"Tis the season!" is a phrase that some social media managers have come to loathe. They say you can count on two things - death and taxes. But let's add the holidays to this list because, like it or not, they come around each year.
Do you really want to be laboring over your social media on Labor Day? Halloween? Too spooky to even look at. And you don't want to worry about posting an image for Thanksgiving when it's time to go back for seconds (thirds? FOURTHS?)!
Seriously, there's a lot of stress that comes with posting to social media during the holidays. To avoid it, we simply tackle the entire year of holidays in one day. Then we all can enjoy each holiday with our families and spend the time robbing our kids' cache of Halloween candy in peace. Want a piece of this peace? Read on...
I know it sounds crazy, but punching every holiday in throat in one day is a freeing feeling.
DISCLAIMER: Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ don't allow you to schedule posts natively. You must use a third-party service if you want to queue up posts on those platforms. Facebook, on the other hand, allows any business with a Page to schedule posts. GLORY BE!
We use HubSpot marketing platform for our own and our client's social media posting. We have packages for small companies and larger companies alike. We highly recommend this powerful software, but even if you are using a different system, here's the process we use and you can replicate:
Step 1: Make a List of Every Holiday You Want to Celebrate on Social Media
There are some staples in here of course (how could anyone NOT celebrate Boxing Day?) but we always try to think creatively here. We at Little Bird are a fun and quirky bunch, so we celebrate several different 'unorthodox' holidays. PRO TIP: Use daysoftheyear.com to get some insight on obscure holidays.
Etch-a-Sketch Day, Vinyl Record Day and Gingerbread Decorating Day make our list. If within your industry there are specific, important holidays, throw 'em on the list! If your underwater basket weaving company wants to celebrate World Oceans Day, do it! Be sure you write the date down for each holiday so you know when to schedule them.
Step 2: Create the Graphics and Write the Posts for Each Holiday
Use your favorite program or app to make a graphic that follows your brand standards. Our Momma Bird is the queen of Word Swag and Camera + so check those out. It's important here to express your creativity but don't forget to relate the image to the holiday. Save the image with a file name that describes which holiday. This makes it easy to match it with its post during scheduling.
When writing the text entries that accompany the post, proofread them MULTIPLE times. Remember, the point of this is to save you stress in the long run. There's nothing more stressful then having to revise a post because you didn't triple-check it. Besides, once the holiday is over there's no going back, man!
Step 3: Ensure Everything Is Organized and Ready to Go
By organizing ahead of time, you can easily blow through the drudgery of scheduling posts. Put all your labeled images in a folder, prepare your text accompaniments and buckle down.
You're about to slay some social media.
Step 4: Roll Call!
At this point, you should have the following:
- A list of holidays and their dates
- Graphics for each holiday
- Text to go with each post
- A cup of coffee (or tea if you really celebrate Boxing Day)
Go through scheduling your posts, one by one. Upload the graphic, copy the text, paste the text, choose the day that you want to schedule it, proof read the post, click Schedule Post, lather, rinse, repeat. As you make your way through the list, be sure to check each holiday off. I do this to help avoid duplicate posts.
Attention to detail is absolutely crucial here. If you accidentally mess up the date or post the wrong image for a holiday, it will just cause you heart palpitations all the day long.
At the end of it all, you should have a completely crossed-off list, a virtual cache of scheduled content and a sense of FREEDOM. Kawanza will never be the same!
I challenge you to schedule your posts for at least the next six months, if not the full year. This will make the "Tis the season" remark much more palatable and give you a worry-free holiday season!
Do you schedule your holiday posts? Is there something you struggle with? Let us know in the comments!
Let Us Know What You Thought about this Post.
Put your Comment Below.