Santa, they say, has been around for at least 16 centuries; handing out gifts and good will to all. I think it’s a safe bet to assume Santa knows a thing or two about society and how to communicate a message. As a wise and worldly fellow, it would seem Santa is no stranger to social media either. Santa Claus has a Twitter account @santaclaus, a Facebook Fan Page and you can even track his progress courtesy of Norad. So what can Santa teach us about social media?
It is Better to Give Than to Receive
Although he makes his epic journey just once a year, Santa’s message of hope and joy reaches many all year long. S
anta never demands followers or retweets. Santa doesn’t try and sell you something just because he has your attention and he certainly never ignores those that reach out to him. When it comes to following people Santa has the biggest list of them all. Thankfully all of the Web Shop team are on the Santa’s ‘Nice’ Twitter list.
When you are sharing through social media, remember to follow Santa’s example and provide valuable information to your followers (free of charge!). Don’t make demands of your followers and if someone sees fit to follow you, follow them back or at least send them a message of thanks. Actively follow other people in social media, share their tweets and promote the work and interests of others. What do you get in return? Santa never asks that question, but he knows in return he receives a large following of people that trust and believe in what he does.
A Sleigh Doesn’t Fly By Itself
No festive Saint is an island. Saint Nick didn’t get where he is today on his own. Santa has a huge workshop filled with little Elf followers that believe in him and what he does. Without these loyal followers Santa wouldn’t be able to create and spread his joyful message to so many.
Even with all of his messages boxed and wrapped Santa still needs a little magical help to deliver them far and wide. Bring on the wondrous flying reindeer to exert the influence of weightlessness and flight on Santa’s sleigh. These influential reindeer help Santa’s message take flight to reach a global audience in just one night.
You too are not a social media island. Seek out other influential social media users who share your passion to help spread your message.
Careful Time Management Can Work Wonders
Santa manages to fly around the world and deliver gifts to all the good children on planet earth in one night! That shows some impressive time management skills. You can be sure doesn’t do this by chance, in fact he most certainly has a detailed schedule and travel itinerary.
Delivering messages whether they be of joy and hope or simply what your business has to offer, needs to be carefully planned and scheduled to be effective and manageable. If Santa didn’t have a plan he would likely be overwhelmed with the scale of his task and those gifts wouldn’t be sitting under our tree.
If People Believe in You – They Will Believe in Your Message
Even though we don’t see Santa all year round we believe in him and what he does. Every Christmas morning we all experience Santa’s message of sharing and joy and this message is so strong it lasts all year long. Santa has values and a message that he sticks to and we all subscribe to this.
If your social media activity is guided by strong social values that speak to providing a positive experience above receiving something in return (making a quick sale) you will build a network of followers that trust you. Relationships of trust in social media generate leads and make sales without the need to overtly advertise. If people believe in you then your social media visits and marketing messages will be greeted with milk and cookies .
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and all the best of the season to you and yours from The Web Shop team.
Tags: christmas, Online Marketing, santa, social media, social networking
