Timeline & Checklist for Social Media Holiday Advertising
Your step-by-step timeline for social media success, featuring post and ad ideas from real brands for key holidays.
MID SEPTEMBER
Building Momentum with Halloween Campaigns
- Prepare response templates for comments and DMs to ensure faster replies during the busy season.
- Begin running Halloween ad campaigns.
SEPT 21st
LATE SEPTEMBER
Fine-Tuning Strategies for Halloween and Black Friday
- Continue running Halloween campaigns and monitor performance. Adjust strategies as needed.
- Finalize your Black Friday & Cyber Monday campaigns.
EARLY OCTOBER
Ramping Up for Halloween and Early Black Friday Launch
- Ramp up your Halloween campaign's budget
- Officially launch Black Friday ad campaigns targeting early-bird shoppers. Use early October to build momentum and awareness.
MID OCTOBER
Maximizing Halloween and Black Friday Performance
- Start launching shipping cutoff Halloween campaigns (e.g., "order until Oct 20th to get it before Oct 31st")
- Continue running Black Friday ad campaigns and monitor performance metrics.
LATE OCTOBER
Last-Minute Push for Halloween and Intensifying Black Friday Efforts
- Run last-minute Halloween deals for late shoppers.
- Increase the frequency and intensity of Black Friday ad campaigns as the shopping date approaches.
OCT 31st
EARLY NOVEMBER
Preparing for the Peak: Black Friday and Cyber Monday
- Increase your budget and engagement efforts in preparation for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
- Analyze pre-holiday and pre-Black Friday campaigns to refine the best-performing creatives.
MID NOVEMBER
Continuing the Black Friday Frenzy and Launching Special Offers
- Continue running Black Friday ad campaigns, leveraging scarcity and limited-time offers.
- Launch special offers for Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.
LATE NOVEMBER
Driving Conversions with Urgency: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Beyond
- Publish additional creative with urgency and strong CTAs for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
- Utilize scarcity tactics, limited time, and countdown clocks to drive conversions.
NOV 28th
NOV 29th
NOV 30th
Small Business Saturday
DEC 2nd
DEC 3rd
Giving Tuesday
EARLY DECEMBER
Pivoting to Focus on Gift-Oriented Creatives
- After Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it's time to pivot to gift-giving creatives
- Promote Christmas ads with shipping cutoff dates, creating a sense of urgency for last-minute shoppers.
DEC 14th
National Free Shipping Day 📦
MID DECEMBER
Creating Urgency and Leveraging Last-Minute Shoppers
- Create family packs and gifting-oriented promotions.
- Utilize urgency marketing for last-minute shoppers before the last shipping date.
DEC 21st
Super Saturday 🛍️
DEC 25th - JAN 2nd
DEC 25th
LATE DECEMBER
Launching Post-Christmas Sales and New Year Resolution Offers
- Run post-Christmas clearance sales and last-deal-of-the-year offers. You can also utilize Boxing Day ads to attract post-holiday shoppers.
- Leverage New Year resolution offers (e.g., fitness, habits).
DEC 26th
Boxing Day
DEC 31st
New Year's Eve 🎆
JAN 1st
EARLY JANUARY
Analyzing Holiday Performance and Embracing Fresh Starts
- Conduct a thorough review and analysis of the holiday season's social media performance. Assess the effectiveness of different campaigns and identify areas for improvement.
- Launch ads focused on New Year's resolutions and fresh starts.
Engagement Tips to Survive the Holiday Rush
Optimizing your engagement strategy during the holidays on social media is crucial for your success. It's not just about reaching your target audience but also about creating meaningful connections.
Tip 1: Auto-moderate harmful comments
By using auto-moderation, your team can focus on addressing genuine customer concerns and creating a more pleasant experience for all users during the bustling holiday season.
During the holiday rush, online interactions can escalate quickly, and it's essential to maintain a positive and safe environment for customers. Implementing automated moderation tools can be a game-changer for your social customer service.
Tip 2: Prepare saved replies to quickly address FAQs
By having these ready-to-use templates at your disposal, your team can respond promptly to common inquiries, saving valuable time and maintaining consistent messaging across all interactions. This knowledge base not only enhances the customer experience but also boosts your customer service team's productivity.
