It’s that time of year again when your Facebook feed starts to fill up with Halloween reminders.
But Halloween isn’t just about dressing up and eating candy. It’s also about attracting new customers and holding onto existing ones.
But what can you learn from themed promotions and posts? As it turns out, quite a bit.
Each one has its own unique approach to reaching customers making them all a treasure trove of marketing lessons.
It doesn’t matter what the brand is, they’ve all found a way to connect with their audiences and find creative ways to reach out and get people involved.
We’ve found 11 of the best Halloween themed posts on Facebook, along with some surprising lessons you can learn from them.
As you will see, there’s a lot you can learn from Halloween themed ads and how to interact with your customers.
The Best Halloween Ads and What You Can Learn From Them
These 11 examples will get you started in the right direction when you plan your next promotional campaign (not necessarily theme-based). So go grab an espresso and enjoy the reading!
1. Target – Use the power of user-generated content
Recently, an Instagrammer posted the following picture of their pets wearing two pet costumes sold at Target:
Target found and shared the picture with its Facebook followers, and the post resulted in over 4,500 reactions, almost 1,200 comments, and over 700 shares. Because the image shows two animals wearing two costumes, it fits perfectly with Target’s BOGO promotion for Halloween costumes.
This is a classic case of user-generated content (UGC). Meaning, Target found content online from a customer and shared it on their own social media feed. Plus, they gave the person who shared it a shout out at the top of the post.
Social media, especially Instagram, is known for the attention-grabbing images posted every day. So the next time you’re looking for ways to promote a sale in a fun, casual way or draw attention to a new product, scan your follower feeds first. Once you’ve found an image that fits your promotion or offer, share it with your Facebook followers to get them engaged. It’s kind of subtle because you’re not just asking people to buy something, you’re showing them people who’ve already taken the plunge. Plus, it lets you connect with your customers on a personal level which is a huge part of what makes UGC so successful.
It’s kind of subtle because you’re not just asking people to buy something, you’re showing them people who’ve already taken the plunge. Plus, it lets you connect with your customers on a personal level which is a huge part of what makes UGC so successful.
2. JCPenney – Use popular characters in promotional posts
Halloween is all about taking on a new persona for a short time. People can be anything they want to be with a little makeup and the right costume. That’s why it’s no surprise that so many people choose to dress up as their favorite characters. This JCPenney ad touches on that with this promotional post.
It uses popular TV and movie characters to urge customers to buy now or risk missing out on the costumes their kids want.
What makes this ad so great is the fact that it takes two popular characters and uses character-driven marketing to attract attention.
Just like in novels, characters connect readers to the story on an emotional level. If it’s done right, readers are pulled into the story and keep reading to get to the end and see what happens.
The same kind of logic applies to promotions. Choose characters that resonate with your target audience, pair that with a promotion that promises to give customers the experience they want, and customers will be more than eager to buy what you’re selling.
Before you press send on your next promotional post on Facebook, think about what your end goal is. Do you want people to buy something, sign up for a service, or something else? Then create a narrative around that goal. For example, “if you buy this costume, you’ll have the best Halloween experience.”
3. MetDaan Nails – Use blog content to promote your product
This promotion by MetDaan Nails caters to a specific niche of DIY enthusiasts. It shows a wide range of easy projects people can try out as they get ready for Halloween.
What makes this post stand out is the fact that it uses blog content as a promotional tool. It’s a solid approach if you’re trying to:
- Connect with customers you can’t reach via email. They don’t open emails, so this is another way to get valuable content in front of them.
- Promote a new product or feature with people who aren’t on your email list or don’t spend time on your website. This way, you speak to them where they spend the most time.
- Get people excited about an upcoming announcement. Press releases are great but spend a little time and money to build some hype on Facebook.
The great thing about using blog posts for promotion is the fact that you’ve already invested the time to create the content. You don’t have to come up with something brand new. Plus, it’s a little more in-depth than an ad. People can get to know more about what it is you’re offering vs. reading a few short lines of text from a brand they’re not familiar with.
Finally, this approach drives people to your website. Do a good job with the first post and people will stick around to search your website and buy something.
4. Payless Shoe Source – Woo customers with high-quality design
This promotional post from Payless Shoe Source uses a fun, vibrant approach to show customers the different ways they can incorporate different shoes with different costumes.
This promo does two things well:
- It gives customers options, so it reaches a wide range of people.
- It uses high-quality design and colors to grab and hold attention.
When you show customers different options, you’re showing them how to use your product. What works for one person won’t work for another, so options make sure that you reach as many people in your target audience as possible.
Take this one step further and develop brand personas. Basically, outline the characteristics — like demographics, preferences, and location — of the different kinds of customers you have and make sure your promotional material caters to each of them.
Then use a mix of high-quality design and color to get people scrolling through your feed to stop and take notice. Payless’ promo post uses color blocking and simple, fun drawings to showcase their footwear options. Notice how the promo doesn’t have a lot of copy. Instead, the images and color do all the “talking.”
Choose bright, bold colors like red, yellow, green or blue to stand out and match the theme of your promo.
5. Cosmopolitan – Educate your customers
It’s common for people to leave costume decisions to the last minute. Knowing this, why not ease some of the pressure and help customers by offering step-by-step images or video tutorials on your Facebook page?
That’s exactly what Cosmo did when they uploaded a tutorial of how to create a simple cat costume.
Notice how specific the tutorial is? Why a cat costume and not a superhero costume? Customers give clues to what they’re interested in so pay close attention to the types of questions they post and the comments they make. That way, you’ll know exactly what kind of content they’re looking for.
