Thanksgiving in the US is coming to an end, meaning we are getting into the thick of the holiday season. Regardless of what holiday you celebrate whether it is Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, etc the majority of us are really getting into the holiday spirit. Malls will be busier with shoppers (online and offline) we will see houses decorated more and more, and the festivities will spread through social media. However, this is a time of distraction for many, and not to mention this is a very difficult period for many people who have experienced hardships and losses over the past year, or even from previous years. That being said, regardless of what is going on in your life- if you have a business and/or want to keep being seen as the influential one in your field- you absolutely must keep up with having a strong social media presence. I will give some tips to maintain or even increase your social media presence during the holidays.

1. Stay Consistent with your Activities– Again as I had mentioned this is a highly distracting time for many. However, you do not want to slack off with your social media activities. If you are having a hard time keeping up, hire a virtual assistant to keep up with your posting or use a tool like Hootsuite. Always square away time during the day to engage. Keep it up.

2. Share Something Related to the Holidays in December– Regardless of what holiday you celebrate, share something festive. You can share a picture of a Christmas tree if you celebrate Christmas, a Menorah if you celebrate Hannukah, a snow man, a winter scene, or even a holiday recipe you had tried and liked. However, mix it up and I would not do it more than 3 times a week. There is such a thing as holiday overkill too.

3. Spark Some Holiday Conversation– What you can also do once in a while, maybe at most 2 times a week is to talk about anything holiday related with your connections. You can ask questions such as how their holiday shopping is going, you can ask if they have specific plans, or you can even talk about having a great holiday meal or snack at the office or at some event. You want to keep the engagement high at this time, and this will help.

4. Share a Holiday Promotion– This is one reason it is very important to stay active and engaging during the holidays. If you maintain a good presence and are getting into the festive spirit, your connections will be quite receptive to any promotion or special you are having. It is best not to over promote regardless of what time of year it is, however I believe you can get away with it a little more. I would keep the promotions at 2 times a week at most. With Twitter however you can do this once a day because tweets get buried quite fast, as long as the majority of your tweets have nothing to do with what you are promoting.

5. Hold a Contest– Many business owners do this at this time of year. You may want to take advantage of holding a contest to get more fans, followers which will result in more business in the long run. For instance, if you had just published a book, hold a contest through Facebook with the prize being the book.

6. Never Exclude Anyone with Holiday Wishes– As you know when it comes to social media, you must think of your entire tribe and the fact that not all of them will celebrate one particular holiday (unless all of those in your networks only celebrate one holiday). Even though it is best to just wish everyone Happy Holidays in general you can also wish them a Merry Christmas, as well as a Happy Hannukah and Kwanzaa as long as you are saying it in one post. For instance, a post like this is acceptable.

I want to wish those who celebrate Christmas a Merry Christmas, and those who celebrate Hannukah a Happy Hannuka (or hope you had a great Hannukah if it is over), as well as those who celebrate Kwanzaa a Happy Kwanzaa. I want to wish everyone a wonderful Holiday season.

7. Create a Holiday Themed Facebook Timeline/Twitter Background– I would say this is not essential however it is a nice touch to add to the festivities online. What some do is keep their main brand in their backgrounds or timelines, however add a few snowflakes or snowmen, or something festive related.

If you follow the first 6 recommendations to keep a strong social presence during the holidays, you will be fine, and Happy Holidays to you.