Halloween is just around the corner and this means it is time to get your Halloween campaigns underway. Brands are looking at ways in which they can tap into the Halloween conversation online and maximise their exposure whilst latching onto trending hashtags and driving traffic to their websites.
Like any key event, there are some hidden gems of information which should be applied to your marketing strategies and campaigns to maximise your marketing efforts and be part of the Halloween conversation and tie-ins on the social platforms. In our blog, we briefly cover some key points which are worth considering:
Use A Halloween Related Hashtag
As a general rule of thumb, you should always use relevant and relatable hashtags within your marketing campaigns for key events to ensure your brand it’s content is appearing within the trending activity. There are a few simple Halloween hashtags which should be used this year, including: #Halloween, #HappyHalloween and #Halloween2019. It comes without question, that if your brand is promoting an event or promotion which is unique to you, it is worth introducing a branded Halloween hashtag for this event and/or promotion and use it throughout your marketing campaigns. For example, #DPOMHalloween.
This is a fairly straightforward and simple strategic point but if you want to get your content in the ‘trending stream’, it’s essential that you use the right hashtags that are likely to be common within the conversation online. However, if you use too many hashtags, you can have the opposite effect on your marketing performance; which leads onto our next point…
Don’t Overkill
Most people are familiar with the phrase “less is more”; which in this circumstance, it applies. Although it is extremely tempting to fill your content posts with many hashtags to ensure you’re covering all angles, this can have a negative effect on your performance. Research shows that Twitter tweets which contain 1-2 hashtags gain 100% more engagement than those tweets which contain more – so try and limit how many hashtags you use.
This is definitely a key point to bear in mind with all your marketing activities on social media – not just Halloween.
Tap Into Existing Trends
With many events and Halloween in particular; this is an annual event and there will be existing trends from the previous year which will come back into play for this year. It is always worth tapping into these trends and using them to your advantage. In addition, as we pointed out earlier in the blog, it is great to use relevant hashtags which are relatable to Halloween but it’s always important to tie your content back to your brand and your organisation by using your existing hashtags throughout the process. By doing this, you are ensuring that your audience will be able to identify the content as your brand and tie the two together.
The below screenshot from Knott’s Berry Farm is a great example of this:
As you can see from this example, the post has gained a good level of engagement from their audience as users have retweeted and liked the post. If you’re going to use a trended hashtag, make sure that your content is also relevant to that conversation, in particular, to prevent it getting lost within the stream.
Start Using Halloween Hashtags In Advance
Many brands forget the importance of beginning your marketing campaigns in advance and leave them until it’s too late. Don’t be afraid to start using your Halloween hashtags in advance and take advantage of the opportunity this key date can bring for your business. Pinterest shared an interesting guide to seasonal events, which shows that Halloween related discussion on its platform actually starts in August. Many people would believe this is too early but in actual fact, this is a great opportunity for brands to get involved with this conversation early to get their content seen by as many users as possible. With the incorporation of your branded Halloween hashtags, users will begin to follow your activity throughout Halloween.
Halloween Giveaways & Competitions
Holidays and key events are a great time to open up the conversation online and gain further engagement from your audience. Holidays are a great opportunity to encourage audience participation by offering giveaways or competitions on your social media platforms. By creating a #HalloweenGiveaway, you can engage and interact with your followers and encourage their participation. This is also beneficial for your brand as it increases brand awareness as users like and share your content even more. The below image from Gamer Grind Co. is a good example of a Halloween giveaway campaign:
Now you’re ready to make #Halloween2019 memorable for your brand! Require further assistance with your social media marketing campaigns? Contact our specialist team today to learn more – 0115 727 0038.