Tis the season of promptness and faster response times! Handling a surge of customer queries on social media can be overwhelming during peak seasons, so your brand needs to prepare ahead.
To deliver excellent customer service, you should create a library of saved replies tailored to address frequently asked questions. These pre-crafted responses should be clear, informative, and personalized when necessary.
Tip 3: Establish clear ownership for routing messages
By implementing a strategy to route messages, you'll streamline customer support, allowing your team to address inquiries effectively, provide timely resolutions, and create a positive holiday experience for all customers.
To deliver a great customer experience during the holiday rush, establish clear ownership by dividing conversations based on language, type (private vs. comments), sentiment (negative vs. positive), and tags (complaints vs. FAQs).
Assign dedicated customer support team members to handle each category for more efficient responses. Utilize a reliable tool to assign conversations, ensuring no duplication of efforts and enabling seamless collaboration.
Tip 4: Set up alerts for volume and sentiment spikes
By proactively addressing issues and understanding customer sentiment, you can mitigate potential crises and ensure that your social customer service remains proactive and empathetic during this busy period.
Monitoring social media platforms 24/7 is vital during the holiday season. Having alerts in place for spikes in comment volume or keyword mentions will enable you to manage any critical customer issues that may arise swiftly.
Additionally, sentiment analysis tools can help you gauge how customers feel about your brand and quickly identify any negative trends.
What do holiday shoppers buy?
Examine popular product categories and holiday spending statistics.
What do holiday shoppers buy?
Examine popular product categories and holiday spending statistics.
Read More
When do holiday shoppers buy?
Discover the key shopping days and periods when consumers are most active.
When do holiday shoppers buy?
Discover the key shopping days and periods when consumers are most active.
Read More
Where do holiday shoppers buy?
Investigate consumers' preferred shopping ways and inspiration sources.
Where do holiday shoppers buy?
Investigate consumers' preferred shopping ways and inspiration sources.
Read More
Why do holiday shoppers choose certain brands?
What do holiday shoppers buy?
2024 Holiday Spending Predictions vs Holiday Spending in 2023
Salsify's Consumer Research
Salsify's Consumer Research
Salsify's Consumer Research
When do holiday shoppers buy?
Think with Google
Bazaar Voice
Enterprise Apps Today
What are the two busiest shopping days of the year?
In 2023, Cyber Week—the five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday—drove $38 billion in online spending, a 7.8% increase year-over-year (YoY).
The busiest shopping days of the year are Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In 2023, they saw significant growth, with global online sales rising 8% and 5% YoY, respectively. According to Salsify, 75% of Gen Zers, 69% of millennials, and 62% of Gen Xers plan to shop on Black Friday.
Where do holiday shoppers buy?
- 72% of Black Friday shoppers prefer to shop online, while only 31% like to head to the store. Salesforce
- 51% of all online sales were made via mobile devices, marking the first time mobile shopping overtook desktop shopping. Adobe Analytics
- 24%-25% of orders between Black Friday and the following Sunday in 2023 used buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) fulfillment. Salesforce
- 80% of consumers prefer home delivery during the Holiday Season. PWC
- 60% of consumers favor clear ‘discounts on everything’ over flash sales or bundle deals. BCG
- 40% of consumers plan to utilize buy now, pay later options during the holiday season. Bluedot
Why do holiday shoppers choose certain brands?
Brand loyalty is a powerful force that drives consumer behavior during the holiday season. In this section, we'll uncover the factors influencing holiday shoppers' brand choices, from personalized offers to exceptional customer service.
Pwc
Think With Google
McKinsey
What do holiday shoppers value most?
- 65% of Americans are interested in avoiding brand-new products, specifically fast fashion apparel. Thread Up
- 71% of holiday shoppers said they favor companies with strong environmental, social, and governance practices. (86% for Millennials). Pwc
- 46% of shoppers say earning and redeeming loyalty points is the second highest factor, behind price, influencing where they buy. Salesforce
- 31% of US adults value “wish list” features, including save-for-later or share-with-others functions, as part of a personalized shopping experience. Emarketer
Free Resources for a Peaceful(ish) Season
