How to kickstart your holiday campaign on Twitter

The holidays are upon us again! Filipinos are surely buzzing with excitement as soon as the “ber” months started, a sign that the Christmas spirit is just around the corner. As the go-to platform to talk about #WhatsHappening, we ran a survey among Filipino Twitter users to discover the attitudes and behaviors that we show on Twitter during the Christmas season. 

Results show that conversation about the holidays usually start around September, proving that Filipinos have the longest Christmas celebration around the world. People talk about their excitement to put up decors, buy gifts, and spend their pamasko or monetary gifts with the things they love. With this in mind, brands should consider jumping in on the conversation to make the best use of Twitter’s power to nurture communities through real-time information. 

Twitter’s audience is among the most engaged and receptive, and that’s especially true during the holidays. Our audience turns to Twitter during the holiday season to look for the best deals, share recipes and travel tips, and, of course, letting others know what they’re shopping for. And regardless of whether they’re shopping on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or any other day during the holiday season, people flock to Twitter for insights into what to buy.”

Here are some insights that brands need to know before kickstarting campaigns on Twitter:

1 - Conversation starters
Food is like a glue that binds Filipinos together. In fact, the survey shows that dining out or attending parties (55%) is the top activity of Filipino users. They prefer doing this over the Yuletide season than travelling or shopping at the mall. They also Tweet about their Noche Buena feast and their quality time together at the dining table.

Apart from food, people also love to share their plans for Christmas. Filipinos mostly follow the custom of exchanging gifts and giving back to the community even in small gestures. Results proved Filipinos’ strong culture of #gifting or buying for their loved ones at 49% rather than for themselves. In fact, the Philippines is the only country in the survey with a high proportion of people on Twitter intending to buy gifts for others as compared to other countries in the region such as Japan (14%), Korea (14%) and Thailand (16%).

Amid the strong gifting culture, 1 in 2 Filipino users Twitter useful in discovering gift ideas. Brands can break through on the conversations by promoting their products and services as the trendy and unique gifts for Christmas. Don’t forget to incorporate food, Christmas traditions, and holiday-related topics on your Tweets. 

2 - The timing is right
Just like in any marketing campaign, it’s important that you set your holiday campaign on the right track to effectively put your message and brand across the Twitterverse. To give an idea on when is the right time to promote your brand, last year’s figures showed that Tweets tripled in volume by December (1.7M Tweets), peaking at 510,000 on exactly the 24th of December.

The study also revealed that 1 in 4 Filipinos would act upon a Tweet for a nearby sale. Filipinos are always on a hunt for last-minute deals and promos, so the real-time feature of Twitter makes it an effective footfall driver.

Most importantly, Tweet at the right moment and don’t forget to use your official hashtag. 47% of people on Twitter in Philippines would like to see promotions on Twitter over the holiday season, so map out your content calendar and create a holiday campaign hashtag that does not only get people moving but also conveys the brand message.

3 - Tweet with a touch of Christmas
Here’s something we all know: Filipinos love Christmas. Survey shows that 49% of Filipinos on Twitter would like brand not just to market their products but to also provide inspiration for gifts, decorations, and recipes. Keep in mind that most Filipinos take their holiday festivities seriously, so it’s best to Tweet with informative content that would help build up to their best Christmas yet.

For up and coming brands, Christmas is also the perfect time to promote on Twitter. 37% of Filipinos on Twitter recognizes Twitter as the place to discover new brands, the highest number out of the rest of the countries surveyed in the Asia Pacific region.

More importantly, the best way to make your promotion festive on Twitter is to get creative with your captions and visuals. Here are some ingenious tips to get you started:

• Tweet special holiday offers to tap into users’ shopping yet bargain-hunting mindset.
• Make the visuals color and bright to stand out among the sea of Tweets.
• Ensure that your creative messaging is clear and concise.

It’s amazing to see how a single Tweet can do for brands and communities. This Christmastime, get into the holiday cheer in real-time by going on Twitter. Happy Holidays!