PR Lesson: What You Should Post This Holiday Season 🎁
content ideas for every week that go beyond what you're selling
Happy October! If you’re not already thinking about what you’ll be sharing across your owned channels this holiday season (social media, newsletter, website), now is the time.
The “holiday season” starts earlier and earlier every year, as we all know from walking into the grocery store and opening up Instagram. Last year we noticed that end of year sales started earlier too, with many brands launching their big fall sale in October rather than waiting for Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Gift guides and holiday collections roll out this month, and by the time November hits, it’s time to switch gears and focus on 2026.
We know that this time of year is super busy for everyone personally and professionally, and many of us (ourselves included), have a desire to slow down at the end of the year. With this in mind, we want to help you simplify with a super clear plan for your November and December content.
Holiday messaging is inundated by “shop this” and “buy that.” While Q4 will always be a crucial sales quarter for businesses, a lack of balance in messaging can lead to consumer fatigue and disconnect. The key to standing out during the holidays and not getting lost in the all of the shopping noise, is to be a resource for your customers and target audience. You should be thinking: what does my audience/customer need right now that I can support them with?
Are they stressed? Inspire calm.
Are they overwhelmed? Simplify things for them.
Are they celebrating? Show them how your brand fits into their joy.
Are they shopping? Give them curated options.
Are they planning for the year ahead, budgeting, getting back on track with their health/wellness, organizing their home/life? Show them how.
Of course, you still need to support your business goals and promote what you are selling in Q4, but you can do this while continuing to nurture and connect with your customers. We often cite the 80/20 rule: inspire, delight, or deliver value in some way 80% of the time; sell the other 20% of the time. This is especially important to keep in mind during the holidays, and we’re going to show you how to nail this mix.
Here’s how we’re going to simplify and nail your holiday content strategy in this newsletter:
First, we’re going to take you through a 5-10 minute reflection exercise to figure out key themes and topics that will resonate with you and your customers/audience.
Then we’re going to give you a week by week breakdown of post themes for every week in November and December.
We’ll wrap with real holiday content examples from both creators and brands.
Ready? Let’s do this!
Figure out what you’re posting 80% of the time
This is your inspire, delight, add value category. This should be a direct reflection of your areas of expertise, your values and what you want to be known for, as well as a deep dive into your target audience/customer and what they most need/want during the holiday season. If your product/service/offering fits into this 80%, that’s great! It should be subtle though, and not the primary focus.
The remaining 20% of your content should be about what you’re selling or promoting this holiday season, and directly support your sales goals.
Do this 5-10 minute reflection exercise and write down 1-3 key themes/topics to nail your 80%. Then we’ll walk you through a week by week outline of what to post in November and December.