An added bonus to posting tutorials is knowledge sharing. To build a lasting relationship with your customers, make an effort to educate them. Knowledge sharing is another way of explaining the value your product offers, which is handy if you’re trying to hang onto new customers.
6. Michaels – Get people to do things in real life
Customers don’t have to leave the house to get what they need. But even though online shopping has its benefits — like the convenience — you don’t have to stay online to talk to customers.
Instead, attract them by offering offers that interest them, but also give them an opportunity to interact with you offline. This promotion from Michaels gives an incentive for customers to take part in the offline experience.
The key here is the promise of free art supplies at the event. It also boosts customer experience when you combine online and offline marketing.
Just like Michaels’ promo post, use a mix of colorful images and text for posts in your feed when you introduce an offline event. Social media is perfect for this because you can reach a wide audience and boost your chances of more people coming to the offline event.
7. Value Village – Solve customer problems
Not everyone celebrates Halloween the same way, and this promotion from Value Village recognizes that. It offers savings to followers who attend an in-store event with their family.
It solves the problem of people needing ideas of ways to celebrate the holiday. The promo promises games and prizes, plus 30% off anything in the store. Since customers are already in the store and the promo asks them to spend just $20, this ad is genius.
Learn what you can about your followers and their specific pain points by asking questions or running mini contests. Show how your product fits as a solution to their problem.
Just like this promo, get creative with how you solve customer problems. Create an in-store event or run a special offer. This helps you stand out and increases your chances of getting noticed.
8. Rob Zombie – Lead with the power of free
Customers love getting quality products for free.
This Rob Zombie promotion takes that idea and adds some FOMO (fear of missing out) to get people to act now versus waiting until later. It uses phrases like “shop now” and “while quantities last” to add a sense of urgency.
Offer something for free to build customer loyalty and scale your customer base. For new customers, it’s a gateway into your product with minimal risk on their end.
It’s important that your free product is high quality and relevant to them. Otherwise, you’ll turn customers off before you get a chance to wow them with your other products.
This promo offers a free stencil which combines the Halloween theme with Rob Zombie’s profile. It’s the perfect free gift for fans and new customers.
9. Party City – Cut to the chase with short, catchy headlines
The three-word headline in this Party City promo is punchy and gets right to the point.
This is in line with research we did that shows the best headlines are the ones with five words or less. Because they’re short and clear, we found that people are more likely to click on them to find out more about the offer.
There’s no need to pack everything you want to tell your customers into one sentence. Customers will see a long, complicated headline and scroll past the post. Instead, use words that pique customer curiosity.
The Party City post emphasizes words like “last” and “chance.” This is enough to make people curious to find out more about how to get two free tickets to a celebrity event. The words they use also add a sense of urgency. Customers won’t want to miss out, especially if your offer is appealing and speaks to their interests.
10. Dollar Tree – Build excitement with repetition
Dollar Tree offers lots of Halloween decor options for customers. Leading up to an in-store promotional event, the company sets up reminders for customers to take advantage of the offers.
Use promotions on Facebook to remind customers of upcoming offers. Your access to a large audience will guarantee lots of exposure.
Repetition is key to building anticipation and excitement. It keeps your offer at the top of customers’ minds. So set up a campaign where you post reminders at regular intervals. As you get closer to the date, post daily reminders.
You don’t have to use a lot of text, either. Just like this post, use lots of product images and a background that matches your campaign. For example, if you’re running a seasonal promotion, use seasonal colors and pictures.
Use repetition as a part of your strategy to retain and satisfy your customers. The more visible you are to customers, the better your chances are of engaging with them and keeping them as loyal customers.
11. Marshalls – Encourage social sharing
This post from Marshalls encourages customers who buy a costume and then share a picture of it online.
It’s a great post for two reasons:
- The light blue tones it uses in the foreground are calming and linked to inspiring creativity — which is perfect for encouraging people to share their creative side.
- It uses the most popular word found on Facebook ads — You. It’s powerful because it personalizes the post and gets people to think about themselves.
For your next promotional campaign, use colors that relate to the feelings you’re trying to get across — happiness, excitement or joy — and use words like new, free or instantly to get people to fantasize about themselves using your product.
Halloween Ads Key Takeaways:
Do you feel inspired now? Are you ready to put all these smart ideas into practice? Which are the angles that will work better for you?
Which are the angles that will work better for you? Here they are again, in this handy list:
- Use the power of user-generated content to promote new products.
- Popular characters help you tell a story with your promotional posts.
- Use blog content to promote your product instead of only relying on ads.
- Grab customer attention with high-quality design and niche content.
- Educate your customers as you find out more about their needs.
- Get people to interact with your products offline by creating unique offers.
- Solve customer problems to boost customer satisfaction.
- Lead with the power of free to help boost retention.
- Cut to the chase with short, catchy headlines that pique customer curiosity.
- Build excitement with repetition as a retention strategy.
- Encourage social sharing and incorporate powerful words that get customers to take action
Natalia says
Awesome ideas! Now to figure out how to utilize some of these concepts in my SaaS ads…
Florence Christian says
Great article, very good suggestions it’s very helpful for people. Keep it up.
Lovejeet says
Wow! Thank you for sharing!
I love this post.
Santhosh Muralidhar says
MetDaan is using the correct strategy by creating and promoting a relevant blog post about food ideas for Halloween.
Many brands just bark that they are the best. And few other brands write some nonsense things in the ad copy and expect Sales!.
Promoting content is always the best way to do marketing. Because it adds value to people, it helps people in making a decision and more importantly content does build trust with people.
I have tried to explain this to many clients. The ones that listened to this are doing well in their business while the rest who did not even give a thought to my words are just blown off from their business within 1 year.