The Christmas season is one of the most promising periods for promoting goods and services on social networks, especially on Instagram. One of the most effective ways to attract attention to your products is to collaborate with popular influencers. In this article, we will look at strategies that will help you successfully advertise products on Instagram through influencers on the eve of the Christmas holidays.
Characteristics of the winter holiday season
Before Christmas many people are much more likely to scroll Instagram, because they tend to stay at home and watch Christmas movies, prepare gifts and decorate houses. In some countries it's cold outside to walk around the city, and as a rule people prefer cozy evenings at home with a cup of tea or coffee. Of course, this affects the activity of people on Instagram. Namely, people are making more purchases online, especially via Instagram recommendations.
Also pay attention to the promotion to the regions of the country, do not target only those, who live in the capital. According to search queries, interest in the regions is higher than in capitals. This is due to the different availability of goods in different parts of the country. In the regions, gifts are more often ordered online, as there is more choice.
What characterizes the advertisement during holidays?
Christmas holidays are a special period for brand promotion, not similar to any other time of the year. So, what are the characteristics of the Christmas Eve period?
1. Emotions. The Christmas season is a time of magic, family traditions and joy. Ads during this period should focus on the emotional aspects, creating the illusion of participating in something special and unique. Collaboration with influencers, who are able to convey this atmosphere will be a key element of a successful campaign. Influencers in Stories, Reels or simple posts should focus on family values, a sense of joy at the approach of magic, and so on.
2. Christmas mood and decorations. Adapt the visual content and products you promote to the Christmas aesthetic. This includes the use of bright Christmas colors, winter motifs and festive decorations. Promotional materials should instantly evoke associations with upcoming holidays.
3. Special offers and discounts. During the Christmas period, consumers expect special offers and generous gifts from brands. Develop exclusive discounts, bonuses and promotions available only during this period. This creates an urge to buy.
4. Creative gift guides. Develop a series of content dedicated to the Christmas rush, buying gifts, decorating houses and apartments. Influencers can create gift guides, where they can recommend items to gift for parents, other relatives and friends.
5. Limited collections. Limited-edition collections are popular because they create a sense of uniqueness. Do not forget to arrange the goods accordingly (Christmas packaging, website design, etc.)
An example of a limited edition Christmas product
6. Analytics. Constantly monitor the effectiveness of the campaign. If necessary, adjust quickly by making changes to the promotion strategy. For example, if you launched a campaign on the 10th of December, then on December 21-22 you will most likely have to make adjustments to the campaign (increase the budget, promote with new influencer), since interest in buying gifts reaches a peak as the holiday approaches.
Stages of ad campaign preparation
1. Setting campaign goals and defining the target audience
You should start by setting campaign goals. This can be an increase in sales, an improvement in audience loyalty, or entering the market with a new product. The overall promotion strategy will depend on the main goal. After setting a goal, it is worth determining the target audience. Analyze your current audience and highlight the main characteristics. Determine which groups of people may be most interested in your Christmas products.
Then you need to compare the goal of the campaign that you have set and the target audience. For example, if your goal is to launch a new mascara to the market, and the target audience of the brand as a whole is men of 40-50 years old, then you should reconsider either the goal or the target audience for promotion.
2. Search for suitable influencers
Use special platforms to search for influencers, such as Instajet.io. Set filters by niche, audience, and geography. With the help of Instajet.io you can launch native advertisements in Instagram Stories, get detailed statistics and all closing documents at the end of the campaign. One of the key advantages of the platform is the manual verification of influencer's accounts. Managers select accounts only with a high-quality and engaged audience.
In addition, if you do not have time to launch a campaign or you want to do it last minute, then the platform managers can launch it for your brand themselves. Experts from Instajet.io will select influencers according to the goals of your campaign, agree on the time and date of posting, check the ad for compliance with the technical task, and then send you statistics and closing documents for the accounting department. It's convenient and fast. In order for managers to start working with your campaign, select one of the packages and let Instajet.io know about your choice.
3. Preparing a website or landing page
The website or landing page where you will lead people should contain all the necessary information about the product/service. Namely, prices, description, photos of the product, etc. If this is a marketplace, then you should create a landing page where you will lead the client to track statistics. We advise you to immediately make a Christmas version of the page, adding festive design elements.
An example of a great minimalistic Christmas gift idea landing page.
4. Promotion strategy and concept
Create a detailed content strategy plan for influencers, identify formats (photos, videos, stories, Reels), topics, and even hashtags that should be included in their content as part of the Christmas campaign.
