The use of Christmas influencer marketing can help in boosting sales especially as companies seek to engage in digital marketing. Besides, the retail sales during this holiday season are expected to be $1 trillion which is the maximum ever. The National Retail Federation also estimates that consumer spending should increase by 2.5-3% against 2023 because consumers expect economic growth.
This rise is a perfect opportunity for brands to create engagement with consumers through influencer marketing , where social networks serve as the means of reaching the audience that is already participating in the process of festive shopping.
Here are some ideas to assist you in increasing sales through influencer marketing campaigns this Christmas.
10 Effective Christmas Influencer Marketing Campaign Ideas
1. Host a Holiday Giveaway with Influencers
Hosting giveaways by influencers is the best Christmas influencer marketing strategy that can be used to make your brand more conspicuous and sell more during the Christmas season. If you are lucky and can partner with influencers that your audience listens to, you will get more traffic and customers. By choosing the most demanded holiday products from your assortment, you can offer influencers to share your giveaway post with specific conditions, like following your brand’s account, tagging friends, etc. Besides expanding the number of your followers, it creates interest and desire towards your products.
Moreover, according to the Tailwind study, Instagram giveaways can contribute to the brand’s followers increasing at a rate of 70% more compared to regular posts. For instance, a beauty brand will join a makeup influencer to grant coupons of the holiday skincare sets. Asking people to tag friends in the comments section also brings more attention, and thus, introduces your brand to others who might follow you and make purchases. For better and broader coverage, target influencers for your niche with high subscription rates and relay affinity.
2. Collaborate on Holiday Gift Guides
The Christmas season is when the gift guide is most effective because it helps the consumers get top-notch ideas and recommendations for gifts. Another benefit of working with influencers is that, through gift guides, they can drive direct sales. Gift guides are usually in the form of Instagram stories, blog posts, YouTube videos, or individual posts where influencers promote products they truly enjoy.
As per Sprout Social’s report 49% of consumers trust influencers’ recommendations when making a purchase. An example of how this works is when a tech brand can partner with a tech influencer where he is to post some of the best gifts that gadget lovers can gift their loved ones. Giving influencers their individual discount codes to use on their various platforms helps to determine how many sales were made by the campaign. This approach helps to gain the trust of the audience who turns to their favorite influencer for holiday gift suggestions.
3. Organize a “12 Days of Christmas” Campaign
Appealing to consumers is very important and using the theme “12 Days of Christmas” is one way of giving consumers what they want during the holiday season. Thus, if you work with influencers for a multi-day event, you create anticipation, remind people of your brand, and urge them to make purchases throughout the season. This campaign can be in any form, a daily product showcase, flash sales, or a giveaway for 12 days in a row.
A lifestyle brand could work with influencers to promote different items each day while also giving followers a special promotion code on the items promoted. HubSpot’s research shows that 64% of consumers buy things that influencers promote using time-sensitive offers because of the scarcity of options. This approach keeps the target audience interested for a longer time and also makes them visit your brand more often.
4. Use Influencers to Create Holiday-Themed Unboxing Videos
Unboxing videos are still relevant because they provide a practical and real-life perspective of the item in question. During Christmas, you can send influencers Christmas packaging to make their unboxing videos look more appealing. These videos may help to sell products by focusing on the quality, and personality of the brand and the holiday season.
Shopify’s research based on YouTube shows that unboxing videos are 20% more engaging than any other branded content. For instance, if you are a home decor brand, an influencer could open a package and demonstrate how your holiday decor items would look in a warm, inviting home and call on the audience to replicate the same. This visual appeal may be enough to persuade people into making their purchase especially given festive holidays when people look forward to grab gifts to replicate certain season’s theme.
5. Encourage User-Generated Content (UGC) Through Influencers
Audience participation in Christmas influencer marketing campaigns is one of the best marketing techniques that can be used in the world today to enhance the credibility of the brand. When you ask influencers to share a call for their followers to post pictures or videos on the holidays using your products, you foster togetherness. For example, you may request influencers to participate in a campaign in which fans share a photo of themselves using your product with a particular holiday hashtag.
