When I talk to people about bringing the holidays into their content, some worry about doing it wrong.
“What if I’m talking about Christmas but someone in my audience is Jewish?”
“There are so many different holidays. Am I wrong to only talk about one?
We’re going to talk about those answers, and further below you’ll find specific examples of how to bring the holidays into your content.
Before we begin, let’s start with a key question:
Should you bring the holidays into your content?
The answer is completely up to you. You can bring it in subtly, be highly celebratory, or skip it all together.
If Christmas is a big deal for you or you love the Hanukkah traditions, by all means, bring it in! It’s also ok to completely ignore the holidays. Honestly, this post is unusual for me. I’m a big holiday-skipper in my personal life, and that echoes in my content. I'm happy with that alignment.
All of that being said…
If we decide to bring the holidays into our content, how can we do so while being respectful of all of the different holidays, beliefs, and cultures?
If you are you concerned about pushing people away or being disrespectful if people in your audience have beliefs that differ from yours, you can go generic and stick to “the holidays.” Alternatively, you can personalize what you’re saying so it’s clearly about you. For example: “This Christmas, my family and I will…” makes it personal to you so that you aren’t making any assumptions about your audience. At the same time, they get to learn a little bit about you, which is always a good thing.
Another way to handle it is to ask your audience about their preferences. Asking, “Which holidays do you celebrate?” and “What will you be doing to celebrate the holidays?” opens up the possibilities. You’ll learn more about who you’re talking to, invite them to become a part of the conversation, and you won’t put yourself in a position to offend anyone because you’re just asking. 🙂
Ok, those are all the preliminaries so let’s get to it...
Here are 5 ways to respectfully bring the holidays into your content:
- Holiday-up your images. Whether you make things totally festive or just bring in the winter season with some snow, pictures and videos can carry the message for you.
- Highlight holiday sales and promotions. People are looking for special and seasonal offers right now, so it’s on theme to put one out there. Make it a “holiday sale” or “end of the year discount” and you’ll be saying exactly what they’re thinking.
- Share your holiday photos and invite your audience to share theirs as well. You can then turn around and share their photos as well. This helps people feel seen and makes them feel special so go for it! Just make sure you ask their permission first.
- Create content around your favorite holiday activities. Do you bake cookies, wrap presents, or make a big deal out of decorating? Incorporating those events into your content will help your audience get to know you better.
- Ask your audience about their holiday activities. Whether you ask them via email, in your social media comments, or send out a survey, it’s a great way to get to know them better and help them feel like they are a part of the conversation.
One more thing - these ideas don’t have to be the center of your content.
You can incorporate them lightly. For example: “The other day, while I was baking my favorite holiday cookies, I found myself thinking about…”
You can also go all in: “Christmas is my favorite time of year! Here are some of the pictures I’ve taken so far.”
The joy of this and any content you create is that it’s all up to you. There are no rules and there is no wrong answer. You can do anything you want!
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