Festive feels and reels for Christmas 2021

As we approach what we hope will be a more ‘normal’ Christmas than we experienced last year, there is still some apprehension out there on going the full hog and getting all your plans in place. Even for online businesses who are reliant on shipping containers and lorry drivers to deliver their stock there could be some challenges ahead. For hospitality businesses and studios that are getting ready to welcome customers in over the festive season, there’s no prediction this year on how they’ll perform for bookings and reservations. Will people be flocking to the pub or laying low so they can see their family this Christmas?

What we do know is that you can plan ahead and you can adapt it if you need to. Focus first on the elements of the business that you 100% know you can deliver, whatever the scenario. Get a content plan in place with ideas for festive reels to boost your brand awareness and increase your reach.

Ensure you’ve got the below covered in your planning.

• Early bird bookings – get more corporate and social bookings in with an added value promotion to book by a specific date. This will help you manage your rota and maximise reservations.
• Black Friday promotions – use both organic and paid social to drive this message. There is a lot of competition when it comes to bidding on ads, so start early on the offers.
• Countdown to Christmas – you could take the 12 days to Christmas approach and make it fun with some unique content and brand partnerships.
• Cut off dates for orders and delivery – be realistic, we know the disruption missed parcels will have on your customers and your teams managing social media and customer service channels.
• Messaging in place or automated responses on dates you are closed over Christmas, aim to direct them to another means of contacting you that will be picked up on your return.
• Post Christmas sales and relevant content scheduled so your team can switch off and enjoy some well deserved time off.
• Think ahead for the New Year and what the first two weeks will encompass for your brand and get organised so that returning in the New Year doesn’t give you the blues.

Unsure on what types of content you should be posting? Here are our top tips for mixing up your social strategy for the festive season.

• Festive reels for all the feels – get your products, service and team members showing off in some fun festive reels. Make different people responsible for sourcing content in your team if you’re finding it hard to collate all the content yourself.
• Instagram guides are a fantastic way to showcase your shop on Instagram and pull together a gift guide for foodies or perhaps the top five pubs to visit this December.
• Go live! It’s a proven way to boost your ranking in the algorithm and it gives your customers a real insight into your business. Can you show them the beautiful packaging? New products coming in? Or even working with another brand to host a quiz or online event that engages with customers that can’t visit your business.
• Carousel posts are lovely for showing off more of your products or venues.

Get others sharing content about you.

• Work with influencers to share recipes, experiences of your pub, restaurant or studio or just talking about your product. Providing them with a code gives you a great way to measure the reach and a track any revenue driven from them. You can also set up an affiliate marketing platform for those that will give a higher return and this will give them more incentive to share your brand.
• Brand partnerships are a cost effective way to grow your reach and following. Competitions or experiences are a good place to start here.
• Communicate a festive hashtag with your customers on social, orders and emails. Encourage your customers to share and tag you in their posts to be entered into a prize draw.

Last but not least.

• The classic bounce back promotion is not one to be sniffed at, it’s been going for years for a reason and whether it’s a discount, a gift or added value promotion it’s worth giving these out during November and December with a view to bring guest back in the New Year.
• Social media ad campaigns are all being prepared for Black Friday and the festive season to ensure maximum exposure, to reach new customers and enhance bookings and sales. If you’re a service led business or working on driving more people to your events then lead generation ads are a cost effective way to generate warm leads your sales team can follow up with.

If you’d like any support in putting together your campaigns and plans then please do get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.

Contact Natalie