Digital Marketing
March 21, 2024
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minutes
In the fast-paced world of digital marketing, staying ahead of the curve is crucial, especially when it comes to holiday-themed content. From national celebrations to social media holidays, leveraging these events can significantly boost engagement and brand visibility.
Whether you're a seasoned marketer or just diving into the world of holiday content creation, we’ve got the info you need to have a happy holiday.
Before we get to our comprehensive list of holidays, here’s a quick rundown of how you can make holiday marketing go more smoothly.
If you don’t already have one, start by creating a content calendar. This can be as simple as creating a spreadsheet in Google Sheets, or you can use an app with a content calendar feature, like Hootsuite or Buffer. Then fill in the holidays you want to celebrate during the year.
For a simple holiday post – say something for Independence Day or even National Glazed Spiral Ham Day (yes, it’s an actual day), have a post in mind around a month in advance if you need special graphics for it. For bigger holidays – Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving through Giving Tuesday or the Christmas season – give yourself more lead time. Set a date for planning content that starts well before the holiday in question – three months early isn’t too much time to get ready, especially if you’re planning something big.
In AdPipe, you can use our Post AI feature to plan out content in advance. Post AI lets you create assets and associated copy for whichever platform you’re creating for. It’s as simple as entering in the holiday you’re celebrating and some keywords. You can also organize holiday media in folders ahead of time so that your holiday-themed material is separate from your day-to-day content, but still easy to access when you need it.
If you’ve been creating content on a post-by-post basis – don’t! Choose a day and put together all your social posts at once. Design your ads and organic posts during a given block of time, and you’ll be able to schedule your content in advance and free yourself up to handle ad hoc marketing tasks instead.
For example, Murphy Tractor & Equipment Co. Inc. plans out and creates a month’s worth of content in about three days using AdPipe. They give content creation all their focus, and afterwards they’re free to tackle any other items on their marketing to-do list.
When you share holiday content with your customers, you want them to know it came from you. One of the simplest ways to do that is to ensure anything you share has your branding on it. Try to incorporate your company colors and logo to connect your message and the holiday with your brand.
To give you an example, Honey Baked Ham posted the video below for Rivalry Week – a week when many college football teams face their historic rivals. Their post includes their brand’s orange color as well as the logo itself in a fun way that feels relevant to the event they’re celebrating.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0C36uStblW/?igsh=bHVtYjFiZWNtMXBw
4. Write your captions early
Have you ever created a video or graphic for social media and realized you didn’t have the caption to go with it? Save yourself the holiday stress by planning out your captions well in advance.
If you’re not sure what to say for a post, try AdPipe’s Copy AI feature. Just enter where you want to share (LinkedIn, Facebook, Email, Website, etc.), a few keywords that describe your message, and the holiday you’re promoting. AdPipe will give you a suggested caption that you can edit or use as-is.
Now that you know how to prep your post, it’s time to figure out when and what you should be posting about! We’ve put together a rundown of social media holidays, important events, and national or international holidays. Holidays that may need a bit of extra planning in bold so that they’re easier to spot. If you’re using AdPipe, these may be the holidays you want to request templates for.
Don’t feel like you have to create something for every holiday here. Instead, create content for holidays that match your business, goals, and company culture. For instance, SSP Group, which runs food and beverage outlets for travelers, created the following post for World Bartender Day. The theme fits in well with their organization and helps them show appreciation for their employees.
