Thanksgiving Social Campaign 2019

Halloween's over, and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. The holiday is best-known for bringing families together, but also marks the start of the holiday season with Black Friday and Cyber Monday the following week.

So with the holiday just two weeks out, many brands are starting their Thanksgiving social media marketing campaigns.

And there's a good reason for that.

Why? Simple: when executed correctly, you can use Thanksgiving to give back to your customers, and give sneak previews of your holiday deals.

Haven't started your Thanksgiving marketing campaign yet? No sweat: in this article, we'll give you 8 pointers for making an awesome Thanksgiving social media campaign in 2018. 

These are meant to be pointers that guide your Thanksgiving social media planning—we're excited to see what you'll make!

Ready? Let's get started!

Make it family focused

Remember: Thanksgiving is about giving thanks and spending time with family. As cliche as it sounds, make sure to wish your followers a happy holiday with family and friends before promoting sales.

Something as simple as a "happy Thanksgiving" post goes a long way.

Work with an influencer

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

There’s always room for more pie, right? Shot with the #GalaxyS7 for @SamsungMobileUSA #sponsored

A post shared by Brittany Wright (@wrightkitchen) on

But despite being family focused, there's no doubt that Thanksgiving is a business. For brands that sell Thanksgiving-relates products—think food, travel, or sports—consider working with an influencer to promote Thanksgiving promotions.

Work with an influencer in your space, and have them promote your products in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. This gives you some of your influencer's trust, and puts your products in front of a huge new audience.

Follow this guide for starting your first influencer marketing campaign.

Give back with a giveaway

It's no secret that hosting giveaways on your social accounts can help you build a huge social following—all while giving back to your audience.

Make it a requirement for your followers to share the entry giveaway announcement and follow your social account to enter the sweepstakes. In turn, this builds your following and increases your reach.

Share delicious recipes

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

ad | Cobbler Two Ways: Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler and Caramel Apple Cobbler Did you know you can make cobbler, two different ways, in one 9×13 casserole dish? You totally can!! These two amazing cobblers are flavored with all your favorite @mccormickspice and baked together in one casserole dish. 👏🏻❤️🦃 Serve them warm with ice cream for the ultimate Thanksgiving dessert! Head over to the link in my profile @thenovicechef for the full easy recipe and a helpful recipe video showing you exactly how I make it work in one casserole dish! #thenovicechefrecipes #mccormickspice RECIPE: https://thenovicechefblog.com/cobbler-two-ways-pumpkin-pecan-cobbler-and-caramel-apple-cobbler/

A post shared by Jessica: Food & Travel Blogger (@thenovicechef) on

If your small business deals in food, give out delicious recipes on Instagram and Pinterest this Thanksgiving. Be sure to highlight your brand's products in the recipes, and Pin your recipes to Thanksgiving Boards on Pinterest.

Put Black Friday on the backburner...for a day

There's a growing movement away from Black Friday. Take REI for example: they close for Thanksgiving and Black Friday each year, and encourage their customers to spend the day outside with its #optoutside campaign.

Consider doing the same with your brand. Give your employees Black Friday off, and encourage your audience to spend the day reconnecting with family and friends. Depending on your brand, this may increase Cyber Monday sales instead.  

Take a charitable stance

Give back this Thanksgiving and promote a charitable cause.

Make an announcement post that announces the charity and why your brand is supporting them. Then, you can give a set amount of money to the charity for each retweet you get.

This not only gives back, but raises awareness for a cause close to your heart. It doesn't get much better than that.

Highlight your employees

Have an inspiring employee? Feature his or her story this Thanksgiving season.

Have the employee share a story that tells why they're thankful for a family member, friend, or other important person in their lives. You can showcase their story in a video, or share a photo of the employee with the story in a caption.

Make the campaign interactive and inspire your audience to submit their own stories using a hashtag. Then, re-share their stories with your audience. 

Give a little travel advice

The day before Thanksgiving is one of the most traveled days in the United States, so sympathize with your customers that are stuck in airport security or are driving cross-country to visit family.

Consider sharing expert travel advice, or even offering discounts to customers holding boarding passes. But whatever you do, keep a sympathetic tone to provide comfort and advice to those in a maddening travel situation.

Happy Thanksgiving!

And that's a wrap! We hope our 8 tips for creating an awesome Thanksgiving social media marketing campaign help your early holiday planning.

In the comments, let us know what your small business is doing for Thanksgiving—we're excited to hear from you!

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