8 Brilliant Post Ideas for a Festive Instagram Marketing Campaign

Happy days are here again, and so are the holidays. It is time to sit down with a mug of hot chocolate (and marshmallows) and see what the people on Instagram are up to. It is also the time of year you should go all out with your marketing campaigns. We’re talking bling, merriness, cheerfulness, festiveness, and more.

Once you start seeing the Christmas trends on Instagram heating up, you should get ready to launch your own targeted brand campaign. And, since we know hot chocolate and brainstorming go so well together, here are eight brilliant post ideas to get you started:

1. Get Feed Festive

Nothing gets people in the holiday mood quite like a festive makeover. Use Instagram’s holiday filters and overlays to give your profile the sparkly overhaul it needs. Add flickering Christmas lights and colorful baubles to draw attention and get your followers smiling. Get creative with snowflakes, cute reindeer, and Christmas trees when you start posting your holiday-themed content.

Don’t forget to update your brand’s color palette to reflect the season's hues. You’ll want to opt for bold reds, fir greens, warm golds, and inviting silvers to get your logo and other brand graphics to pop right off the screen.

2. Show Off Your Office Celebrations

Let your team join in on the festive fun by sharing videos and photos of them decorating the office or putting the final touches on your Christmas product range. If you’re in the arts and crafts niche, you can add a tutorial or two on how to perfectly wrap those thoughtful gifts.

You can even make an all-around fun lesson of it by doing it live over Instagram and getting your team to join in by wrapping some of your products. At the same time, you can give your followers a sneak peek at new products or services you’re launching in the new year.

3. Run a Photo Contest

You know how celebrities love to post photos of their entire family, including themselves, wearing crazy pajamas as they pose in front of the Christmas tree? You can use a similar idea to increase engagement on your holiday posts during the silly season.

Encourage your followers to submit photos of themselves and their families preparing for the holidays or celebrating their holiday traditions. Not only will you have potential viral content on your hands, but you will have tons of user-generated content you can use the following year.

Up the ante for the contest by giving away prizes for the most creative or funniest photos. It can be something classic, like a basket filled with Christmas goodies or a substantial discount on one or more of your products. Doing this won’t only get you more participants, but also greatly increase awareness of your brand on Instagram.

4. Double Your Brand’s Exposure

You can double the size of your audience over the holidays by hosting a contest or giveaway with another brand. You can also do this by partnering with a local and trusted influencer. Use these collaborations to create festive content that resonates with both brands' audiences and cross-promote posts on Instagram. Doing this is an excellent way to introduce your brand to new followers and potential customers without spending a cent.

5. Create Opportunities for Interaction

Use Instagram’s popular Stories feature to interact with your audience. Ask questions and polls (using stickers) and ask your followers about their holiday plans. You can also ask them about the most common challenges they experience during the festive season and make suggestions on how they can overcome them. It will be even better if they can use your products or services to do it.

Keep things fun and lighthearted by adding a countdown sticker to each Instagram story. This will build excitement for the holidays and keep people returning to view your posts. You can also use stories to show your audience a new skill you learned just in time for the festivities.

For instance, if you just learned how to use a tension stick and holiday decorations to spruce up your Christmas décor, make a tutorial of it. If you learned how to mix a holiday cocktail, create an online step-by-step recipe for your followers to try at home. This gives your audience a break from promotional posts while still engaging on your feed.

6. Host Virtual Events

Virtual events are big on Instagram, especially during the festive period. You can bring nostalgia to your feed by going old-school with a modern virtual Christmas party. By old school, we mean encouraging your followers to light candles and sing fun Christmas carols or play traditional games. If you are not much into singing, you can invite a local musician or performer to host a live concert on your Instagram stories.

Chances are, you will get tons of user-generated content on your feed during and after the event, which you can use to build a dedicated Instagram gallery.

7. Get Those Merry Hashtags In There

No, you do not have to use a “#merry” hashtag for everything, but you will need to get some relevant hashtags trending on your posts. You can use the general ones like “#holidays” and “#Christmas,” but be sure to include more specific ones too. You can also create a branded hashtag for each holiday campaign you create. This will make it easier to track engagement and measure the success of each campaign.

As you introduce each campaign, encourage your audience to use your hashtag when they share your posts with their followers. This will help spread the word and allow you to reach a wider audience.

8. Volunteer at a Charity and Document Your Experience on Instagram

By volunteering and documenting, we don’t mean you should brag about helping those in need. Instead, you could share this life-changing experience on Instagram, raise awareness for the charity, and encourage others to get involved. You could also host a festive fundraiser on Instagram to raise money for a local charity. This is one of the best ways to use your Instagram presence to make a difference over Christmas.

Mix Things Up and Have Fun

Plan, brainstorm, create a content calendar, mix things up, and have fun this holiday season. Follow these fun tips, and you will have plenty of ideas for Instagram marketing campaigns that will continue to sparkle into the new year.