Holidays are a strange beast in the world of publishing. On the one hand, your audience is likely out of work/school and has more time to scroll. On the other hand, they’re probably engaged in life, going to parties and celebrating with friends and family, and may not be into the same content. So what do you do? How do you alter your social media posts to serve your audience? And which holiday social media tips can you trust?

The ideas are nearly limitless, and so are the benefits. Here are some fun posts that may help you engage your audience during the holiday season that can be used on almost all social media platforms:

1. Gift Ideas. Anything from DIY, to the latest trends, to practical and useful items, people hunt for all things gifts during the holiday season. Not only will people be interested, but they’ll be grateful for the ideas and likely to follow for more, share, retweet, pin… you get the idea. 
2. Holiday decoration ideas. Share some ideas and welcome viewers to weigh in on some of their favorites.
3. “12 days of”… 12 days of recipes, decorating tips, DIY crafts or home updates, fashion, historical facts. Gotta love a good countdown to keep people coming back for more! Also, the 12 days of Christmas actually happen from Dec. 25th to Jan. 5th—not leading up to Christmas!
4. Polls. Throw a question to your audience and leave the polls open for as long as you wish. This is sure to draw in engagement and then some. 
5. Trivia. Share stories of the origins of certain holidays, recipes, movies, or traditions. Post the trivia question and have readers check back later for the answer. In the meantime, the comments section will soon fill up with guesses. 
6. Safety tips. You can’t go wrong whenever you post something that can be helpful to people, and people love to share helpful tips on their own pages.  
7. Contests! The options are unending: the best photo, best holiday ensemble, best song, best recipe, best decorations, best lights… the options!
8. “Caption This” photos. This will draw people to comment for days and drive traffic to you in no time. Not to mention, you’re sure to get a laugh or two out of this yourself, depending on viewers’ answers!
9. “This or That” photos. Get creative! You can include two types of holiday meals or desserts, types of boots, serious gifts or gag gifts, genres of holiday music, and the list goes on. The comments section will keep your post relevant and engaging for a long time.
10. Favorite holiday recipe. Share a favorite recipe and ask for people to comment with theirs.
11. Create humor content. A fun meme, video, or photo to share that is holiday-related.
12. ENGAGE! Be sure to engage with the commenters by responding in the comments section when you’re able. Your readers want to have a connection with you. 
13. BONUS TIP: Find catchy hashtags to use on your posts to get in front of even more potential followers!

It’s important to note that Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Years’ aren’t the only holidays celebrated this time of year! Take note of all holidays that occur during the year and keep a bank of content for each holiday. These holiday social media tips apply all year long!

Learn more about creating a usable well of evergreen content for holidays and the rest of the year, as well. 

Happy holidays to you and your team!