It is the Yuletide season, that time of the year when consumers typically spend the most on presents and other holiday items.

While everyone gears up for season, is your company taking advantage of the opportunity to promote and market your products or services this period? Are your company’s social media channels decked out to share in the season’s spirit?

Chatter and conversations are happening constantly on social networks, so it makes perfect sense to use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other similar platforms to spread the holiday cheer. To this end Jovago.com, Nigeria’s online hotel booking site shares a few ideas that can help you  join the festivities and produce unique and engaging content to drive traffic to your social media channels and website.

Revamp your cover photos
Changing the cover picture on your social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Google+ and Twitter, to reflect the season is one major way to get your social media visitors in a holiday mood.

Your cover photo primarily represents the values and personality of your brand, so, a fresh cover photo suggesting you are sporting the season spirit, it will motivate them to check your page for special offers or gift ideas. Even if your business cannot offer any special holiday discounts or service, put up picture of your office’s Christmas decorations branded elegantly with your logo to give off an inviting and festive vibe. It is a proactive way to show off your unique identity and demonstrate your efforts to stay connected to them.

Initiate a countdown
Build up anticipation and get your consumers as well as followers excited for Christmas or New Year with a countdown on your social media pages. Depending on how active you are online, you may consider uploading images daily with the corresponding number of days left on your wall with an engaging call-to-response question. To save time, you can actually automate your countdown using HootSuite or Facebook’s scheduling feature.

Create seasonal hashtags
Shake up your profile status with festive-related hashtags. These hashtags serve to tie in all your social media accounts and help shoppers who are using Twitter or Instagram to research your offers in more detail. You can go with generic hashtags such as #Wishlist2015 or #Christmas2015, or you can create a unique company-related hashtag that could be utilized by others as a part of the holiday marketing campaign. Be sure to include holiday-trending hashtags to be part of the larger conversation.

– Ndem Nkem