How to Handle the Summer Holidays on Social Media

Summer Holiday season is a time for most companies and workers to unwind and cast all thoughts of the office and its pressures to one side. However, in the ever changing world of Web 2.0 marketing and social media, there is really no such thing as down time for the digital marketing side of any business, in fact the summer (or any other period) holidays are potentially even busier periods for social media marketeers.

A skeptic may inquire as to why this may be the case. However, the fact that workers are on holidays means they have more spare time to browse the plethora of social media platforms, so it is incumbent on a social media savvy digital marketing executive to ensure that there is increased content during the August Bank Holiday weekend or other peak holiday times. Although it should go without saying in the contemporary mobile device driven environment, any content released during the holiday period should be mobile optimised, as employees are going to be away from their office desktops. Videos are less likely to be perused on a mobile device, so photos or brief status updates or tweets may be more effective.

The digital marketing executive needs to plan certain elements of the holiday downtime content in advance. General stock images of of seasonal paraphernalia like buckets and sandcastles or surfboards can be uploaded to platforms like Instagram or Facebook. Such generic content can, in fact be an excellent conversation starter with followers and a vital source of information for future marketing campaigns.

However, it is essential to ensure that a colleague is monitoring and evaluating the feedback, which is a key performance indicator or any social media based content. In an owner operated sole trader situation, it may not be possible to delegate such tasks to a trusted associate, so it becomes incumbent on the business owner to familiarise him or herself with using smartphones to update timely and relevant content on to social media.

In a situation of a small to medium enterprise with a few employees, it is important to formulate a clear “Out of office” communications policy while the team are on holidays. This will avoid a backlog of outdated messages when employees return from their holidays.

Holidays can be a time to show the “human” side of the business on social media. Holiday snaps of management or employees relaxing poolside or a tweet about a barbeque or game of beach volleyball can be a great “soft sell” technique showcasing the “authentic” side of the company’s brand, as long as the uploaded pictures and content are appropriate for public viewing and consumption.

How are you planning to manage your social media during the holidays? Please leave your comments below…