Tis the season: Use the holidays to give your social media presence a boost!

It's the most, wonderful time of the year! The holidays are coming up quickly, and these next few weeks are the perfect time to get that extra boost online presence for your business. Social media is an ever changing and constantly updating ways to interact with your customers and fans. Get into the holiday spirit by following these tips on how to use social  for the holiday season!

1. Show your holiday spirit!
This time of year is a great excuse to change up the look of your Facebook and Twitter pages! Update your cover photo to include a message of Seasons Greetings or Happy Holidays to remind your followers that you are in the holiday mood as much as they are! 

This cover photo is from the Sephora Facebook page. It is a clever way to promote the holiday season, without even using words! The caption on the photo is "This season, everything is a gift and everyone is gift-worthy. We invite you to get in the spirit." This can be done the same way on your Twitter page; post a cover photo and tweet it out to your followers.

2. Seasonal statuses and tweets keep the fun going!

Now that your page is decked out in your new holiday pictures, take the opportunity to create seasonal content! If you have a Fun Fact Friday, make your content relatable to your company and throw in some holiday knowledge along with it! This keeps your followers and fans learning about new things, while also giving it a fun holiday twist.  

Another way to get a conversation starting on social media is by using action words like "post, comment, like or tell us" in your Facebook statuses and tweets. These words have been proven to increase status engagement. Combine these words or phrases with relevant topics about the holidays create fun seasonal statuses! Look at this example on the DSW Facebook page; they combine the holiday shopping season with action words to create engagement with their fans.

3. Win those holiday gifts with Pinterest

Pinterest is a great social media tool, especially when you're promoting your own products! Having pinning contests amongst your followers for a special gift is a great way to get your company more coverage and promotions across the Pinterest website, as well as help your company gain new followers.

This is a current Pinterest giveaway contest being put on by the jewelry company Alex and Ani. This engages your followers and allows them to get wrapped up in the holiday spirit (and who doesn't like to win?). Contests like these can also be done on Facebook and Twitter pages. For example, "The 100th like on this photo wins free shipping!" or "If we reach 100 retweets, we will make all of our merchandise 20% for the rest of the weekend!" Especially around the holidays, everyone is looking for the best deal on their holiday shopping. If your business can incorporate this in with their social media presence, both the company and your customers win!

What kinds of ideas have you done in the past with your social media around the holidays?  Have any more tips and tricks? Let us know and post in the comments below! Happy holidays everyone!

Written by Lauren Cafarell from Rebecca Adele PR and Events.

Kiss Me, I'm Irish! Okay, not really, but for one day I am!

Most people know St. Patrick’s Day as the weekend of green clothes and dark brews, but it is actually a religious celebration of the death of St. Valentine that has been celebrated for over 1,000 years. Even though this Christian holiday falls during Lent, restrictions on diet were lifted in celebration. People would dance, drink, and eat the day away.

St. Patrick’s Day weekend is home to countless parades and pub-crawls all over the world. For most the drinking starts early in the morning and the green beer and Guinness are free flowing throughout the day. We all know the dangers of drinking and driving, but what about those who don’t have a cool bar within walking distance? Do they have to miss out on all of the fun? The answer is NO! Invite over your friends and throw yourself an Irish celebration with a few of these easy ideas. 

Food

Other than traditional party favorites like wings, pizza, and burgers, the key ingredient to fun and festive food for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration is green food coloring. The next time you are at the grocery store, stop by the baking aisle and pick up some food coloring. Food coloring can be added to just about any recipe to at a little whimsy to your meals. 

To prepare for a long day of celebrating, it is important to have a good breakfast. Try adding food coloring to pancake batter for some green half dollar stacks! This is a big hit for both kids and adults.

You can continue the theme all day, adding in a little bit of your green food coloring to snacks like cookies, Rice Krispy treats, cupcakes, and chocolate covered pretzels.  

For a healthier option, consider slicing up some kiwi and celery for the food table.  You can also set out a bowl of green grapes for people to munch on.

Decorations

Decorations are a really simple way to set a theme for your party. In the case of St. Patrick’s Day, a great resource for decorations is your local dollar store. It is often overlooked for more expensive places like Party City, but for a one day per year event, your local dollar store is a great place to go!

Green party streamers, metallic shamrocks, St. Patrick’s Day bunting, and flags are all easy to hang around your living room. The dollar store is also a great place to find St. Patrick’s Day party favors to hand out to your guests!

Activities

One of the best parties I ever went to had a photo booth with silly costumes you could dress up in and get your picture taken. Professional photo booths cost hundreds of dollars to rent for a party, but you can create your own at your house for a fraction of the cost!

First, decorate one of your walls with green streamers, tinsel, or confetti. Next you can place fun glasses and hats you found at the dollar store on a table outside of the shot for people to dress up. You can set up your camera on a tripod, or designate someone as the photographer for a few hours. You can then upload the photos on a slideshow and email them to all of your party attendees a few days later!

One other fun idea for a party would be to set up a mixed drinks station with green themed mixers. Whether it’s mint liqueur, lime juice, or Sour Apple Schnapps, creating your own drinks can be really fun! It’s also a good alternative for your guests who aren’t fond of beer.