, every day can be a social media holiday to celebrate 🥳

And D2C brands are beginning to understand the fact that social media campaigns CAN NOT be limited to statutory holidays.

…It’s time to leverage all holidays to boost brand reach

1. Expand Your Reach

Keeping up with holidays on social media means participating in holiday-themed hashtag campaigns - Which allows a brand to reach out to basically everyone who’s celebrating that holiday.

Another huge plus? You can insert your products in the guise of holiday events - contests, giveaways and more.

2. Increase Your Social Media Engagement

Holiday season is the best time to run user-generated campaigns to substantially increase engagement + activity on a brand’s social platforms.

Campaigns that urge customers to post and hashtag your brand?

How can one say no to that?

A holiday hashtag campaign by Starbucks which received >2000 posts, in under a week

3. Entertain and Educate Audiences

Holidays on social networks allow you to experiment with fun posts and entertain without trying too hard.

Take #NationalUnicornDay for example - It would stand apart for the start-ups and other brands striving to become a Unicorn.

One can also personalise for #NationalPizzaDay, #WorldEmployeeDay etcetera

Or educate your audience on less spoken aspects like the #WomenEqualityDay

Checkout → 3 Steps to Creating your own Holiday Calendar

1. Embrace your brand’s charitable side

If your brand has done charitable work, holidays are the best time to share that.

2. Do not go heavy on over-used saturated holiday hashtags

a) With hashtags, quality trumps quantity any day

The algorithm on platforms like Facebook & LinkedIn requires you to limit the usage of hashtags - fewer hashtags, but still, ensure those hashtags are populated.

b) Leverage brand hashtags

Using brand-exclusive hashtags means a great deal down the line. With the increase in the usage of those specific tags by the brand and its consumers - the brand reach grows exponentially.

3. Experiment with different formats of content

• Social Stories (Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp)

• Host live sessions on major platforms

• Create Snackable Holiday Content - GIFs, time lapses, short videos etc.

4. Launch holiday contests & giveaways

To make it more personal to the community, building better connections between brand and consumer.

5. Announce special holiday products

Holidays are when people expect new things, and with brands pushing something new; the chance of a sale being made is far greater.

6. Look up monthly forecasts on holidays

Research on the various days & hashtags your brands can grasp at - with this, every week could be made a little more entertaining!

7. Schedule posts in advance

Every social platform has its own peak hours - target those peak hours, analyse your past reports and target the time which brings in the most engagement

8. Give back to the community during the holidays

The festive season is when you maximise the emotions - target the most fulfilling sentiment, of your brand’s community. Run charity drives on the side, donate a percentage of your sales to a local cause, etc. - small or big, do what you can.

9. Prepare to spend more

Spending more during the holiday period is pretty standard practice for brands.

Paid ads/PPC cost more during the holiday season, but a brand should always prepare and budget accordingly.

10. Utilise holiday weekends for sales

Layer informational posts on your product and services during the weekdays

And then move to sharing discounts, deals, and other holiday specials on the weekends.

This is because most consumers buy as the weekend rolls around, and that’s mostly when they are free to surf around and window shop at the least.

That’s the end of our guide to 'A D2C Brand's Holiday Calendar'...

See you on the next coffee date!

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