Storytelling Marketing Ideas for the Holidays 2020
They’re finally here, the 2020 holidays, and we’re not just Elf-level excited because we love the holidays, we’re also jumping for joy because the holiday season means we’ve almost survived the giant trauma bond that’s been 2020 (break out the bubbly). That in itself is something to celebrate…but it shouldn’t be the focus of your holiday marketing strategy. Rather, holiday marketing and any storyteller marketing for that matter should tell your audience the story they want to hear, manifesting the reality that they want to exist. So, here’s how you manifest the reality your audience craves.
Give Your Audience What They Want from You
To give your audience what they want, you have to know what they want. To do this, you have to know who they are…what motivates them? What do they need? What would make their day easier? How could their lives be more relaxed? Marketing isn’t really about selling an object or a product or even a service; it’s about the outcome. The story should reveal the solution to the problem your audience did or didn’t know they had.
The story should be one that your audience easily sees themselves in (hence the need to know what their needs and motives are), and what’s more, it should move them. For example, say your audience is a single working mom who doesn’t have time to shop for her kids for Christmas. You see the empty Christmas tree. Here, your storyteller marketing campaign shows a mom who is just like her but who is getting her shopping done by swiping and clicking her way through your Instagram store. In the end, the happy mom receives her packages and your audience sees a tree laden with presents. Problem, solution.
How to Do It: Determine your audience’s need and be the solution. Solutions can be anything from permission or access to do something (like relax or decorate early), or they can be products or method that solve a problem.
Deliver a Message of Hope, Kindness, & Patience
The holidays can be a stressful time, and while we don’t want to jinx it, we’re not taking any chances with 2020. People easily forget to be kind to themselves in the hustle and bustle of the holidays. People in general need and want a break. Make hope, kindness, and patience part of your 2020 holiday marketing story.
Show people how they can slow down and still be okay. If we’ve learned anything this year, it’s that connection, human connection, love, relationships, friendships, and families are what matter the most. A great example of a story that—while not holiday-centric—shows how kindness toward others is both uplifting and empowering is Amazon’s short two-minute “The Show Must Go On” video.
How to Do It: Tell a story that shows audiences how they can exhibit hope, kindness, and patience toward themselves and others during the holidays. Make it interactive by inviting your audience to post comments, images, or video stories that share little acts of kindness and giving that they’ve received or experienced as these are the real reasons to be thankful this holiday season.
Make November a Month about Thanks & Giving
Whether or not you or your audience celebrate Turkey Day, the idea of Thanksgiving is really more about gratitude…and if it’s not, well, it should be. The end of a long and challenging year is a perfect time to count our blessings. After all, we’ve collectively struggled through strife this year, and while it might seem more cathartic to complain about all that went wrong, it’s more healing to give thanks for everything we have as this year winds to a close.
How to Do It: Share your stories of gratitude as well as those of your customers, your colleagues, your family, and others. Create a compilation video that shows the story of struggle and ultimate gratitude or post a new short video each day of November with a new short story. Stories of thanks and giving should highlight how thankful you are for all that you’ve got and that you’ve overcome.
Invite your audience to contribute their own stories as videos or as comments. We all have something to be thankful for. By sharing stories of gratitude, we can connect more deeply with one another.
Give the Gift of Giving Back
There’s no time like the holidays to highlight a cause or organization that does good for your community or for group or animals in need that you support. Not only does it say a lot about your brand, but it also helps raise awareness for a cause that you genuinely care to see thrive.
How to Do It: Make a well-captioned video showing the organization in action. Start your feature with feel-good stories by people who have benefited from the cause’s outreach and then show how they work and how others like your audience can help. With a theme of giving, show how giving time, resources, money, etc. make a difference.
Target Your Audience’s Holidays & Traditions
Even though Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s get the bulk of attention from both audiences and from brands, there are still countless other holidays that members of your audience celebrate but that aren’t fully acknowledged by many brands, especially if the brands are small or don’t celebrate those occasions.
Since storyteller marketing is about your audience, it’s important to bear in mind the traditions and holidays they celebrate…even if you don’t. Neglecting or ignoring those holidays will make your audience feel invisible while acknowledging and honoring them will help you stand out amidst the chaos and clutter that invariably accompanies the holidays.
How to Do It: Once again, make sure you know who your audience is and have an idea of which holidays they celebrate, so you can create content that shows you’ve taken the time to understand their traditions and values. Make it clear that you’ve taken the time to understand them. Don’t be something you’re not, of course, but at the same time, make your audience feel seen.
Humorously Tie into Other Events or Commonly-Shared Situations During the Holidays
Where possible, merge interests that your audience has as they blend with your brand’s purpose and the holidays. For example, writers often participate in November’s annual National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) a somewhat stressful marathon effort to write an entire book in a month.
A humorous way to target this audience might be to create a listicle of things to be thankful about during NaNoWriMo. Wry and dry writers will need the levity. The theme of thankfulness ties into Thanksgiving. What about your audience? Are they harried moms planning holiday parties and trying to make sugar cookies? Are they lonely 20-somethings or even 50-somethings who will once again show up to family dinners without dates?
How to Do It: Highlight whatever the situation is whether it’s a dateless tacky sweater party or social anxiety at the annual holiday Christmas party (virtual holiday Christmas party?) and then use humor to build levity around the situation. You can write a scene and film it or create a list or a series of images to get your message across.
Be True to You & Share Your Brand’s Holiday Story
Finally, your brand identity is how your audience “knows” you, but do they know your holiday traditions? A part of your 2020 holiday marketing needs to be an opening to your literal and to your virtual doors to your audience. Show them who you are by going live or creating a video that shows your workspace. Show how you’re getting ready for the holidays.
How to Do It: Figure out which platform you resonate with your audience on the most, then share your story. Who are you? Who is your support? What brings you joy this time of year? Sadness? Excitement? Who is in you tribe? Introduce your family (partner, kids, dog, etc.).
By getting personal in this and in all stories you tell, your audience will feel like they know you, like they are part of your story, and like you’re a part of theirs, which is lovely because as we all know as we get ready to conclude 2020, genuine connection is the real gift that keeps on giving.
The holidays are a wonderful time for connecting through stories. Storyteller marketing is effective because it’s genuine to the point that it’s really not marketing. It’s just storytelling. We at The Storyteller Agency love telling stories, and since the holidays are steeped in love and tradition, this is one of our favorite times of year to both tell stories and to help others find their stories to share.
