5 Content Marketing Ideas for December 2016

Author: Armando Roggio / Source: Practical eCommerce

Holiday how-to articles or videos, a look back and ahead, and
any of several quirky holidays offer plenty of opportunities to
create engaging content in December 2016. When you entertain or
inform your customers, you are building lasting and potentially
profitable relationships.

Content marketing is the act of creating, publishing, and
distributing content like articles or videos with the specific aim
of attracting, engaging, and retaining customers. Content marketing
creates a relationship wherein you provide your audience with
valuable content and encourage a sense of reciprocity.

Here are five ideas to inspire your content marketing in
December 2016.

1. Holiday How-to

How-to articles that demonstrate in step-by-step detail
everything you need to complete a task or solve a problem are
content marketing’s highest form. Above all else, content that is
useful is valuable.

In December 2016, try to create how-to articles or videos
related to Christmas, Hanukkah, or New Year’s Eve that make sense
in the context of your business. You might:

• Describe how to make holiday crafts;
• Offer recipes for holiday meals;
• Suggest tips and tricks for wrapping gifts;
• Explain holiday-related projects.

Here is an example how-to video from multichannel retailer
Michael’s. The video describes how to tie a holiday bow.

2. A Janus Article

In Roman mythology, Janus is the god of transitions. He lords
over physical portals like gates and doorways as well as
metaphysical changes like beginnings or ends in your relationships,
career, or emotional state.

When you see depictions of Janus, the mythical deity is often
shown with two faces. One face looks back at the past whilst the
other gazes into the future.

A Janus article, then, is one that looks back retrospectively on
what has happened and based on that history makes predictions about
the future.

As the year comes to a close in December, consider publishing
articles or videos that describe 2016’s trends in your industry and
make predictions about how those trends will play out in 2017.

3. International Ninja Day: December 5

International Ninja Day, or The Day of the Ninja as it is
sometimes called, is a pseudo-holiday created in 2003. To
celebrate, folks are encouraged to dress like a ninja, act like a
ninja, and disseminate ninja-related information.

The term “ninja” can, as International Ninja Day implies,
describe a covert agent in feudal Japan, but it can also describe a
person who does some particular skill very well. For your December
content marketing, consider producing an article or video that
focuses on the latter definition.

• A store that sells fishing gear could publish a series of
  articles about becoming a “fishing ninja.”
• A store selling woodworking tools could interview several
  “woodworking ninjas” for tips and tricks.
• An online store selling beard grooming supplies could highlight
  several “beard ninjas.”

4. National Chocolate Covered Anything Day: December 16

The second of three made-up holidays for your consideration this
December is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day. As the name
indicates, this sweet but obscure holiday is meant to celebrate
chocolate.

For your content marketing, try to make your posts humorous and
entertaining. For inspiration, consider
Mark Sparrow’s chocolate-covered Brussels sprouts tweet from
Halloween.

This single post received more than 12,000 likes, was retweeted
more than 10,000 times, and was featured on many websites and
videos. If possible, try to associate your chocolate-covered
content with the industry you serve.

5. National Eggnog Day: December 24

Perhaps not too surprisingly, Christmas Eve is also National
Eggnog Day. The holiday is celebrated with a glass of eggnog.
National Eggnog Day is also a good source of content marketing
inspiration.

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