From collaborations inspired by the 'Beetlejuice' movie to costumes straight out of internet memes, brands are eager to make their mark on the spooky season.
However, Halloween marketing in 2024 is poised for a transformation, driven by evolving consumer behaviors, especially among Gen Z. To keep pace, brands are employing innovative strategies designed to capture attention in an increasingly digital and competitive landscape.
Here are the key Halloween social media marketing trends to look out for in 2024:
Gen Z continues to drive Halloween-related purchases, as their influence on brand marketing grows. This tech-savvy generation prefers personalised, authentic, and interactive content.
They favour brands that are socially conscious, transparent, and engaging on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. According to AdAge, brands like Target and Chipotle are already tapping into Gen Z’s preferences, utilising user-generated content (UGC) and influencer partnerships to create relatable campaigns.
TikTok remains a dominant platform for Halloween marketing, thanks to its viral nature and popularity among younger audiences.
Brands are leveraging TikTok challenges to encourage user-generated content, where consumers share their Halloween costumes, decorations, or themed activities. Viral Halloween campaigns can boost brand awareness significantly, making this platform a must for marketers.
As sustainability becomes more crucial for consumers, particularly Gen Z, brands are incorporating eco-friendly elements into their Halloween marketing.
Expect to see more campaigns that promote sustainable costume ideas, reusable decorations, and environmentally friendly candy packaging. Brands that align with these values will likely win the favour of eco-conscious consumers.
Consumers are starting their Halloween shopping earlier than ever, with many seeking inspiration from influencers.
Brands are partnering with influencers to showcase Halloween products through sponsored posts, unboxings, and tutorials. By leveraging influencers who align with their brand values, companies can reach niche audiences with highly targeted content.
Nostalgia is a powerful marketing tool, especially during holidays.
In 2024, many brands are expected to tap into 90s and early 2000s nostalgia, creating throwback content that resonates with millennials and Gen Z. This could include retro-themed costumes, iconic pop culture references, or even re-releases of past Halloween products.
In 2024, brands will continue to offer seamless omnichannel experiences, integrating online and offline elements of their Halloween campaigns.
This might involve AR filters on Instagram and Snapchat that bring spooky designs to life, or QR codes that lead to exclusive online content when scanned in-store. These cross-platform experiences create a sense of immersion and engagement that consumers love.
With these trends in mind, your 2024 Halloween social media strategy should focus on creativity, authenticity, and interactivity to capture the attention of today’s highly engaged consumers. But before we explore campaign ides, let''s check out some social media posts you could use.
In light of the emerging 2024 Halloween trends, here are some enhanced social media post ideas to keep your brand aligned with what resonates most with today's audience. Use them to kick off your Halloween social media strategy, and remember - to truly capture the holiday spirit, you will need a mix of fun, engaging, and brand-relevant elements.
Launch a costume challenge on TikTok, encouraging users to show off their Halloween transformations. Partner with popular influencers to kickstart the challenge and increase visibility. Use trending hashtags and a branded hashtag for added exposure.
Tap into 90s and early 2000s nostalgia by showcasing retro costumes or throwback Halloween products. For example, post a series of "Then vs. Now" images or Reels comparing classic Halloween icons with their modern counterparts.
Create a carousel post on Instagram or a video on TikTok featuring DIY, eco-friendly costumes made from sustainable materials. Invite your followers to share their sustainable costume creations using a branded hashtag for a chance to be featured.
Partner with influencers to showcase your Halloween-themed products in a fun unboxing video. Whether it’s a spooky makeup kit, decorations, or candy bundles, influencers can create excitement around your products, inspiring their followers to buy early.
Launch a Halloween-themed augmented reality filter on Instagram or TikTok. Users can transform their faces into zombies, witches, or other spooky creatures, driving engagement and brand visibility. Pair the filter with a call to action, such as, “Tag us in your Story/video for a chance to win a Halloween prize!”
Use Instagram Stories to create polls where followers can vote on their favourite Halloween costumes from the 90s, early 2000s, or popular Gen Z trends. Engage your audience with fun polls leading up to Halloween.
Post a tutorial showing how to create simple and sustainable Halloween decorations. Encourage followers to get creative and share their own DIY projects with a custom hashtag like #EcoFriendlyHalloween.
Collaborate with influencers to run a countdown series to Halloween. Each influencer can post a spooky tip, trick, or costume idea, with your brand tagged in each post for maximum reach.
Host a collaboration with young content creators on TikTok or YouTube to review Halloween products, discuss costume ideas, or create fun challenges. Tap into their audience to generate buzz for your brand’s offerings.
