The festive season is just around the corner: People are waiting for hot ginger coffee, seasonal movies, and ugly Christmas sweaters. This period is also perfect for gift-giving, so people spend big bucks during the holiday season, according to Much Needed: 46% of all holiday shopping occurs online, Gen Xers spend an average of $782 in the U.S. during the holiday season, and holiday shopping can account for up to 30% of all retail sales. Wouldn’t you like to capture some of this holiday spending? Instagram post ideas are the key to holiday marketing success!
For holiday shoppers, it’s never too early to start looking for holiday gifts, so brands of all sizes and shapes should create and post seasonally-based content that encourages customers to buy from them. If you use Instagram marketing for business growth, here are 11 Instagram post ideas you can use this holiday season:
1. Holiday Product Launch
It’s no secret that modern customers have many options at their fingertips, and it’s difficult to stand out from the crowd and hook their attention unless you have something unique to offer. Thus, more and more companies plan to announce a holiday product launch during the festive season. New products build hype, so they attract more customers which means increasing brand awareness and sales.
Here’s how Peet’s Coffee announces a new holiday favorite:
Image Source
Launching a new product during the holiday season is a proven way to surprise your customers and grab the attention of potential shoppers. However, don’t wait until the last minute to announce your product launch – think about promoting it on Instagram as it takes time to get customers excited about a new product.
2. Seasonal Products
Each season has its themes and traditions, and seasonal products. The festive period is known for various seasonal products like Gingerbread latte, ugly Christmas sweaters, and candles. Since these products are available for a short period, they build seasonal excitement and encourage holiday shoppers to buy more from you. Moreover, seasonal products utilize nostalgia and create a festive mood.
Just take a look at these holiday doughnuts from Krispy Kreme:
Image Source
If your company offers its customers seasonal products, it’s important to use Instagram to inform potential buyers that they are available for a particular month or season as it causes a buzz around your company and increases sales.
3. Limited Edition
Running a limited edition campaign is another idea that can cause a buzz around your company during the holiday shopping season. It’s psychologically proven that people want to be a part of something special, so when companies create branded items that are available for a certain time period in a specific market, it helps to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Check out how Lancome did it:
Image Source
Want to know the best part? Launching limited-edition versions of best-sellers is a proven way to create a sense of urgency, and therefore increase ecommerce sales. Why? People are afraid of missing out on something important, so they make impulse purchases when they’re pressed for time.
4. Seasonal UGC
Modern customers don’t trust branded content and ads; they seek out a social proof before making a purchase decision. For most shoppers, your brand is worth giving a try if you have an army of loyal fans who spread the word about your company without being paid. Thus, it’s no wonder that user-generated content (UGC) gets higher engagement.
Brands of all sizes and shapes know the power of UGC, so they try to include fan-made content in social media marketing strategy. And if you want to hook holiday shoppers’ attention, you need to publish seasonal user-generated content, and Cluse is a great example of this strategy in action:
Image Source
To encourage your followers for UGC, you need to learn from Cluse and tag authors’ every time you publish their content on your Instagram profile: It’s in our nature to crave for recognition, so followers are more likely to produce user-generated content if they have a chance to be featured on your account.
5. Last-Minute Sale
When it comes to buying gifts, holiday shoppers often procrastinate. In fact, around 134 million people plan to make holiday purchases on “Super Saturday,” the last Saturday before Christmas. It goes without saying that these customers are pressed for time, but they also want to find appealing offers. Thus, companies need to consider last-minute holiday shoppers when planning their holiday marketing campaigns. Simply put, it’s important to run a last-minute sale if you want to boost Instagram sales this holiday season.
Check how Shea Moisture did it:
Image Source
The Buy One, Get One (BOGO) marketing technique isn’t new. It has always been popular among both marketers and customers as it helps to increase sales. Shea Moisture tries to improve this technique by offering a solid discount on the second product. Not only does Shea Moisture share information about the deal, but it also puts the main text information on the image to attract the attention of potential customers.
6. Time-Limited Deals
Who else wants to make money on Instagram? There’s no better way to convert followers into customers than offering time-limited deals that encourage people to make the purchase action faster. It’s in our nature to seek out appealing deals and offers, so people are afraid of missing out on discounts and therefore they make impulse purchases.
Black Friday is an unofficial kickoff to holiday shopping and millions of customers are waiting for this day to find the best deals. However, Cyber Monday is gaining in popularity and it has solidified itself at the top of the biggest shopping days. Since customers are ready to spend their money, companies try to offer the best time-limited deals. Beach Body is a good example:
Image Source
Discounts attract customers, and if you give your shoppers an opportunity to save big money, they are likely to buy more from you. When you apply significant percentages like 50%+ to certain products, you build hype around your company and turn more followers into customers.
