Winter Marketing Ideas: Make Your Social Media Relevant This Season

Tracy Ring on Wednesday, February 10, 2021

winter marketing ideas

Keep the winter blues at bay with some fresh winter marketing ideas. You don’t need to let a seasonal slump slow you down; with a new year and a new season, this is your opportunity to re-think what you’re sharing, get creative with social media posts and shift the narrative of your messaging.

Most importantly, take time to connect with your audience. Despite the cultural and political division of past years, 91 percent of users believe in social media’s power to connect people, according to new data from Sprout Social. This is an opportunity to connect, even if sales are slow or clients are still juggling new budgets.

Use these winter marketing ideas to spark inspiration and create social media content that resonates with your audience while bringing a fresh and relevant feel to your brand. 

Winter Social Media Marketing Calendar 

Winter officially spans December 21-March 20, but unofficially your winter marketing can run post-holidays, at the start of January, through the end of March. Mark your calendar with the dates and celebrations that are relevant to your brand and use them to get some new winter marketing ideas flowing:  

  • January 18: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 
  • January 21: Get to Know Your Customer’s Day 
  • January 25: Community Manager Appreciation Day #CMAD 
  • February: Black History Month 
  • February: American / National Heart Month 
  • February 2: Groundhog Day 
  • February 4: World Cancer Day
  • February 5: Wear Red Day (raising awareness for Heart Month and heart health) 
  • February 7: Super Bowl Sunday 
  • February 12: Chinese New Year 
  • February 14: Valentine’s Day 
  • February 15: President’s Day 
  • February 16: Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday 
  • March: National Nutrition Month 
  • March: Women’s History Month 
  • March 3: World Wildlife Day 
  • March 5: Employee Appreciation Day 
  • March 8: International Women’s Day 
  • March 14: Daylight Savings 
  • March 14: Pi Day 
  • March 17: St. Patrick’s Day
  • March 21: First Day of Spring 
  • March 29: Mom & Pop Business Owners Day 

Take a look at this exhaustive list to see if there are any other lesser-known celebrations that you’d like to highlight on your social calendar as well.

Winter Marketing Creative Ideas

Winter can feel dull and monotone with snow, gray days and the fun of the holidays behind us. Use these ideas to make your social media posts stand out in the noise of the feed, but don’t forget to have fun with trends and viral topics as they arise. Always leave room in your plan to shift as needed so you can stay relevant and continually connect with your audience.  

Embrace Neutrals 

The blank slate of winter allows you to explore any color palette, but after the a whole season of regimented colors (I.E. reds for Christmas, gold for New Year, pumpkin spice for fall), why not opt for a neutral palette to elicit a calmer vibe? This can be a restorative time of year, and neutral colors reflect that feeling.

Neutral palettes are especially versatile as they can translate for any brand colors. Just create graphics that use the most paired down version of your brand colors and accent with other complementary neutral shades. Check out this guide for a deep dive into using neutrals and check out this Instagram post from Freelancing Females for an example of how to use this palette. 

Hop on the Hygge Trend 

Hygge is a Danish concept that blends winter coziness and wellness to create the overall feeling of contentment. Imagine sitting under a blanket with a cup of tea, doing whatever makes you happiest on a snowy Sunday afternoon—that’s hygge. This idea took root with an international audience in recent years, but since the world is still mostly stuck inside, it’s become a favorite design and lifestyle trend.  

Adopt this idea by posting real pictures of yourself or your team in all its winter splendor. Cozy on the couch, bundled up for a winter walk, or even reading by the fire. Followers love to see cozy images during these cold months—no matter their location. 

Remember seeing real people is also key to fostering a relationship with your audience. The same Sprout report found that 72 percent of consumers feel more connected to a brand when their employees are active and visible on social media. 

Here are few ideas to test this winter: 

  • Post team selfies of everyone in their comfiest sweaters. 
  • Use warm and welcoming stock images in your creative. 
  • Share photos of your tea or coffee with a winter backdrop.

Mix and Match Fonts to Make Your Visuals Pop 

When you create and share text-heavy graphics, using one font can lead to a lackluster final result. Instead, mix and match complementary fonts to make your text-based visuals stand out on the feed. The trick is to do this strategically; you can’t have too many fonts because it will be jarring to the eye. A general rule of thumb is to pair a script font with a serif, which creates a complimentary look. Refer to Canva’s Ultimate Guide to Font Pairing for some tips for mixing and matching your fonts.

Winter Marketing Ideas for Social Content 

The beauty of a season without any major holidays is that you can choose your direction and social content to support it instead of being limited by specific events that dictate your messaging and visuals. 

What’s more, in our digital-first world, content is more important than ever. For example, the current B2B buyer now consumes 13 pieces of content before starting the purchase journey, according to recent reports. That content is sourced via your website (70 percent of buyers) and social media (53 percent of buyers). 

It’s imperative to create relevant messaging on your site and promote it on all channels. Use the following ideas to create content that sparks an authentic connection with your audience this season.

Introduce Wellness Into the Conversation 

Perhaps if you’re a B2B company, wellness might seem insignificant. If you sell SaaS, for example, why would American Heart Month be relevant to your audience? In this case, you can approach the theme of health and wellness as a way to humanize your team, and in turn, your brand. No matter your industry, your followers and target prospects are all fellow humans that can relate to topics that impact us all—like health, especially mental health right now. 

Use these ideas to discover some winter marketing ideas that highlight wellness: 

  • Poll your employees on their work-related New Years Resolutions and share them in your stories.
  • Take a photo of yourself or your team wearing red on February 5 to promote heart health and share with a relevant message.
  • Start a team or community challenge to celebrate Nutrition Month and document the journey of everyone participating.

Champion Young Women

The end of January marks the start of Girl Scout Cookie season. While many of us curse these addicting snacks, this is an opportunity to support young female entrepreneurs and participate in a trending conversation.

Additionally, February is Black History Month, March is Women’s History Month, and March 8 is International Women’s Day. Strategically use this set of events as a catalyst to inspire and encourage young females in your messaging and content. For example:

  • Highlight female historical figures that are important and relevant to your vertical. For example, an engineering company can spotlight NASA pioneers.  
  • Celebrate diversity among your staff or followers. Check out this Girl Scout content that promotes #BlackGirlMagic as a part of Black History Month. Note how this type of content can also be turned into social media posts.
  • Do a series of social posts highlighting women, young or old, who are changing the world—you can also turn this into a blog post series to get the most out of the content.

Create and Share Relevant Content This Winter 

Winter provides many avenues, themes, and events to explore in your social media marketing, whether you’re a B2B SaaS company, a B2C retailer, or a spiritual entrepreneur. Explore these winter marketing ideas and make them unique to your brand and audience, but don’t forget to focus on authenticity. Fostering a connection with your followers is the highest priority if you want to see success with your marketing efforts any time of year.