People always ask me what I want for Christmas, er, I mean the Holidays. And honestly, I want things related to work, and maybe that’s boring, but as social media profesionals, our work also bleeds into our personal and IRL social lives. So what do you buy for that special social media fanatic or social media professional?
Here are some rad gift ideas, no affiliate links, just legit recommendations.
1. Subscription to Audible / Spotify
Ideal for: The person who needs background sounds while they work.
Multitasking! You’d be surprised how much time social media professionals sit in front of their computer. Like, all day long. It’s not just a phone thing, it’s a computer thing! While they work they can jam out to Spotify or listen to audiobooks. If you know someone who likes podcasts a lot, Audible might be the ideal gift for them!
2. Smartphone Gimbal
Ideal for: Professionals and users.
Image from Memory Express
I have shakey hands, I don’t know why? Maybe because I’m anxious too often? Regardless, a gimbal will exponentially step up your loved one’s video game. You can get “cheap” ones on Amazon but I’d recommend going all out and spending $150ish for a really good one. Either way, make sure they can hold the gimbal in portrait mode in addition to landscape mode! These will stabilize their videos and make them look super pro. This is the gimbal I actually use.
Here’s an example of a video I recorded with the gimbal, it was my first one, so don’t give me slack for my editing skills! This was exported a lower res so keep that in mind.
Don’t worry Edmonton, we repped our city pretty hard as speakers at #SocialWest. Thanks for hosting us, Calgary! #yeg #yyc @cmikulin @bingofuel @lindork @tylerjackbutler @socialwestca pic.twitter.com/OdCyEXW6xD
— Beverley Theresa 🤦🏻 (@hellobeverley) June 19, 2018
3. Anything with a pound sign, err #hashtag
Ideal for: Professionals and users who like cheesy stuff
This is one of the cheesier suggestions, but I’m sure you’ve seen hashtags everywhere – on T-shirts, mugs, necklaces, notebooks and even underwear. Items with the # are easy to find. I have no idea why someone would care if their ice cubes were hashtag symbols, but whatever floats your boat!
4. Light Up Custom Sign Box
Ideal for: Professionals and users
First, let me just say, everyone and their moms (literally) have these. They were super duper popular for a very long time and still are. I’m kind of sick of seeing them but I know some people love them. You can even buy different lettering/font styles, emoji packs, etc.
5. A New Phone
Ideal for: Professionals and everybody
Nothing is sweeter than checking social media on a new phone. Me, I use a Pixel 2 XL, but I want the Pixel 3 XL, just saying. I honestly don’t know who would be mad about getting a new phone as a present. Just remember, if they’re an Apple user buy them an iPhone, they’re not nerdy enough to figure out an Android! (Totally joking but wanted to throw shade at Apple users.)
6. This Organizer Thing
Ideal for: Professionals and huge nerds
I don’t know if I’m too involved with gadgets, but I do find myself bringing ALL the cords and all the adaptors with me when I speak at conferences. I want to be super prepared! Before I invested in getting a little organizer like this I would just have a pocket in my bag where I’d toss everything… Then I left my clicker behind after presenting and I got really sad because if I had an organizer I would have noticed it was missing! They’re not super expensive either and pretty customizable. You can grab the one in the picture on Amazon.
BONUS: You can buy a bunch of charging accessories and cords for their computer/phone to put inside of it!
7. Subscription to Grammarly
Ideal for: Professionals and people who suck at writing (like me)
Social media jobs revolve around content. Writing content, reading content, sleeping with content (maybe not the last one), which is why Grammarly is SO important! It’s like a more powerful version of Spellcheck, except for the internets, and works on your phone! I love Grammarly because most of the time when I’m writing blog posts, I’m too lazy/not motivated to go back and re-read them to look for errors.
8. PopSockets
Ideal for: Pros, users, your mom, and dad… Everyone with a smartphone.
You may have noticed a lot of people with this weird round thing attached to the backs of their smartphones. Not only does it help for holding your phone in awkward positions, but it also is great to use as a display stand for your phone and adds a little extra grip when taking selfies! You can even customize PopSockets! I *just* got my first PopSocket, a Google Partners one thanks to @adwordsgirl and I love it.
Side note: I should probably work for them.
9. Conference Tickets
Ideal for: Professionals
Right now a lot of conferences are doing “early bird” or “pre-sale” tickets at huge discounts. Don’t get me wrong, if your gift receiver is on a budget, this might not be the gift for them. If they have to travel/stay overnight, you could ideally cover their costs, but that’s IF you really like them haha. Don’t give them conference tickets though if you haven’t weighed out the cost factor for the receiver.
10. Consulting / Training Package
Ideal for: Professionals, small biz owners
LOL, okay, but for real, who wouldn’t want to work with me? I had some clients and friends say they wanted to buy time with me for a coworker or a friend, so here’s your chance! There are only FIVE of these packages available. Basically, you get almost $400 worth of services and goods for only $255. Don’t sleeeep!
The Gift of Family & Friends
In the end, it doesn’t really matter what you get someone for the holidays, all that matters is that you spend time with them (AWWWWWWW)… Just kidding, presents are always the best. Buy all the presents. Consumeeee.