Time and time again, I’ve found myself getting hooked by “limited edition” or seasonal goodies that companies launch when the holidays arrive. For the fall there was the infamous Pumpkin Spice Latte courtesy of Starbucks, and now as we move into winter, the festive cups of the holiday season have debuted in the stores along with “Christmas flavors” such as Peppermint Mocha. The Christmas wave doesn’t stop at Starbucks though.

In the past two weeks, everywhere I went – be it the shopping mall, the dollar store, or the neighborhood supermarket – traces of “seasonal” marketing have arrived. Suddenly I found myself in a wonderland of red, green, and gold Hershey’s chocolates, snowflake m&m’s, “winter fragrances” by beauty shops, and “winter” ice-cream flavors. It occurred to me that these constant launching and relaunching of holiday lines and fun new flavors are one of the key things that keep customers pumped. They give customers a reason to keep checking back. They keep customers excited about getting a piece of what’s new and what all the recent buzz is about. Most of all, they keep customers engaged.

The rise of highly visual social media platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr have tapped into our emotions and helped fuel holiday sales.

Thanksgiving Instagram post by Starbucks

Christmas themed Instagram post featuring Starbucks

There are even Tumblr websites specifically dedicated to seasonal moods such as http://autumncozy.tumblr.com/ (it’ll make you feel all warm and cozy, guaranteed)!

So what about you? How are you leveraging social media this holiday season?