10 Holiday Instagram Story Ideas For Your Small Business

Did you know that 500 million users use Instagram's “stories” feature daily? Saying this would not be incorrect that Instagram stories can boost business sales. This is particularly more possible during the holiday season because it creates a sense of FOMO ( Fear of Missing Out) and allows last-minute shoppers a chance to find gifts with convenient solutions for their loved ones.

If you are a small business wanting to boost sales, establishing a fun and engaging connection with your audience is important for you. 

Hence, here are some holiday Instagram story ideas would be ideal for small businesses like yours, and here's everything that you need to know about them.

Can Holiday-themed Stories Boost Engagement?

Yes, holiday stories collection can boost engagement as it creates a festive atmosphere that they find relevant to their current interests and positively associate with the brand.

The stories with holiday themes frequently include joyous imagery which is attention-grabbing quality and increases seasonal relevance. 

Your audience is more likely to interact as the content speaks to their emotions and shares their own experiences. 

Holiday stories also allow your viewers to connect with your brand's value on a deeper level and build awareness. With value for money offers and discounts, you can easily creates a sense of urgency wanting them to engage with your story, make a decision, and buy it.

10 Holiday Season Instagram Story Ideas For Business

Everyone is busy during the holiday season. Eventually, standing out with Instagram stories during this time can be difficult. However, there are different ways that your small business can engage with the audience throughout the holidays and boost sales. We have mentioned some ways here:

1. Create a Product Gift Guide

A product gift guide is a powerful tool for boosting sales. With this, you can curate a selection of products that appeal to your audience of different ages, interests, and budgets. 

When curating the guide, you must organize the products into categories to make it easier for the customers to choose. Apart from this, considering a few more points is important, like:

• Using high-quality images to showcase the product

• Highlighting the special offers and deals during the holidays. 

• Using a brief description to describe the product. 

2. Share Holiday Decoration Tips

The next thing you can do is post a series of decorative ideas using relevant hashtags. You can begin by sharing a series of tips where you post “Daily tips” or “Theme ideas”. 

Did any of your customers have already used your product or opted for the tips you shared? Then, don't forget to share them as well as customer testimonials. 

Moreover, you can collaborate with influencers to showcase your product on their Instagram Stories to drive your holiday sales. 

3. Launch a New Product or Service

Launching a new product or service on Instagram besides other holiday stories is a great way to boost sales or engagement for small businesses. You must start with generating excitement by releasing exclusive sneak peeks or create suspense by starting a countdown. 

Following this, you can launch the product or service by posting a special article about it and using relevant hashtags. And wait! Don't forget to collaborate with the influencers to promote the material.

4. Offer Holiday Special Discounts

If you are on Instagram, then you already know that the stories on this platform typically last for 24 hours. Doesn't that seem like a brief opportunity to advertise holiday special discounts? 

If you agree, then why not take advantage of it? When you post such stories, it instills a sense of urgency in your customers and increases their likelihood of making a purchase. 

5. Share Support for Other Businesses

When you clap for others, that's when your turn comes. Audiences appreciate when a business shows support. This holiday strategy likely increases the chance to foster relationships and grow a community. 

Wondering how to do that? Well, it is quite simple, and here are a few ways you can do it.

• Give shutouts to fellow businesses or brands.

• Resharing their content in your stories.

• Collaborating with other businesses.

• Using relevant hashtags to which they can relate and

• Leaving comments on their posts. 

6. Host a New Themed Event

When planning your holiday posts, you can start with hosting a new-themed event. It can be anything from a “Gift wrapping workshop” or a “cake decoration workshop”. 

You can share appealing graphics and posts besides using relevant hashtags to make it a success. Also, don't forget to schedule it on a less busy day. Furthermore, don't forget to host giveaways to keep them engaged.

7. Run Paid Holiday Ads

Are you not using paid ads yet? Well, then you are missing out big. There are 45% of small businesses that invest in PPC advertising. Running paid holiday ads is a great way to take your holiday stories to the next level on Instagram. 

It comes with several benefits which begin with boosting brand awareness, reaching a larger audience, driving online sales, and whatnot. Small businesses can also expect to increase conversion and stand out from the rest of the competitors. 

8. Create a Special Festive Message

Don't you want your followers to know how you are feeling this festive season? Well, then share your own holiday message on Instagram. You can craft a message by being sincere and keeping it short as well as sweet. 

As you add a personal touch to it in the form of a heartwarming story, it can make them feel related. Additionally, don't forget to add emojis, including CTA's, and shift your tone to the festive language. 

9. Share Fun, Festive Facts

You can organize your holiday stories by sharing fun and festive facts. This can be done by using visually appealing graphics and posting consistently. You can share facts on movies, music, books, and more. 

Remember that no one would be interested if you shared lengthy facts. Rather choose to be short and sweet besides making it interactive. 

10. Send Warm Holiday Greetings

Want to spread cheer and connect with your audience? Well, besides opting for story ideas for your small business this holiday season, you can send warm greetings. 

Remember to be sincere and incorporate holiday-themed words. To make it more engaging, you can use a festive image or a video as well. 

How To Create Engaging Holiday Story Content? 

1. Start With A Festive Theme

You can start with a festive theme that spreads delight. You can talk about holiday memories, holiday traditions, gift-giving, and more. 

2. Add Holiday Colors and Imagery

The perfect holiday design for your story can be created when you add colors and imagery. You can use traditional festive colors and backgrounds like plaid or stripes.

3. Use Stickers and Clickable Links

Instagram has a range of holiday-themed stickers and GIFs that you can use like snowflakes, Christmas trees, and more. You can also add clickable links that direct the audience to your product or posts. 

4. Keep Your Videos Under 15 Seconds

Keeping Instagram stories for holidays short and sweet can evoke the holiday mood. You can offer a quick recipe or a decorating tip besides a sneak peek of special deals. 

5. Include Clear CTAs

Including CTA's is a must if you want to encourage your audience to visit your store or direct viewers to a post. Some of the types of CTAs that you can use are

• Click to learn more

• Shop now 

• Share your experience 

• Share your views 

• Grab offers now and more.

Final Thoughts

To date, Instagram stories remain a captivating medium for videos. It keeps the audience interested for a long time. Moreover, with the holidays approaching, there is hope as buyers are prepared to part with their money once more. 

As you post stories on this platform as your holiday marketing plan, you can expect to boost engagement and sales in no time.

FAQs

1. How to plan holiday story content in advance?

You can plan holiday story content by identifying your audience and defining your goals. Additionally, choose your theme and create content using high visual graphics and concise captions. By doing early planning, you can reduce stress and increase both engagement and sales. 

2. What is the best time to post Holiday stories?

If you analyze the performance of the posts previously made and track the insights of Instagram, you will be able to determine the best time to post holiday stories. You can also use tools to schedule the best timing for the posts. 

3. What are some campaign ideas for the holiday season?

A few of the campaign ideas for the holiday season that you can opt for include initiating a holiday referral contest, hosting holiday events, and running holiday specials and discounts. You can also provide holiday gift guides or host holiday tutorials. 

4. How to make a catchy Instagram story?

You can make catchy Instagram Stories to drive your holiday sales easily if you focus on incorporating images or videos. Moreover, you can use comprehensive texts to make the content understandable for the audience alongside adding emojis and GIFs. Also, don't forget to be authentic throughout.

5. How to reuse a holiday Instagram story for Facebook?

You can reuse holiday Instagram stories for Facebook by adjusting the formatting, texts, and captions. This must be done by shifting your focus on the Facebook audience and their particular interests as it is different from Instagram. Tag Facebook groups and pages to increase reach and engagement.