According to a report by Stackla, 79% of consumers claimed that UGC has an impact on their buying behavior and not branded content. Moreover, using such promotion tools that give gift cards or holiday discounts to participants is effective in attracting more followers, thus increasing the coverage of your brand while creating useful and credible content that can be later reposted.
6. Host a Virtual Christmas Party or Live Shopping Event
As more customers continue to order products online, virtual events are useful to give consumers the impression of the excitement they have about the brand. Collaborate with influencers for a live Christmas party or a live shopping where influencers use your products, take questions, and give the audience some kind of discount code. Such events are best hosted on platforms such as Instagram Live, Facebook Live or even YouTube.
According to a Livestream and New York Magazine poll, 80%of respondents said they’d rather watch a live video from a brand than read a blog. For instance, in the beauty industry, a beauty product can call the favorite makeup gurus to do a holiday makeup tutorial using their beauty products. In the course of the event, the influencer can give out the coupon code for customers to make purchases immediately. Such type of campaign not only increases sales but also creates a feeling of togetherness and belongingness.
7. Promote Limited-Edition Christmas Products
New products should be released during the holiday season because people are likely to purchase special products during this period. These restricted products can be promoted by influencers who will post pictures and videos of these products and explain that they are limited in supply.
For example, a fragrance company may decide to release a holiday scent and ensure that they enlist lifestyle influencers. Products that are released in a small number, and with help of influencers, can generate a hype that makes people buy the products before they are out of stock. According to studies, the use of FOMO-based promotion makes the product more attractive, and this is likely to lead to high demand for holidays during the holidays.
8. Collaborate on Charitable Campaigns During the Holidays
The holidays are a period of giving and most customers are comfortable associating with brands that are known to give back to society. Besides increasing the sales of a product, working with influencers on a charitable campaign can help build a positive image for your brand and establish customer loyalty. Thus, you might commit to giving a portion of the sales you acquire during the holiday season to a cause and encourage influencers to share that information.
Another survey by Cone Communications revealed that 86% of consumers were willing to buy a given product because that company supported a cause that is dear to the consumers. If your brand is related to clothing you could partner with fashion influencers to spread awareness of a campaign where buyers get to donate to a charity of their choice in the region. Such a program can be appealing to the liberal consumer and will assist in building a good reputation for your brand.
9. Run a “New Year, New You” Campaign Post-Christmas
The post-Christmas selling campaign is not paid enough attention, although this is the best time to sustain the Christmas spirit with the slogan ‘New Year, New You.’ Some people are already planning their resolutions and setting goals, therefore working with influencers to advertise products that fit this theme will help you maintain sales after the holiday season.
A fitness brand for example can partner with health and wellness influencers to promote the message of getting back into shape in the new year. If you reposition your products as part of new beginnings, you will be able to continue selling them and keep your brand going even after the Christmas season.
10. Leverage Influencer Takeovers for Real-Time Engagement
Branded takeovers are also a way for influencers to take control of your brand’s social media accounts for a while and interact with the audience directly. This can be a good way of getting directly to the audience during the holidays. Holiday shoppers can ask questions get answers from influencers, and get special holiday information.
Indeed, influencer takeovers are known to boost engagement, as brands experience anything between a 30% rise in engagement during such takeovers. Thus, by inviting influencers to create real-time holiday content, you increase brand awareness and develop closer bonds with your followers during the season.
Conclusion
A perfect storm of Christmas influencer marketing would do a lot in terms of reaching out to consumers during this crucial shopping period. By applying these strategies brands can reach the audiences in a more personal and exciting way. These campaigns build trust, generate interest, and tap into the real influence of social media personalities thereby generating traffic and sales. All these tactics not only focus on the products but also make the audience consider them as part of their holidays.
For brands, the aim is to find influencers who are relevant to their values and target market, so that the message gets to the right audience in a very active community. If executed properly, influencer campaigns during the holiday season may have the effect of customer loyalty, a wider audience, and continued business past Christmas. When brands plan campaigns that consumers can identify with, they stand themselves in good stead to not only influence this year’s holiday sales but also to reap the rewards that come with it in the future.