Festivals in India are huge. If you are someone who was brought up in India, you know how much of a big deal are those festivals. And it’s not just limited to celebrations. The joy, excitement and sheer spending during these times offer a fantastic opportunity for brands.
But how does social media help here? You might wonder. Social media, with its reach and engagement, is the perfect platform to tap into this festive energy. And here’s why social media marketing during festivals is crucial and how you can leverage it to maximise impact.
Table of contents
- Reasons Why You Should Do Social Media Marketing During Festivals
- How to Do Festive Marketing on Social Media
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions
Reasons Why You Should Do Social Media Marketing During Festivals
If you’ve observed, brands host some of their biggest sales during main festivals. For example, Myntra’s Tyohar Ready Sale for Raksha Bandhan.
Have you thought about why they do massive sales during festivals? Well, there are many good reasons. Let’s discuss those reasons in detail.
1. Increased Consumer Willingness to Spend
During festivals, people are in the mood to spend, driven by festive deals, gift-giving traditions and celebrations. Take Diwali for example.
Diwali alone generated an estimated ₹3.75 lakh crore in revenue last year, as reported by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).
This surge in spending power is a major opportunity for you as a brand.
So, how can you make the most of this? Run targeted ads on platforms like Instagram, Facebook and other platforms where your audience is, i.e. Snapchat or even X (formerly known as Twitter).
Create ads that highlight special Diwali offers, discounts and exclusive deals. Ensure that it relates to the festival and the sentiment revolving around this.
Because without that, all your efforts will be ineffective and you will end up wasting your marketing budget.
Partner with a social media marketing agency to be on the safer side.
2. Opportunity to Capitalise on Festive Emotions
Festivals evoke strong emotions—joy, nostalgia and excitement. These emotional triggers can significantly enhance the impact of your marketing campaigns.
When the sentiment is high, people are more likely to connect to your brand. So here’s the thing. They are already emotional, you know what they are experiencing and what are some relatable scenarios.
As a result, you can tap these emotions and create a marketing campaign out of it. By doing this, your chances of hitting the right nerve of your customer increases. And that means more sales for you.
Here’s an example of how Cadbury tapped the emotion. Observe the great storytelling and how they have tapped the right emotion in this ad.
3. Increased Brand Awareness
During festivals, social media activity spikes as people share their celebrations, engage with festive content and participate in online conversations. In fact, a Research Gate study revealed that almost 2/3rd of social media activity occurs during festivals.
Hence this increased activity offers a great opportunity for brand exposure. More people will know your brand and buy your products increasing your sales in the long run.
4. Festive Social Media Marketing Makes Your Brand More Relatable
Festivals are all about community and shared experiences. When your brand engages in these celebrations, it feels more relatable and authentic.
This can transform your brand from a corporate entity into a friendly, approachable presence. And today social media marketing is just about that. Most brands try to build that friendly connection with the audience.
Zomato and Swiggy are the best examples of this. Rather than just being serious, they become this funny person. It’s also a part of their branding strategy.
Additionally, they also do meme marketing during festivals to enhance connection with their audience.
If your brand has a similar personality, a meme marketing agency can help you to engage with your customers during festivals.
How to Do Festive Marketing on Social Media
A successful festive marketing strategy is much more than just posting seasonal content. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to craft an effective social media campaign for festivals:
Define What You Want to Achieve with Festive Marketing
Start by setting clear objectives for your festive campaign. What do you want to achieve? Whether it’s increasing sales, boosting brand awareness or enhancing engagement, having defined goals will shape your strategy and help you measure success.
Know How Your Audience Celebrates
Conduct research to find out what they enjoy, how they celebrate and what type of content they engage with. Tailor your campaigns to match these insights, ensuring your content resonates with your audience.
Make Festive Creatives
Design content that captures the spirit of the festival. And if you are doing a special sale, design creatives that will go live before the campaign.
During the festival, it’s essential to at least post a story that relates to the festival and communicates your brand message.
See these posts by brands and you will know.
Create Campaign Ideas & Timeline
If your goal is to expand sales, you obviously need a full-fledged campaign. First, think about how you want to attract customers. Do you want to entice them with a discount or just tap into emotions and gauge their attention?
Then create a timeline accordingly. For example you are offering a sale, you want to create buzz 15 days in advance.
Then see how many posts you want to make and most importantly, what will be your messaging. You can either boost your posts or run influencer marketing or both.
If you’re still not able to figure out the right strategy, partner with a digital marketing agency and you will be fine.
Let’s understand more about the campaign with Meesho’s example.
Meesho Diwali Campaign
Meesho’s Diwali campaign related to breakups and Diwali declutters is a great example of how a brand can creatively connect with its audience during a festival. They wanted to boost brand awareness with this campaign.
And how did they do it?
They had this insight about how people hide dating lives and most importantly breakup. They related it with the practice of decluttering on Diwali.
Just like physical decluttering, mental decluttering is essential for new beginnings. It was the message that they passed.
Meesho partnered with Terribly Tiny Tales (TTT) to make a short film. In phase 1 of the campaign, they released it on YouTube.
To make people watch this film, they posted short videos revolving around the same theme on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (Now X). The campaign was called “Sparkles”.
And lastly, Meesho and TTT created short video illustrations and posted them in collaboration on Instagram.
Conclusion
Choose the right festivals for social media marketing. Doing campaigns during every festival is not required. Instead, just pick the main festivals that align with your brands and the products you offer.
For instance, if you’re an ethnic wear brand, it makes sense to go all out for festivals like Diwali or Raksha Bandhan, where traditional attire is in high demand.
The festival you choose to run your campaign should resonate with your target audience and the product you offer. This strategic approach ensures that your marketing efforts are not just timely but also impactful.
If you’re looking to make the most of your social media marketing during the festival season, reach out to us at hello@florafountain.com. Our team will craft the right and cost-effective digital marketing strategy for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Vasim Samadji is a partner at Flora Fountain, where he leads the Business and Marketing Strategy divisions. In a world where everyone is used to sugarcoating, his directness is often considered rude. But that shouldn't be a problem if you like the no-nonsense approach. Because he is a seasoned professional...