in: Social Media
by: Sabina Hitchen
I love a holiday - any holiday - as each one offers it's own opportunities to re-energize your promotion and marketing campaign with fresh and fun ideas, new ways to engage followers and customers and the chance to show your entire brand community your lighter, fun side.
The more people are enticed to engage with your brand the better, and the Halloween season offers you several chances to do just that. The ideas we have for you below are tied to this October holiday and can all be done using social media which means they're going to be free and they're going to be fun! Try one of them out this week in your business - don't let the lost buzz building and sales opportunities haunt you like a persistent ghost!
Give them a Treat - Halloween Coupons or Discount Promotions
This strategy is one of the most simple and straightforward of the list and can be activated almost immediately! Once you've created your sale you can then share it over social media and if you'd like you can bolster it with a newsletter that has this same coupon inside. To make it work, create your copy and imagery with Halloween in mind.
If you're reading this and thinking “but my company has absolutely no connection to Halloween, don't feel left out. You can actually use this to your advanatage if you're strategic when creating a discount or deal. Buck the trend on purpose my friends! For instance, say you are a cheese company. How about creating a promo that engages people with:
“Your kids may never want Halloween candy again once they try Palmetto Cheese! Try it in your home for 25% off through November 15th”.
Perhaps you make products that clean up a child's mess (like Nomie Baby or WiggleTot). Try “Save Yourself from Your Baby's Spookiest Messes, Try NomieBaby Through the End of the Month and Shipping is Free! No Tricks Only a Treat from Us”
Encourage User Generated Content via Photos of your Brand in Action
Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are all great places to post photos of followers using your product - from food to fashion to home décor – during the Halloween weekend. Just ask them to show you how they’re using your brand over Halloween weekend, have them tag you in it, and perhaps invite them to use a relevant hashtag (as well as #Halloween) so that you can keep track of submissions. Incentivize people to participating by offering a discount on their next order if they do. This not only encourages them to participate but encourages them to shop from you in the future! All of this posting with you as the focus not only gets people excited, but it will be an introduction to your business in multiple feeds across social media!
Halloween Contest
Holidays like Halloween are made for fun contests to get your social media followers interacting with you and more connected to your brand as a whole. If you can pull it off, create a Halloween-themed contest with a fun prize (perhaps from your own inventory) along with future shopping discounts for all the participants. Contests can include the use of your product (if it “makes sense”) or can simply be seasonal.
Here are some ideas to get you going: A makeup company can invite DIY Halloween makeup submissions (using their product of course), a kids music or gym class can invite parents to submit photos of their kids in costume (and offer prizes for different categories), a food company can invite followers to share photos of how they’re using their food in some spooky menu items at a Halloween party, a veterinarian can invite followers to share photos of their pets in costume, any type of biz can host a virtual pumpkin carving contest…The opportunities are endless!
Contests not only increase engagement and often, followers, but they are show that your biz has the holiday spirit. Throw in some fun prizes (that your demographic would appreciate) and everyone ends up a winner! Want to get even more engagement? Invite other followers to vote on their favorite submissions to help you pick a winner!
Share your team (or YOURSELF or your pets) in costume.
Halloween is the perfect time to share your and your company’s fun side! People love to connect with real people and they want to know who the people are behind the brands they love. This is a way to make them feel more personally connected to you, to get to know your sense of humor, style, design and personality. Not only is this fun for your followers, it’s also fun for your entire team. This should go without saying but be sure your costumers are tasteful and not offensive, as everything you share – even in good, clean Halloween fun – is a reflection of your overall brand!
Can you share Halloween-focused tips?
Perhaps your business can share Halloween safety tips? Alternatives to not-so-good-for-you treats? Maybe you can give instructions on doing your own DIY Halloween makeup? How about Halloween party musts? If you have a set of advice or tips that work this is a great time to share them. To get the most impact write them up as a blog post first and then tease a few (or all) the tips out over social media one at a time, linking back to your blog post for them to read the entire batch! This social media strategy allows you to be a source of great information that your audience will appreciate while at the same time bringing social media followers to your website!
Bonus: Brick & Mortar Traffic Treat
Here’s a great promo you can run in real life that can and should be promoted and grown on social media in order to get more real life people in your store. Offer discounts to anyone who comes in your store, restaurant, coffee shop you name it IN Costume over Halloween weekend! Discounts and clever promotions like this often get shared around social media, leading to an increase in your foot traffic and an increase in overall brand awareness! Remember - once you get them in the door, it’s your time to shine and convert them into customers for life with you awesome customer service and offerings.
