This Is Why the Holidays Are Actually the Best Time to Post on Social Media The holiday season can be a slower time for business, but it's actually a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to increase social traffic and optimize their content's reach. Here's why (and how to do it).

Make noise on social media this holiday season.

Many entrepreneurs see the holiday season as an opportunity to run a promotional campaign — and meet their final sales targets for the year. This is true, but promotions aren't the only objective to run after this season. The holidays are a unique opportunity to build strong and authentic relationships with your customers that go above and beyond traditional marketing. It offers you the space to focus on sales growth and brand growth by building stronger connections with your customers through holiday storytelling.

Here's why the holidays are important for social media and how you can leverage the holidays for more social growth.

Related: How Holiday Marketing Can Help Enhance your Brand Image

Why holiday social media posts are so important

The holidays are important for social media growth, with the main reason being increased user engagement on social platforms. This is due to people having more leisure time to enjoy the content, more vacation time off, and more interest in holiday shopping.

Holiday posts are timely and relevant. It's estimated that more than 4.48 billion people use social media worldwide. As we become more connected to social media, the channels become our main entertainment and informational source. They're the place to share information and gain a greater community connection. Since we're already closely connected to social media, it's no surprise that its usage also increases during the holiday season.

More opportunity for impressions and views. It's estimated that the average employee in the U.S. receives 7.6 paid holidays a year, with Thanksgiving and Christmas being the most common holidays to use that time off. With more leisure time at their disposal, people simply have more time to engage and interact on social media during the holidays. Their usage time increases, but also their content sharing increases. Holiday-specific hashtags are a great way to use this momentum and increase your growth.

Promotional opportunity for services and products. If you live in the modern age, you likely have purchased something online. Online shopping has been on the rise for years. This holiday season, US retail sales are expected to reach $1.3 trillion, increasing 3.3% from the previous year. As much as 34% of U.S. shoppers are expected to do their online shopping this season through social media. Posting during the holidays can lead to more sales purchases.

All in all, the holidays are an important time to post on social media. Entrepreneurs frequently see the holiday season as a great time for higher social media engagement.

Related: How to Run a Successful Social-Media Campaign for the Holiday Season

Leverage the holidays for more social growth

As mentioned, social media usage increases over the holidays. So, it's a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to monopolize the traffic increase and optimize their content's reach.

Here are four ways you can post around the holidays.

1. Appeal to emotion: The holidays are an emotional time. Use those emotions to create campaigns that touch on your core service, products and brand themes.
2. Connect in a friendly way: The season is about personal connection and focusing inwards. The holidays are when you can build deeper and more authentic relationships with your customers by appealing to the human side of your business. Approach your social media campaigns with compassion and authenticity to optimize growth.
3. Focus on relationships, not just sales: Your intention might be to only use social media during the holidays to increase sales. As we know, long-term business growth also comes from a strong brand reputation. Use the holidays to post brand content on social media — expressing your values, personality and appreciation for your customers.
4. Holiday storytelling: The holidays are a fantastic time to use storytelling. Stories are impactful — and perform very well on social media. You can use natural storytelling around the holidays to increase content impressions and views. It's a great way to showcase your brand's personality and stand out from competitors.

Related: 4 Festive Tips for Holiday Social-Media Marketing

When should I start posting holiday content?

It truly depends on your audience. In the U.S., many companies will start posting for the Christmas holidays as early as November to monopolize the shopping opportunity of Black Friday — but this might not work for your audience if you're not an ecommerce brand. So, use your best judgment, but I typically like to publish at least two or three times during a season.

Is it a good idea to post on social media on a holiday? The holidays are a fantastic time to post on social media. You can post during an entire holiday season or you can publish on a specific holiday. Not only do you have higher traffic and engagement opportunities during the season, but the holidays also offer you the unique moment to focus on creative storytelling and hone in on an important message for your audience.

All in all, take the time to level up your social content this season.