How the Pros Do It: Retailer Jumps on Holiday Hashtags to Increase Engagement

Okuley worked with a major retail brand that used Twitter as a top platform for reaching consumers. His client noticed that it did well reaching the intended audience but that repeat engagements were low – consumers interacted with the brand only once — and it was looking to increase this engagement. Trending holiday hashtags like National Donut Day and National Bestie Day were on the rise. This was content users liked and wanted, so media and other reputable content publishers began using the holidays as a form of content to reach audiences. Okuley says he and the group he worked with spent time dedicating content to these trending hashtags. “Suddenly brands are showing up on Mashable, Buzzfeed and Fast Company – sites that brands (especially large brands) love the attention for having smart content.” If a brand could be one of the five or six that handled a specific holiday the best, it received the boost of recognition from media in addition to generating followers and engagement on social channels. The brand executed the up front strategy as well as strong content creation to increase repeat engagements.