It’s officially November and that means it’s the start of the Holiday season for many businesses as well as our clients. Between now and January we have:

• Thanksgiving
• Black Friday
• Cyber Monday
• Hanukkah
• Christmas
• Day after Christmas / Boxing Day
• New Year’s Eve
• New Year’s Day

And the list goes on! Depending on your client’s personal wishes, their business model and even their location, this list can change drastically but at the end of the day, this is a LOT of content to create, approve and share with your followers! . There are many things to take into consideration when planning Holiday Social Media content… .

CONSIDER THE CLIENT

Each client is different and what might be appropriate for one isn’t relevant for another. Before you hit the heart of the Holidays, have a quick chat or email with your client about their wishes. Some questions to get you started:

• Does the marketing plan include any special sales?
• Will there be a Holiday sales/shipping code to share?
• Do they prefer certain terms like “holidays” or “Christmas?”
• Should the account not post during specific days?
• If your client sells products, are there cut-off dates for shipping to ensure arrival? .

With this information in hand you can then plan your content, create it, and schedule as needed. While we prefer and recommend, social media to be posted live and natively within the account the DAY OF, we know it’s not always an option, especially around the Holidays. Social Media Managers have lives too! Since we believe this and we encourage other social media pros to create boundaries, using scheduling tools for these days is great! Most social media networks have their own scheduling options, like Facebook and even Twitter, within their Business Dashboard (Read more here!) but then there’s Instagram. We’ve tried several Instagram scheduling apps and have NOT been impressed. That just means you gotta set a timer to remind yourself to post, day of. Do yourself a favor, and have the creative and copy saved on your phone and ready to go. When the timer goes off, we suggest grabbing your Holiday themed cocktail and heading to a quiet spot (the bathroom) for five minutes to escape all the family togetherness! WE MEAN POST FOR YOUR CLIENT! 😉 .

THE DAY AFTER THE HOLIDAY

For a lot of businesses, the day after a Holiday is super important, sometimes more so than the Holiday itself. Will your client have sales following the Holiday? Whether it’s Black Friday, Cyber Monday, the day after Christmas or just plain ol Labor Day, what information do you need to share with your client’s followers? Don’t forget to share your client’s:

• Special Holiday Hours of Operation
• Sales Codes or Special offerings
• Sales Locations and Dates .

DON’T FORGET HOLIDAYS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR!

We have a client who celebrates the holiday of Eid al-Adha (of EID), we work with them prior to figure out the relevant info, and a special message to pass along to those who celebrate this feast during late summer. What holidays might you be missing throughout the year?

And don’t forget yourself! Are you an agency, an independent contractor or a public figure? This post is for you too! Don’t forget your own Holiday content and definitely don’t forget client gifts and cards this Holiday season! . Merry Holidays and Happy Everything!