7. Seasonal Tips
The festive period is the busiest season during the year as people are overwhelmed with many duties. From decorating their homes to choosing gifts for friends and family, there are many things we need to handle to enjoy the holidays. Although most people love holiday preparation, they are looking for some actionable tips to make the process easier and better. For brands, this means a great opportunity to take care of their customers, gain brand loyalty, and authentically promote products.
Let’s take Overstock, for example. Since this company offers various products for your home, it’s no wonder it uses a video to share tips on home decor for the festive season as it helps to prove its niche expertise.
Image Source
At first blush, it seems that only big brands with a solid marketing budget can afford to create social media videos. With the popularity of video content, it’s a must for businesses of all sizes and shapes. Moreover, many easy-to-use design tools make it easy for small businesses to use videos, and therefore grab the attention and engage their Instagram followers.
8. Seasonal GIFs
The holiday season is not just about promoting your products; it’s also about creating a festive mood. Most people are excited about the upcoming holidays, so they want to share their emotions with friends on social media. With the popularity of short-lived content, many people create Instagram Stories to express their feelings. Plus, people do their best to customize their Stories with various features and they often use GIFs and stickers to make their content unique.
If you want to take care of your customers and open up new opportunities for branding, you can create seasonal GIFs as they are catchy and timely. For example, Starbucks has launched a collection of seasonal stickers and GIFs in honor of the fall season.
Image Source
Starbucks creates branded GIFs and stickers that feature their products, so users promote the brand when they share these stickers in Instagram Stories. To promote its stickers and GIFs, Starbucks has uploaded multiple photos within one Intstagram post to show off all images. It’s no wonder that Instagrammers love customizing their Stories with stickers and GIFs, so launching a seasonal collection of stickers is a great way to grab their attention and promote your product.
9. Gift Ideas
The average holiday shopper purchased 16 gifts during the previous holiday season. Since customers buy many gifts for their dearest and nearest, it’s no wonder that gift ideas are in demand. Simply put, your consumers want to get assistance on choosing gifts and it’s your perfect chance to promote your product while making your customers’ lives easier.
Big companies like GAP offer their customers to purchase gift cards for their friends and family, and it’s a smart idea in terms of an Instagram post idea. Why? A recent survey shows that 60% of people want to receive a gift card, making it the most desired holiday gift.
Image Source
However, many people still believe that gift cards appear to be impersonal, so they want to find creative gift ideas that will satisfy their needs and wants. Jacob Colinn knows the importance of unique gifts, so it uses Instagram to promote its personalized bracelets.
Image Source
There’s no better way to showcase your products during the holiday season than sharing gift ideas. In fact, holiday gift guides inspire shoppers to make the purchase decision, so it’s a great way to help your customers and increase sales at the same time.
10. Holiday Inspiration
When you help Instagram followers bring the festive cheer into their lives, you create a strong brand association, so users are more likely to consider your brand as an option when it comes to making the purchase decisions.
Case in point:
Since 70% of people enjoy gift-wrapping, J.Crew shares gift wrap ideas on Instagram to delight its customers who seek out holiday inspiration:
Image Source
Boosting holiday inspiration is a proven way to get into the Christmas mood which means being ready for gift-buying. Simply put, when you help potential customers draw inspiration from your brand, you also persuade your target audience with emotional appeal, so it encourages them to take the desired action faster.
11. Seasonal Giveaways
The holiday season is associated with the period of giving, so it’s just a perfect time to delight your customers and run a delight your customers and run a seasonal giveaway so that your loyal followers can win something valuable from your brand. It goes without saying that Instagram post ideas that are giveaways help to boost engagement, increase brand trust, and build brand awareness. What is more, seasonal giveaways help to hook holiday shoppers and promote your products.
When it comes to holidays, Passion Planner often runs the 12 days of giving campaign that gives its followers an opportunity to win valuable prizes in exchange for simple actions like following the account.
Image Source
Have you ever thought about a giveaway as an Instagram monetization idea? When you run seasonal giveaways, you can choose your products as prizes, so it’s a perfect way to attract the target audience who is interested in giving your products a try. Over the long haul, you grow a solid following of loyal fans who are ready to buy your products, so it’s easier to monetize your Instagram account.
The Bottom Line on Instagram Post Ideas for the Holiday Season
The holiday shopping season means a lot to businesses of all sizes and shapes, as it’s a perfect time to build brand awareness, increase brand loyalty and trust, and boost ecommerce sales. Holiday shoppers are looking for gift ideas and festive inspiration, so don’t miss your chance to engage your Instagram followers and turn them into customers.
Have you found Instagram post ideas that work best for you this holiday season? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.