Twitter Trending Topics for the 2022 festive season
The festive season is one of the busiest times of year on Twitter. In the US, there were 88 million Tweets about the festive season in 20211, and over 16 million Tweets about Christmas in the UK.2
With the festive season on Twitter comes big trends in conversation about gifting, TV and movies, supporting small businesses, and, of course, food.
We’ve packaged (or gift-wrapped, so to speak) five of this year’s biggest trending topics on Twitter so your brand can connect and help drive ROI.
What’s trending on Twitter
Shopping for gifts
There’s a powerful culture of brand and product discovery on Twitter. People come to Twitter to hear directly from brands and to get advice from others about what to buy.
When comparing 2020 to 2021, there was a +22% increase in gif-giving conversation on Twitter during the festive season.3 Of those surveyed in a 2021 internal study, we found that 89% use Twitter to discover new products, and 76% agree that conversations on the platform have resulted in them making a purchase.4
One in three people on Twitter use the platform to find deals and promotions, and one in four use it to inspire gift ideas.5
@BlueWillowBooks connects to customers just ahead of Christmas to assure them the perfect gift for a loved one can be found in-store.
One in three Twitter users started Christmas gift shopping earlier this year compared to last year,6 so be sure to connect to this trend and promote Christmas special offers nice and early so customers can add you to their gift list.7
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are key shopping dates for people on Twitter – 85% of people on Twitter surveyed expect to shop on these days8 – target these consumers with sales event messaging to help them plan ahead for their shopping.
Take a look at our Black Friday and Cyber Monday ideas for small businesses to create your strategy.
TV and movies
A conversation classic – especially at Christmas – TV and movies are taking up significant real estate on Twitter in 2022.
In the UK, there are 2.5 Tweets about TV every second.9 This makes sense when you consider that 70% of Twitter users surveyed in the UK use Twitter while watching TV.10
Just like hot chocolate and marshmallows or gingerbread and icing, Twitter and TV go hand-in-hand. People turn to Twitter to see the conversations happening about the TV they’re watching – it enhances the viewing experience. Last year, there was a +268% increase in YoY movie conversation in the US11– don’t miss the opportunity this presents for brands.
See what your followers are talking about and join in with the anticipation — run a Twitter Poll, respond to excited customer’s Tweets, or just have some fun that aligns with your brand voice. ‘Tis the season after all.
Fashion and beauty
The first half of 2022 has seen more than 28 million Tweets about beauty in the US, and over four million in the UK.12
If you’re a beauty or fashion retailer, start Tweeting about your festive products early and make life easier (and a bit more glam) for your followers.
Tweeting about gift guides, beauty kits, beauty advent calendars, and seasonal collections are all great ways to get people excited. Retweeting your follower’s outfits and makeup pictures is another impactful way to connect too.
Makeup Revolution (@MakeupRVLTN) highlights their beauty advent calendar released ahead of Christmas.
Sport
The festive season this year has an extra glint of excitement thanks to the FIFA World Cup taking place November 20 to December 18. A new Twitter study in partnership with GWI found that 75% of people on Twitter are fans of the event,13 and 61% of fans want to see brands combine the event and holiday shopping campaigns.14
Check out our blog about how to connect to the FIFA World Cup for more actionable ways your brand can connect and get trending.
Similar to TV and movies, sports give your brand a chance to show off some personality and connect in a real way. Take a look at how you can connect to the sports conversation on Twitter for more insights, tips, and Twitter Ads that can amplify your seasonal campaign.
@Art_of_Football connects to the Christmas conversation and shares their football-inspired gifts.
Small businesses and shopping local
The ever-growing trend for shopping local is great for promoting products and services of all kinds during the holidays. Last year’s small business conversation was up +64% YoY in the US and +55% YoY in the UK during the festive season.15
Here are some great ways your small business can connect this season:
Share product updates early and often — let people know when stock is limited to add urgency
Showcase the people behind your business
Use hashtags like #TweetASmallBiz and #ShopLocal to reach more people
- Add your opening hours and last delivery date to your Twitter bio. If you have a Professional Account, you can use Location Spotlight, which allows you to display your business’ location, hours of operation, and contact methods. Don’t have a Professional Account yet? Set up your Professional Account now.