Post an early Halloween promotion to cater to shoppers who plan ahead. Offer a limited-time discount for early birds on costumes, decor, or candy, with the promotion ending before October starts. This capitalises on the growing trend of early Halloween shopping.
Crafting the perfect Halloween post involves more than just slapping on some spooky imagery. You need to pair your visuals with engaging, thematic copy that resonates with your audience. Here’s how to write an eye-catching Halloween post.
Halloween is a holiday ripe for puns and playful language. Incorporating a few clever lines can grab attention and keep your brand in the holiday spirit. Here are some examples:
Halloween posts are meant to be fun, so don’t be afraid to keep the tone light and playful. Use exclamation points, questions, or even emojis to convey excitement and interaction.
Using well-known Halloween phrases adds charm to your posts. Consider phrases like:
Be clear about what you want your audience to do next. Whether it’s participating in a contest, checking out a sale, or simply liking your post, make sure your call to action (CTA) is direct:
For those managing a multi-location business or franchise, leveraging custom tags in your social media tool can be incredibly beneficial. This feature allows you to tailor posts for each location while ensuring that all communications consistently convey the correct offer and URL across the board.
If you want to get all the best treats from your Halloween hashtag strategy, you need to create a mix of viral hashtags (such as the ones in the lists below) and those that explain the content you're posting. Don't forget that hashtags act as keywords on social media networks.
Optimise your strategy with our guide: How to Use Instagram Hashtags to Grow Your Business
Learn more about best practices with our detailed guide to How to Use Hashtags on TikTok in Different Niches: 109 Industry Hashtags Included
Tailor your LinkedIn hashtag strategy to fit yours and your audience's needs with our guide: How to Use Hashtags on LinkedIn to Grow Your Client Base: 85 Industry Hashtags Included
Wondering if hashtags on Facebook work? Check out this handy guide: Should you use Hashtags on Facebook? Here’s What you Need to Know
Using X (Twitter) for business can be overwhelming sometimes. But this guide will help you get the most out of your hashtags: Twitter Hashtags: A Guide to Finding and Using the Right Ones
If your social media management tool allows it, you can save the perfect hashtag combination to Content Library that you can then easily add to all of your posts.
To add an extra dose of spookiness to your Halloween posts, consider using popular phrases associated with the holiday. These work well for both headlines and captions:
These phrases help your content feel on-brand for the holiday while keeping it playful and engaging for your audience.
In addition to individual posts, larger-scale Halloween campaigns can help create buzz around your brand and drive results. These campaigns can be run across multiple platforms, ensuring maximum engagement.
With new trends shaping Halloween marketing in 2024, here’s how you can build campaigns that align with today’s consumer behaviours, particularly the preferences of Gen Z and tech-savvy audiences.
We all know the thrill of seeing storefronts all decked out for Halloween (just like Christmas and other holidays). It’s a spooky and fun atmosphere to experience, no matter what product you are buying. People love it, and a well-decorated store can be just enough of a nudge to encourage your customers to make a purchase.
You can spruce up your social media profiles in a similar way. Add a splash of Halloween by changing the colour scheme of your cover photos or adding some spider webs and pumpkins. If you have a developer at hand, add the same graphics to your website or app for extra impact (just remember to take them off when the season ends).
Decorating your social media profiles the same way as your physical or e-store will result in consistent branding and a constant yet not in-your-face reminder to your existing and new customers that your Halloween offer is active.
Starbucks always sets a high standard when it comes to celebrating Halloween and other special occasions:
Source: @Starbucks
Visual content like images, GIFs, and videos have a way of captivating social media audiences unlike plain text and link previews. But hey, if your brand is already killing it on Twitter (or Instagram Threads), then it's time to get a little spooky with your copies.
Source: @canva
Special occasions like Halloween allow businesses of all sectors and sizes to loosen up a little bit and have some fun.
So it’s obvious we should take advantage of this opportunity, right? Creating visual content for your Halloween marketing campaign isn't too difficult when you have the right tools and some time to spend. Get inspired and get right down to it!
There are several ways to approach creating Halloween posts on social media to promote your offer. Here are some fun and easy ideas for your Halloween-themed content:
Email campaigns can help you boost the reach of your social messages by miles! The approach is similar to social, but the format, of course, will be different. These simple tips will help you optimise your Halloween email marketing campaign:
It’s Halloween and your customers (existing and potential) may expect special offers. These can be:
As with any holiday campaign, you can attract more engagement for your offers by using social media. Try doing a Halloween-themed giveaway on Facebook or polls on Twitter. Ask questions about autumn or the holiday and reward all participants with content along the way. Once you establish the winners, make sure that you send them their unique promotional codes and gifts.
