By now, you’ve probably heard about the importance of using social media to promote your business during the holidays and throughout the rest of the year.

When it comes to the holidays, you know how important having the right holiday social media strategy is to reach new customers and bring people into your store.

And even if you’re not a social media enthusiast, with the right holiday social media strategy, you can drive meaningful results on social media this holiday season.

Creating a holiday social media strategy

For the holidays, you’ll want to focus your efforts on a select group of social media sites that will offer the right features for connecting with your audience.

Here’s an overview of how each network could work for your business.

  • Facebook: As a small business, you’ve probably already seen how Facebook can be used to engage with fans and promote your business throughout the year. On Facebook, you can use different types of content — including text, images, videos, Reels, and links — to engage your fans. You can also take advantage of Facebook’s advertising capabilities to target nearby consumers and drive local success. Lastly, with 98.5% of Facebook users now accessing the social platform via mobile devices, Facebook is also one of the most powerful networks for connecting with local consumers on their mobile devices.
  • X (formerly Twitter): X is one of the best networks for engaging with your audience and sharing helpful and engaging content. But did you also know that X is a valuable platform for customer service? People love X because it gives them direct access to the people and brands that are important to them. By monitoring your X activity and responding to follower questions and feedback, you’ll never miss the opportunity to turn a social interaction into a new opportunity for your business.
  • Pinterest: Users approach Pinterest with more of a shopping mentality than they do on other social sites. While you may use other networks — like Facebook or X — strictly for engagement purposes, on Pinterest you’re able to connect with consumers at a unique stage of the buying process: the looking and browsing stage. Pinterest is the perfect platform to highlight gift ideas and showcase all that your business has to offer this holiday season.
  • Instagram: Instagram is one of the best networks for creating engaging content for your business this holiday season. Its user-friendly tools make it easy to create images and video clips your customers and potential customers will love. You can snap photos of staff members preparing for an upcoming holiday sale, show off gift ideas with creative Reels your audience will love, go Live to share the season’s most popular products to gift loved ones, or show a carousel of photos featuring your customers visiting your business or using your products.
  • Threads: Using Threads around the holiday season is a great way to connect with your customers and get them to engage with your business online. Posts on Threads are similar to X (formerly Twitter), following a more casual and conversational format. You can share updates about your business, what your staff is up to to prepare for the holiday season, or your expertise on topics related to your business and the holidays.
  • YouTube: The holidays are the perfect time to create and share videos and YouTube Shorts from your business. Your videos don’t have to be a big-budget production. Something as simple as a video from your smartphone wishing customers a happy holiday or an interview about upcoming holiday activities can go a long way toward making a more personal connection with your audience. Best of all, you can easily share your videos on your different social networks or even add them to your holiday emails.

Next: Start laying out your schedule

To help get the ball rolling, we’ve brainstormed a list of creative post ideas perfect for each of these popular social networks. Choose the ones that make sense for your audience, and add your business’s unique personality to make them your own.

Facebook

Share photos or graphics showing:

  • customers shopping small
  • a recent holiday event
  • a nearby restaurant you recommend

Create Reels or videos showing:

  • a tutorial on how to gift wrap their purchase
  • your staff unpacking new holiday items
  • a behind-the-scenes tour of your store or your shipping process (show the hard work and care you put into being a small business owner!)

Post links with a caption to share:

  • your latest email (link to the email in the caption)
  • a reminder about an upcoming sale
  • a poll asking a holiday-themed question

X (formerly Twitter)

Share photos or graphics showing:

  • your holiday hours
  • customers shopping small
  • holiday shopping tips

Create Reels or videos showing:

  • your favorite gift ideas
  • how to participate in #SmallBusinessSaturday
  • a customer review or testimonial

Post links with a caption to share:

  • a local nonprofit’s holiday fundraiser
  • your latest email (link to the email in the caption)
  • a reminder about an upcoming sale

Instagram

Share photos or graphics showing:

  • customer reviews or testimonials
  • a carousel of photos featuring past holidays
  • customers shopping small
  • a carousel of graphics listing gift ideas for a specific person (spouse, parent, child, teacher, etc.)

Create Reels or videos showing:

  • your staff unpacking new holiday items
  • video clips of your holiday decorations
  • wishing customers a happy holiday
  • a recap of a holiday event or your staff celebrating the holidays

Threads

Share photos or graphics showing:

  • customer reviews or testimonials

Create Reels or videos showing:

  • the most popular items of the season
  • gift ideas for the holidays
  • how to participate in #SmallBusinessSaturday

Post links with a caption to share:

  • an upcoming sale
  • items that are back in stock

YouTube

Share videos showing:

  • an appreciation or thank you video to your customers and vendors
  • customers speaking about their favorite things about your small business
  • insights on your plans for next year
  • your expertise on a holiday-themed topic related to your small business

Create Reels showing:

  • a recap video of a holiday event
  • holiday gift ideas using your merchandise
  • your staff sharing what they’re thankful for this holiday season

Pinterest

Create boards to inspire gift ideas and holiday-themed activities. A few examples are boards like:

  • 20 gifts under $20
  • Gift ideas for parents or siblings
  • Last-minute gift ideas
  • Gifts you can shop for online
  • Fun holiday recipes
  • 10 outfit essentials for every holiday occasion
  • Top 5 local businesses in Boston (substitute Boston for your location)

Remember to go beyond posting to your feed by sharing your social media content using the different features social media platforms offer, like Stories, Reels, polls, Live, and YouTube Shorts.

Decide on a frequency to post on each platform

Below, we have outlined recommended frequencies for how often to post on social media for all the different social networks. Remember that this is your holiday social media strategy. Focus on the networks you think offer the biggest opportunity for your business. These frequencies can provide guidelines as you start putting your calendar together.

Note: Frequency will be most important on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. On YouTube, you’ll likely be creating one or a series of videos, and won’t need to focus on posting on a daily or weekly basis. Learn more about using YouTube.

Holiday social media post frequency
Use this as a guideline for how often you should be posting on social media.

With your content ideas and plans for posting mapped out, you can now start filling your calendar

As you start putting your social media plan together, keep these important days in mind:

  • Thanksgiving — November 28
  • Black Friday — November 29
  • Small Business Saturday — November 30
  • Cyber Monday — December 2
  • #GivingTuesday — December 3
  • Hanukkah — December 25 – January 2
  • Christmas Eve — December 24
  • Christmas — December 25
  • Kwanzaa — December 26 – January 1
  • Boxing Day — December 26

You’ll also want to factor in your other marketing activities. For example, look for ways to coordinate your posting schedule with your email marketing schedule. Remember that you can easily share your holiday emails on social media, and use social media to encourage fans and followers to join your email list.

Here’s an example of what your calendar might look like for December:

December 2024 social media holiday marketing calendar
What you post and when will be specific to your business or nonprofit.

Look for ways to save time and keep things running smoothly

If you’re a Constant Contact customer, you can create and schedule your holiday emails in advance. You can also use tools like Facebook’s native post scheduler, which lets you schedule your posts ahead of time. Try to incorporate a number of time-saving tools to schedule posts before things get too hectic.

Also, make sure to take advantage of the convenience of mobile tools. Download the mobile apps for each of your most important social platforms. You can also download the Constant Contact mobile app and create email reminders and announcements right from your mobile device! For more holiday marketing advice, check out these holiday marketing blog articles for tools to help you plan, design, create, and measure your holiday campaigns

Download our Holiday Marketing Quickstarter

Download Constant Contact's Holiday Marketing Quickstarter