January 1: New Year’s Day
January 4: National Trivia Day
January 5: National Bird Day
January 11: International Thank-You Day
January 15: National Hat Day
January 15: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
January 19: Get to Know Your Customers Day
January 20: National Coffee Break Day
January 20: Cheese Lovers Day
January 23: National Pie Day
January 28: Data Privacy Day
All Month: Black History Month
February 2: Groundhog Day
February 4: World Cancer Day
February 10: Lunar New Year
February 11: Super Bowl
February 11: International Day of Women and Girls in Science
February 12: National Pizza Day
February 13: Galentine’s Day
February 13: Mardi Gras
February 14: Valentine’s Day
February 15-22: National Future Farmers of America Week
February 17: Random Acts of Kindness Day
February 19: President’s Day
February 20: National Love Your Pet Day
February 22: Take Your Tractor to School Day
February 21: National Pancake Day
February 22: National Margarita Day
February 24: World Bartender Day
February 25: National Clam Chowder Day
February 28: Floral Design Day
February 29: Leap Day
All Month: Women’s History Month
March 1: Employee Appreciation Day
March 2: Read Across America Day
March 3: World Wildlife Day
March 8: International Women’s Day
March 10: Daylight Savings
March 10: Academy Awards
March 10: Ramadan Begins
March 11: World Plumbing Day
March 12: Plant a Flower Day
March 14: National Potato Chip Day
March 14: Pi Day
March 17: St. Patrick’s Day
March 19: Spring begins
March 19: March Madness (NCAA college basketball playoffs) begins
March 23: National Puppy Day
March 24: National Cocktail Day
March 25: Holi
March 29: National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day
March 29: Good Friday
March 31: Easter Sunday
April 1: April Fools’ Day
April 2: World Autism Awareness Day
April 3: National DIY Day
April 6: National Student-Athlete Day
April 7: World Health Day
April 7: Walk to Work Day
April 14: National Gardening Day
April 15: Tax Day
April 15: National Glazed Spiral Ham Day
April 16: National Librarian Day
April 20: Volunteer Recognition Day
April 21: Ramadan ends
April 22: Earth Day
April 22: Passover Begins
April 26: Administrative Professionals Day
April 27: National Tell a Story Day
April 28: Arbor Day
April 28: Small Business Week Begins
April 30: Healthy Kids Day
April 30: Passover Ends
All May: Graduations
All Month: Asian Heritage Month
All Month: Mental Health Awareness Month
May 1: May Day
May 2: National Fitness Day
May 4: Star Wars Day
May 4: Small Business Week Ends
May 5: Cinco de Mayo
May 6: International No Diet Day
May 6: National Space Day
May 10: National Small Business Day
May 12: International Nurses Day
May 12: Mother’s Day
May 13: Fair Trade Day
May 15: International Family Day
May 17: World Baking Day
May 17: Bike to Work Day
May 18: National Armed Forces Day
May 20: NASCAR Day
May 20: World Bee Day
May 21: World Whiskey Day
May 25: National Wine Day
May 27: Memorial Day
May 31: National Smile Day
May 31: National Senior Health and Fitness Day
All Month: Graduations
All Month: Pride Month
Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month
June 1: National Children’s Day
June 4: National Cheese Day
June 6: Higher Education Day
June 8: National Best Friends Day
June 8: World Oceans Day
June 12: International Children’s Day
June 14: Flag Day
June 16: Father’s Day
June 16: National Fudge Day
June 18: Go Fishing Day
June 19: Juneteenth
June 21: National Selfie Day
June 21: World Day of Music
June 22: National HVAC Tech Day
June 26: National Beautician’s Day
June 28: Insurance Awareness Day
July 1: International Joke Day
July 4: Independence Day
July 6: National Air Traffic Control Day
July 6: National Fried Chicken Day
July 7: World Chocolate Day
July 8: National Video Game Day
July 11: National Swimming Pool Day
July 17: National Ice Cream Day
July 24: International Self-Care Day
July 25: National Hire a Veteran Day
July 25: National Intern Day
July 26: Disability Independence Day
July 26: Olympics Start
July 30: International Day of Friendship
All Month: Black Business Month
All Month: Back to school
August 4: International Beer Day
August 8: International Cat Day
August 14: National Financial Awareness Day
August 15: Relaxation Day
August 19: World Photography Day
August 21: Senior Citizen’s Day
August 26: National Dog Day
August 28: Paralympics Start
August 30: National Grief Awareness Day
August 31: National Eat Outside Day
September 2: Labor Day
September 8: National Grandparents Day
September 10: Suicide Prevention Day
September 11: Patriot Day
September 15: Hispanic Heritage Month begins
September 16: National Dance Day
September 17: Constitution Day
September 21: International Day of Peace
September 21: Oktoberfest Starts
September 21: World Alzheimer’s Day