In terms of Halloween marketing ideas, running competitions in exchange for freebies may seem like a relatively old-school tactic, but with the help of social media, it can be brought into the 21st century and used to generate brand awareness.
Fast food chain Chipotle has demonstrated this perfectly with their #Boorito 2019 TikTok campaign. The idea was that TikTok users who recorded videos of themselves and their Halloween costumes morphing also had a chance to win a buy-one-get-one-free burrito coupon. If you're wondering how successful it was, we'll just tell you that even Zach King hopped on this challenge:
Source: @zachking
The challenge encouraged Tik Tok users to create Halloween posts on the short video platform featuring their before and after Halloween transformations. And following the success of their previous Halloween marketing campaigns, we're looking forward to seeing how they spice things up in 2022.
Talk about scarily smart Halloween marketing!
Image source: Chipotle
Want to take it one step further than decorating your social media profiles and offering a discount? How about making your product or service spooky? This technique can work for virtually any B2C business but is best suited to those that provide services and experiences.
For example, if you host outdoor activities, you can turn the night of Halloween (or the weekend closest to it) into a special event. Depending on your chosen theme, you can invite people to dress up and then share it on social media. If your target audience isn't Halloween-friendly, you could still host an event with an autumnal twist, like seasonal treats and drinks instead.
Source: @sainsburys
The bottom line is that it's all about creating noise with your Halloween posts, boosting your social media presence, and increasing brand awareness. This is why in 2021, PizzaHut joined its forces with Shudder, a premium streaming service with the best selection of horror, thriller and supernatural movies, to reward the first 200.000 users:
Source: @pizzahut
In 2018 Reese's took the Halloween marketing campaign to the next level! Their Halloween Candy Converter, a vending machine that allowed trick-or-treaters to swap their unwanted candy for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. This machine popped up at various Halloween events around America, gaining worldwide attention for the brand and earning them the title of the ' Greatest Of All Time of Halloween' in the process.
Reese's then repurposed the Halloween marketing content they created at these events to engage their audience on social. They used video footage of the Candy Converter in action to create social media content, which was shared across Twitter, Instagram Stories, YouTube and Facebook - with amazing results.
Through just 12 posts, Reese's generated 536,000 engagements. That included 352,500 video views on Twitter, 70,500 video views on YouTube, 5,500 likes on Instagram, 1,300 shares on Facebook, and 5,600 retweets - what a treat!
Delighting your customers and giving them a fun Halloween experience takes thought, planning and creativity, but the results speak for themselves.
But, you can also use this opportunity for the greater good and help a cause you believe in.
Ferrero U.S.A., Inc. uses the Halloween season to help families celebrate this spooky holiday while raising money for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Through September 15, consumers who visit FerreroHalloween.com and make a $31 donation will receive the limited edition countdown calendar, which features an assortment of Ferrero's confections and cookies, such as Butterfinger, Crunch, Baby Ruth, Kinder Bueno, and Mother's Cookies.
Source: Ferrero Halloween
It might be cliché, but it never gets tiresome. Halloween gives everyone the chance to wear silly costumes. Embrace it and host a photo contest on social media - it’s a fun way to engage with your followers.
In addition to costumes, you can also opt for food creations, decorated rooms or spooky things and places. Remember, every social media campaign must link back to your brand, mission or product - so the type of the contest must be relevant.
Set a campaign specific hashtag and offer fun rewards throughout the competition with the main prize being announced on the morning after Halloween.
Mehron Makeup kickstarted their 31 Days of Mehron Halloween contest on September 1st. They've invited their audience to submit their most terrifying makeup looks by tagging them in their posts with #31DaysofMehronHalloween, #MehronMakeup, and @MehronMakeup. As they'll choose a finalist each day until 25th of October, their campaign will result in 31 user-generated, high-quality content pieces and numerous mentions that will boost their brand awareness:
Source: @mehronmakeup
As you see, Halloween photo contest is a clever social media marketing tactic because it inspires tonnes of user-generated content, which helps to fill their content calendar for the rest of the year and does wonders for their authenticity on social.
You can also host a contest on a smaller scale in your own office. Ask your team to dress up, then create a poll on Twitter to find out which costume your followers like the most. Similarly, you can hold a bake-off, play fun games and document it on your Instagram - all in the effort to humanise your brand in a fun way!
