Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and it’s only a matter of time before your mailbox is packed with holiday cards filled with family updates and bad Christmas puns. That’s when you know it’s time to send your own.
If you can’t find the time to stuff envelopes, or you just want to go with a techie twist this holiday season, social media can help you spruce up this year’s Season’s Greetings.
Here are a few ideas for getting the most out of social media this winter. Whether your strengths lie in Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or Youtube, you’re sure to find an option that suits your expertise.
The most obvious option for Facebook is to post your holiday family photo on your Timeline with a one-size-fits-all message. It’s quick, simple and does the trick. But why stop there? There are plenty of resources to take it a step further, such as TouchNote, to help you easily create and share e-cards through Facebook and email.
Another option is to create a holiday album, giving each family member his or her own portrait — meaning no more “I look terrible in this picture” complaints — as well as adding in pictures of your holiday cookies, Christmas tree ornaments or your pets in adorable Santa outfits.
If you find yourself longing for the personal written element, and a status update just doesn’t seem big enough, you could create a custom life event for your holiday greetings, which will highlight the post more prominently on your Timeline.
Pinterest may not be the best platform to share your “card,” but it gives you an easy method for compiling photos, videos or messages. You can even add a personal touch in the comments.
With Pinterest, you can create a different kind of card — one that showcases your family’s entire holiday season, including the cookie recipes you plan to use and your home decked out in its Christmas finest.
You can also upload files straight from your computer to create an interactive wall of photos and content. Record a message of the kids saying “Merry Christmas” and save it as a video file to your board, or cover it with photos from your holiday party so family members who can’t make it home can still feel like part of the fun.
Once you’ve finished your board, email it with a personal message attached, or share the link via Facebook and Twitter and choose your favorite picture to share on Instagram.
Perhaps the most obvious way to share a social media Christmas card is through Instagram. The photo sharing site makes it easy for you to edit your smartphone pics instantly, treat them with a filter and then send them out into the world.
Apps like Instaquote for iOS and Android let you add a “Season’s Greetings” message to your photo before you share it to Facebook or Twitter. You can also take a 15-second video of your family at a particularly cute holiday moment, like decorating the tree or baking cookies.
And if your Christmas card picture is the only time you can wrangle the brood together for that oh-so-rare family shot, you can still get the picture printed from Canvas Pop to hang as cool wall art.
YouTube
If you really want to go all out, a YouTube video is the way to go, and it’s much easier than you think. Most digital cameras are more than enough to take a decent video, and anyone can figure out basic video editing software such as iMovie.
Source: Mashable
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