Since we are talking about the eve of the holiday, and it is customary to give gifts on holidays, we advise you to think about a special Christmas promo code for the purchase of goods or services or simply a pleasant bonus. For example, for buying a set of shampoos, you can give miniatures of hair balms as a gift to customers. This strategy additionally encourages the buyer to make a purchase and attracts new customers.
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), the average American spent $826 in 2022 on Christmas gifts, food, and decorations. Of that $826 dollars, around 500 are spent on gifts for family members. The most popular of these gifts are clothing, toys, and gift cards. So, based on this data you can set the prices for your Christmas offer.
5. Preparation and selection of goods / services for promotion
It is very important to determine which product you will promote during the holidays. Do a little research on what products your customers buy and when. If you still have data from previous years about the consumption trends of your products before Christmas, be sure to study them. The universal idea here will be the promotion of tripwires. These are cheap products that can serve as an entry point for further purchases of more expensive goods or services. Popular influencers can help promote such products by sharing them on their social networks. For example, it can be a limited-edition of Christmas tree decorations at a special price that easily attract attention and incline to purchase.
Then prepare all the necessary material for influencers, including unique links to track the effectiveness of publications, high-quality product images, if necessary, promo codes, and so on.
6. Compilation of technical tasks (briefs) for influencers.
The terms of reference should be as clear and understandable as possible. It allows you to define the goals and objectives of the marketing campaign that must be achieved. This is the only way the advertiser can be sure that the influencer understands well what kind of Story, video, post or Reel is expected of him/her and how to make content that meets the brand's goals. Detailed technical tasks also help to save time for both sides. If there is a clear task, a video script or the text of a post, then the influencer will not have to re-do the material several times, and the advertiser will have no need to check it many times and make edits.
In order to correctly compile the terms of reference, we recommend taking into account the following point:
- Influencers know their audience very well, their interests and the way they interact with content, so you don't need to write a very detailed script.
- Leave a room for creativity. It is important for influencers as they are professionals in unique content creation.
- You should not overload the technical task with too much information, give the influencer an opportunity to study the product on his/her own (for example, you can send samples for a test). This way he/she will have a chance to do more native ad. If you still do not trust the influencer, then you can agree on the main points of the script with him/her in advance.
- Try to write down the main points in the technical task and highlight them for the influencer, so that he/she understands where to put the emphasis.
- Ask the influencer to create a festive Christmas atmosphere of joy and warmth.
Read more about how to correctly compose a technical task for influencers in our previous article.
7. Analysis of the results
Use Instagram analytics, as well as tracking data provided by influencers, to constantly monitor the campaign. At the end of the promotion, evaluate such general indicators as engagement, followers growth and conversions. In addition, evaluate whether you have been able to achieve individually set goals for bringing a new product to market, increasing sales and/or brand awareness.
After the end of the Christmas campaign, analyze the data and determine which influencers brought the best results. You can resume collaboration with most successful influencers also on other occasions.
Christmas advertising ideas for Instagram campaigns
🌲 Countdown to Christmas. Create a daily or weekly countdown leading up to Christmas with engaging visuals, exclusive deals, or product highlights. Every day can be dedicated to the introduction of 1 product or service and an explanation of how to use it as a Christmas gift and who it can be gifted to.
🌲 Festive giveaways and contests. Host giveaways or contests with Christmas-themed prizes. Encourage user participation by asking them to share their favorite holiday traditions or submit creative content related to your brand. This not only boosts engagement but also expands your reach.
🌲 Gift guides and product bundles. Curate gift guides and product bundles to simplify the shopping process for your audience. Showcase these visually on Instagram, making it easy for customers to find the perfect Christmas gifts.
🌲 Augmented reality (AR) filters. Develop custom Christmas-themed AR filters that users can apply to their photos and videos. This not only adds a fun element to your campaign but also encourages user-generated content.
🌲 Limited edition Christmas collections. Introduce limited edition Christmas-themed products or collections and create a sense of urgency by emphasizing their exclusivity. Feature these products prominently on your Instagram page to attract attention.
Summary
Conveying the Christmas mood through content, compiling good technical tasks, searching for suitable influencers and professional interaction with them and their audience, as well as regular monitoring of the results will make the most effective use of the festive period to promote your products or services.
May this Christmas be not only a period of festive dinners with family and friends, but also a big step forward for your brand!
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