September 22: First Day of Fall
September 23: National Singles Day
September 23: National Hunting and Fishing Day
September 26: National Family Day
September 27: National Women’s Health and Fitness Day
September 29: National Coffee Day
October 1: International Coffee Day
October 1: World Vegetarian Day
October 2: Rosh Hashanah Begins
October 3: Navaratri
October 4: Rosh Hashanah Ends
October 5: National Do Something Nice Day
October 5: World Teachers’ Day
October 10: World Mental Health Day
October 11: National Coming Out Day
October 11: Yom Kippur Begins
October 12: Yom Kippur Ends
October 15: Hispanic Heritage Month ends
October 17: National Pasta Day
October 26: National Pumpkin Day
October 29: National Cat Day
October 31: Halloween
All Month: Movember/No Shave November
All Month: Diabetes Awareness Month
All Month: National Gratitude Month
November 1: Día de los Muertos
November 3: Daylight Savings Ends
November 5: Election Day
November 11: Veteran’s Day
November 11: Diwali
November 13: World Kindness Day
November 14: World Diabetes Day
November 16: International Day for Tolerance
November 17: National Take a Hike Day
November 19: National Entrepreneurs Day
November 28: Thanksgiving
November 29: Black Friday
November 30: Small Business Saturday
December 2: Cyber Monday
December 3: Giving Tuesday
December 3: International Day for People with Disabilities
December 4: National Cookie Day
December 5: International Volunteer Day
December 15: Hanukkah Begins
December 21: Start of Winter
December 24: Christmas Eve
December 25: Christmas
December 26: Boxing Day
December 26: Kwanzaa Begins
December 31: New Year’s Eve
If you’re looking for ways to incorporate video into your marketing, holidays are a good way to get started. There’s plenty of time to plan, and there are lots of ways to celebrate with video. To get you going, we’ve put together a list of six types of videos you can use to fill out your holiday content calendar.
Motion catches the eye. And if you’re looking to draw attention to your latest promo or giveaway, using a video can help. For instance, Mustang Cat had a 12 Days of Christmas giveaway they promoted with a short animated video each day of the event.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=904701151213629&ref=sharing
If you have a product that relates directly to the holiday, you can use a quick ad to promote your company. Take this video, where Honey Baked Ham offers a simple, effective advertisement associating their product with Thanksgiving.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=705951434984215&ref=sharing
For holidays like Employee Appreciation Day or National Hire a Veteran Day, look to your employees for inspiration. For example, Murphy Tractor & Equipment Co. Inc. honored the women who work with them in this International Women’s Day video.
Sometimes you don’t have to get too involved to celebrate a holiday. An animated graphic or short video can let you celebrate with your customers without spending a ton of time planning. Take a look at United Rentals’ Independence Day graphic to see what we mean.
https://www.facebook.com/UnitedRentals/videos/1077341306573740
Some holidays tie directly into the way you do business, relating to health (Diabetes Awareness Month), ecology (Earth Day), or inclusion (Black History Month). In the video below, Keyla Cabret-Lewis, Aflac’s Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day by sharing their commitment to an inclusive workplace.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2HztJMMbB5/?igsh=YnhjYnI3emtkbjB1
Tutorials are some of the most popular content out there. Social media users have an almost limitless appetite for it. So if you can, post content that teaches your audience something – preferably using your product. Think recipes, crafts, DIY projects, and anything that’ll make your audience connect with your content and want to come back for more.
In the whirlwind of digital marketing, nailing holiday content planning is key for a successful strategy. By tapping into national celebrations and quirky social media holidays, you can boost engagement and make your brand shine. Remember to plan ahead, set aside time for content creation, and stay true to your brand's vibe. Whether you're crafting a simple holiday greeting or sharing a how-to tutorial, keep it fun and authentic. With the right mix of creativity and planning, your holiday campaigns will sparkle and leave your audience craving more.
By the way, if you want an assist with creating all that captivating holiday content, get in touch! AdPipe can help you with end-to-end video planning using content you already have. Schedule a demo, and we’ll show you how AdPipe can help you create better content faster.
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