A few handy dos and don’ts to make sure your seasonal social media is filled with Christmas cheer
Don’t do the 12 days of Christmas before the 12 days
There’s been a recent misunderstanding as to when the 12 days of Christmas actually is. Many companies have made their own social media campaigns with 12 lovely posts in the lead up to the big day. But they are mistaken. The 12 days of Christmas is 25th December to 5th January, otherwise known as the Nativity of Jesus.
Before you post your own 12 days of Christmas, make sure you know when they should actually be scheduled for.
Don’t confuse people with your Christmas countdown
Make sure you can post your full Christmas countdown and it makes sense!
You may be thinking of creating an advert-calendar campaign for Christmas and that sounds amazing. But you need to remember that it has to relate back to your business. A gif of a dog in a Santa hat being ridden by a monkey in an elf costume may be funny but you should make sure you have a general theme for your posts. Always keep your content appropriate to your brand.
Don’t misuse the apostrophe
Just because it’s the festive season, it doesn’t mean you can throw grammar out of the window. You’ll see many brands making this error in the coming days.
Apostrophes – they’re for omission or possession. If you’re not removing a letter/word or taking ownership over something, there’s no reason for the blessed apostrophe to be there. Here are a few correct ways you should be using this punctuation mark over Christmas:
New Year’s Eve
New Year’s Day
Season’s greetings
The 12 days of Christmas
Celebrating Christmas for years and years
Don’t write ‘hoe hoe hoe’
Unless your post exclusively advertises garden equipment, this is one phrase you do not want to see on your feed – ‘Ho, ho, ho’ will do.
Don’t post inappropriate Christmas party photos
If in doubt follow the “Grandmother rule”. If you’d feel embarrassed about showing your Grandmother these photos, perhaps it’s best not to post it for the whole world to see.
Remember: if you delete a photo from social media, it will never truly be deleted. It will always be there. Always.
Don’t run a competition that closes on a bank holiday when you’re not at work to announce the winner
‘Our competition closes on Christmas Day.’ Well, everyone will know when that is but are you going to be around to announce the winner? You’ll be at home with your family and a table full of food whilst the competition winner remains prize-less. It’s the season of giving so make sure you close the competition when you’re actually in the office.
Don’t join in a Christmas trend if it’s not relevant to your company
You’re a construction company who has just used #XXXmas in a post. You offer a dog walking service that keeps posting Michael Bublé songs. These trends are just not for you. You have to remember to focus on social media trends that are right for your brand. Don’t fill a post with endless hashtags you may not have an understanding of or a trend that is just wrong for your demographic.
Christmas social media dos:
Plan in advance
It’s Christmas Eve; along with presents, you’ve forgotten to schedule in all that hilarious content that you’ve been chuckling about for the past few days. The turkey is still in the freezer and that video you filmed today has been stuck on 72% whilst uploading it onto your computer for editing. What a nightmare!
This is why you shouldn’t wait for December to start work on such an important season.
Remember: plan your social media well in advance and make sure it’s all scheduled in time.
Make sure Christmas gift/buying posts go out with enough time for people to order and receive their delivery before Christmas
It’s like we said before – plan in advance. You have to remember that customers still have to do all that wrapping and buying of other presents. You don’t want the one thing they’re waiting for to be your Christmas gift that you posted on Twitter 5 days before Christmas with the promise of next day delivery. You should always give enough time for gifts to be ordered and received. Plan. Plan. Plan.
Have lots of fun
Like the timeless expression to enjoy yourself goes – ‘It’s Christmas’. Treat yourself. People say ‘Merry Christmas’ not ‘I hope this midwinter phase is satisfactory for you.’ Have fun and try new things. It’s what Christmas is all about.
Think about how to deal appropriately with scrooges
There’s always one, or maybe a few. Those people who have to make their opinion known that they don’t like Christmas. But like any time of the year, you can deal with them in a professional manner. This can come in the form of a carefully worded reply or some fun content to put them in a good mood. The possibilities really are endless.
Create a Christmas version of your logo and header – but keep it classy!
Just like your house after decorating it at the start of December, you can make your logo into the winter wonderland of your dreams. Unfortunately, you don’t have the same amount of space to fill your logo with flashing lights and vibrant tinsel like you can your house. So, keep it simple and classy.
Remember: add a reminder to change it back afterward. You don’t want to get into January and have users feeling confused and that they have travelled back in time.
There you have it – the dos and don’ts for Christmas social media. We hope it has helped in some way and more than anything we want to make sure that you have fun with what you’re doing. If you want some more advice on creating a Christmas social media campaign feel free to contact us to see how we can best help you.
Head of Social