Now, if you aren't big on discounts or dressing up and you aren't planning on scaring your clients, then you can creep it real and provide them with some relevant advice instead.
The type of advice you share heavily depends on your business and opportunities are virtually endless.
For example, you can give actionable tips or talk about safety and health in relation to Halloween and/or autumn. If you're a digital agency, you can give tips on the area of your expertise in relation to the holiday. If you sell security systems, talk about the dark autumn evenings and the need to take good care of your home and possessions.
If you are in the food industry, you can create recipes and share them on social media to take advantage of the extra traffic, just like Delish do. Each year they create a series of Halloween themed videos for YouTube that are easily digestible and encourage viewers to visit their website for the full recipe details - spooktactular!
Source: Delish
Influencer marketing continues to be one of the most effective strategies for reaching younger audiences.
Partner with TikTok and Instagram influencers who resonate with Gen Z values, such as creativity, authenticity, and sustainability. You can run a campaign where influencers create and share their Halloween transformations, spooky room decor ideas, or even sustainable costume hacks, all using your products.
To leverage the viral nature of TikTok, create a branded challenge that encourages users to share their Halloween looks, DIY decorations, or party ideas.
Combine it with Instagram Reels for a cross-platform experience. Use hashtags like #SpookySeason2024 and offer incentives such as a prize for the best post.
Given the rising trend of eco-consciousness among Gen Z, build a campaign around sustainable Halloween practices. Feature eco-friendly costumes, DIY decoration tutorials, and packaging alternatives. You could even partner with a charity to donate part of the proceeds from specific products to an environmental cause, boosting your brand’s appeal to eco-conscious consumers.
Create a campaign that plays into the 90s and early 2000s nostalgia trend. Showcase retro Halloween costumes and iconic references in a series of posts or ads. Encourage your audience to post their throwback Halloween photos and tag your brand for a chance to win a nostalgic prize bundle.
Build a multi-platform experience by combining physical and digital interactions. Launch an AR filter on Instagram or Snapchat that lets users ‘try on’ different Halloween costumes virtually. Add a QR code on in-store displays that link to your AR filter or exclusive online content, blending both online and offline elements.
Host a series of Halloween-themed livestreams in partnership with influencers. These could include makeup tutorials, costume DIYs, or Halloween party planning tips. Stream the events on platforms like Instagram Live, TikTok, or YouTube to connect with audiences in real time and boost engagement.
Managing a successful Halloween social media strategy can be overwhelming, especially when juggling multiple platforms and campaigns. That’s where Sendible comes in. Here’s how it can simplify the process:
With Sendible’s intuitive content calendar, you can plan your Halloween campaigns well in advance and schedule posts at optimal times across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), TikTok, and LinkedIn. This ensures that your content goes live at the right time without needing constant manual posting.
If you're planning on publishing tons of content to your social media channls, we suggest you check out:
Group your Halloween social media posts under Campaigns to get better organised and track the impact of your efforts. This will help you optimise your tactics and prove ROI to stakeholders.
Sendible integrates with tools like Canva, Pexels, Flickr, and GIPHY, allowing you to create stunning Halloween visuals directly within the platform. Easily design Halloween-themed images or select from a library of GIFs to make your posts stand out.
Want to know how your Halloween posts are performing? Sendible’s robust analytics tools allow you to track engagement, follower growth, and other key metrics in real-time. This data can help you refine your strategy and ensure your campaigns are delivering the best results. Use:
If you’re working with a team, Sendible makes collaboration seamless. Assign tasks, get approvals, and work together to ensure your Halloween campaigns are executed flawlessly.
You can also improve your community management efforts by assigning comments and messages to the right team member to improve deal closing rates and grow customer loyalty.
We hope your Halloween social media campaigns yield frightfully fantastic results! By arming you with 12 innovative campaign strategies and 10 engaging social media post ideas, we're confident you can significantly boost your ROI.
Before diving into new content creation, consider repurposing existing material with a fresh twist—sometimes a little creativity can breathe new life into old content. Strategize your social media calendar well in advance, schedule your posts meticulously, and diligently monitor results and mentions to maximize the impact of your efforts.
For those seeking a reliable partner in managing these campaigns, look no further than Sendible. Did we mention you can enjoy a 14-day free trial? Now you know! And if you need further assistance, don't hesitate to book a call with one of our experts.
Leverage Sendible’s extensive integrations to create, schedule, publish, and engage with your posts seamlessly.