- Using your Professional Account, turn any of your existing Tweets into an ad with Quick Promote on Android or desktop. It’s a quick and simple way to launch promotions to a large audience without setting up an entire ads campaign.
@SlatedIreland uses the #ShopLocal hashtag to promote one of their Christmas products.
Visit our small business resources for lots more festive tips and inspiration.
Top hashtags for the 2022 festive season
In the UK, the biggest hashtags over Christmas 2021 were #Christmas, #Win, #Giveaway, #Xmas, #Competition, #MerryChristmas, #Gift, #ChristmasIsComing – use these as guidance for the hashtags that will likely be popular again in 2022.
You can also expect to see lots of #GiftIdeas, #HolidayShopping, #HappyHolidays, and #ChristmasDecor.
Businesses and brands can use the festive season to join the conversation and connect with their customers while they’re already receptive. For more tips to create some campaign magic with your audience this Christmas, visit our dedicated hub.
1. Source: Twitter Internal Data (Semantic Core). Comparing Holiday-related Tweets from Oct 1st, 2020 - Jan 2nd, 2021 to Oct 1st, 2021 - Jan 2nd, 2022. US Only.
2. Source: Twitter internal data, UK data. Time Frame: 1/1/21-1/1/22. Data retrieved August 2022.
3. Source: Twitter Internal Data.Tweet volume of gift-giving-related keywords. 9/1/21 - 1/1/22, 9/1/20 - 1/1/21. US only.
4. Source: Twitter internal data, August - September 2021. 500 Twitter users sampled and surveyed.
5. Source: Twitter internal data, survey conducted from May 6th-May 16th, 2022. Respondents were social media users in the US aged 18+ who plan to celebrate gift-giving/ shopping holidays. n=292 Twitter Users n=506 Non-Twitter Users who use some other form of social media.
6. Source: YouGov Profiles+ USA 2022-07-17. Q. Are you doing your holiday shopping.... (Slight earlier than last year / Much earlier than last year) Audience:Twitter Users. Control: Non-Twitter Users.
7. Source: YouGov Profiles+ USA 2022-07-17. Q. Are you doing your holiday shopping.... (Slight earlier than last year / Much earlier than last year) Audience:Twitter Users. Control: Non-Twitter Users.
8. Source: Twitter internal data, survey conducted from May 6th-May 16th, 2022. Respondents were social media users in the US aged 18+ who plan to celebrate gift-giving/ shopping holidays. n=292 Twitter Users n=506 Non-Twitter Users who use some other form of social media.
9. Source: Twitter Internal Data (Semantic Core). Tweets from Jan, 1, 2021 - Dec 31, 2021. UK Only. Note that in August 2021 there was a change in how we tracked aggregate TV conversationwhich makes some of this data incomparable to previous years.
10. Source: Twitter Insiders, UK only, Feb 7th 2022, n=626. (Answer options - Always, Very Often, Sometimes).
11. Source: Twitter Internal Data (Semantic Core). Comparing Holiday-related Tweets from Jan 1st, 2020 - Aug 1st, 2020 to Jan 1st, 2021 - Aug 1st, 2021. US Only. Excluding RTs.
12. Source: Twitter Internal Data - Semantic Core/KGO. Time Frame: 1/1/21-31/6/22. Data retrieved August 2022.
13. Source: Twitter + GWI World Cup Study, Global, Q1 2022. Please indicate your relationship with the sports events listed below. Casual, Midcore, or Hardcore fan of the FIFA World Cup n=13700.
14. Source: Twitter + GWI World Cup Study, Global, Q1 2022. Thinking about the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, what type of content do you want brands to show you? Please select all that apply n=4720.
15. Source of UK data: Twitter Internal Data (Semantic Core). Comparing Holiday-related Tweets from Jan 1st, 2020 - Aug 1st, 2020 to Jan 1st, 2021 - Aug 1st, 2021. UK Only. Excluding RTs. Source of US data: Twitter Internal Data (Semantic Core). Comparing Holiday-related Tweets from Jan 1st, 2020 - Aug 1st, 2020 to Jan 1st, 2021 - Aug 1st, 2021. US Only. Excluding RTs.
16. Source: Twitter Internal (Semantic core). Christmas. UK. 1/12/2021 - 1/1/2022.
Planning a large-scale Christmas campaign?
