Do you celebrate International Cat Day, Pizza Day, or Talk Like a Pirate Day?
There are so many observance days worldwide that we, as marketers, can use to share content relevant to our industries. But odds are, you probably don’t acknowledge these days until you see your favorite brand posting about it.
That‘s why I’ve compiled a list of social media observances for your marketing holiday calendar in 2024 — so you don’t have to.
Table of Contents
- Why use a marketing holiday calendar?
- Downloadable Social Media Holiday Calendar
- Rolling Social Media Holidays
- National & Global Social Media Holidays: 2024
- Tips for Using Marketing Holidays on Social Media
- Examples of Social Media Holiday Posts
Why use a marketing holiday calendar?
A marketing holiday calendar can help you plan for trending social media holidays, and identify the observances that are most relevant to your brand.
For example, you can find opportunities to connect with new and existing followers who share an affinity for a specific food — like popcorn lovers on Popcorn Lover’s Day in March.
Or you can tap into a common interest — such as Super Bowl Sunday for the football fans in your target audience.
While I don’t suggest sharing content on social media and then adding an irrelevant holiday hashtag to it, you can leverage these marketing holidays to promote your brand in a meaningful way.
Not doing so could cause you to miss valuable opportunities where your brand can join the conversations taking place among members of your community.
Downloadable Social Media Holiday Calendar
To help you keep track of all these unique holidays, here’s a free Social Media Holiday Calendar.
This easy-to-use Excel template will help you plan out your content and format it for different channels like Facebook, LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and Pinterest.
Use the Above Template to Plan Out Your Social Media Holiday Posts
First up, I‘ll cover the social media holidays that will roll around every year but can drastically change dates. The following holidays don’t have the same date each year — but they’re absolutely worth adding to your social media calendar.
- January
- February
- March
- April
- May
- June
- July
- August (see August 2024 Social Media Holidays)
- September
- October
- November
- December
January
- Clean Off Your Desk Day #CleanOffYourDeskDay: Second Monday of January
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day #MLKDay: Third Monday of January
- Get to Know Your Customers Day #GetToKnowYourCustomersDay: Third Thursday of Every Quarter (starting in January)
- Community Manager Appreciation Day #CMAD: Fourth Monday of January
February
- Chinese New Year #ChineseNewYear: First Two Weeks of February (Varies Each Year)
- Safer Internet Day #SID2024: First Tuesday of February
- Super Bowl Sunday #SBLVIII #SuperBowlSunday #SuperBowl: Second Sunday in February
- Presidents Day #PresidentsDay: Third Monday of February
- Mardi Gras #MardiGras: Last Week of February – First Week of March (Varies Each Year)
March
- National Employee Appreciation Day #EmployeeAppreciationDay: First Friday of March
- National Day of Unplugging #NationalDayOfUnplugging: First Friday of March
- Popcorn Lover’s Day #PopcornLoversDay: Second Thursday of March
- Daylight Savings #DaylightSavings: Second Sunday of March
- National Napping Day #NationalNappingDay: The Day after Daylight Savings
- Equal Pay Day #EqualPayDay: Varies Between March and November Each Year
- World Sleep Day #WorldSleepDay: The Friday Before Spring Vernal Equinox
- American Diabetes Association Alert Day #AmericanDiabetesAssociationAlertDay: Fourth Tuesday of March
- Earth Hour Day #EarthHour: Last Saturday of March
April
- National High-Five Day #NH5D: Third Thursday of April
- Get to Know Your Customers Day #GetToKnowYourCustomersDay: Third Thursday of Every Quarter (April)
- Denim Day #DenimDay: Last Wednesday in April
- National Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day #COUNTONME: Fourth Thursday in April
- Arbor Day #ArborDay: Last Friday in April (May Vary by State)
May
- World Asthma Day #WorldAsthmaDay: First Tuesday of May
- National Teacher Appreciation Day #ThankATeacher: First Tuesday of the First Full Week of May
- World Password Day #WorldPasswordDay: First Thursday of May
- Space Day #SpaceDay: First Friday of May
- Mother’s Day #MothersDay: Second Sunday of May
- National Receptionist Day #NationalReceptionistDay: Second Wednesday of May
- National Bike to Work Day #BTWD: Third Friday of May
- Endangered Species Day #EndangeredSpeciesDay: Third Friday of May
- National Red Nose Day #RedNoseDay: Last Thursday of May
- Heat Awareness Day #NoFryDay: Last Friday of May
- Memorial Day #MemorialDay #MDW: Last Monday of May
June
- National Donut Day #NationalDonutDay: First Friday of June
- National Cancer Survivors Day #NCSD2024: First Sunday of June
- International Children’s Day #ChildrensDay: Second Sunday of June
- Father’s Day #FathersDay: Third Sunday of June
- Take Your Dog to Work Day #TakeYourDogToWorkDay: First Friday after Juneteenth
- National Handshake Day #HandshakeDay: Last Thursday of June
July
- Get to Know Your Customers Day #GetToKnowYourCustomersDay: Third Thursday of Every Quarter (July)
- Talk in an Elevator Day #TalkInAnElevatorDay: Last Friday of July
September
- Labor Day #LaborDay: First Monday of September
- Stand Up To Cancer Day #KissCancerGoodbye: Second Friday of September
- National Grandparents Day #NationalGrandparentsDay: First Sunday After Labor Day
- National Women’s Health and Fitness Day #FitnessDay: Last Wednesday of September
October
- World Habitat Day #WorldHabitatDay: First Monday of October
- World Smile Day #WorldSmileDay: First Friday of October
- World Sight Day #WorldSightDay: Second Thursday of October
- Get to Know Your Customers Day #GetToKnowYourCustomersDay: Third Thursday of Every Quarter (October)
November
- National Stress Awareness Day #StressAwarenessDay: First Wednesday of November
- Daylight Saving Time Ends #DaylightSavings: First Sunday of November
- National Entrepreneurs Day #EntrepreneursDay: Third Tuesday of November
- Thanksgiving Day #Thanksgiving: Fourth Thursday of November
- National Day of Listening #DayOfListening: The Day After Thanksgiving
- Small Business Saturday #ShopSmall: Last Saturday of November
December
- National Salesperson Day #SalespersonDay: Second Friday of December
National & Global Social Media Holidays: 2024
The list isn’t exhaustive (there are a lot of food-specific holidays out there), and these dates and hashtags may still be subject to change.
But this is a great starting point for social media marketers who want to learn more about what’s trending and how they can plan their content in a way that will be fun and engaging on social platforms.
- January 2024 Social Media Holidays
- February 2024 Social Media Holidays
- March 2024 Social Media Holidays
- April 2024 Social Media Holidays
- May 2024 Social Media Holidays
- June 2024 Social Media Holidays
- July 2024 Social Media Holidays
- August 2024 Social Media Holidays
- September 2024 Social Media Holidays
- October 2024 Social Media Holidays
- November 2024 Social Media Holidays
- December 2024 Social Media Holidays
January 2024 Social Media Holidays
- January: Financial Wellness Month #FinancialWellnessMonth
- January 1: New Year’s Day #NewYearsDay
- January 2: Science Fiction Day #ScienceFictionDay
- January 4: National Trivia Day #NationalTriviaDay
- January 5: National Bird Day #NationalBirdDay
- January 11: Human Trafficking Awareness Day #HumanTraffickingDay
- January 13: National Sticker Day #NationalStickerDay
- January 15: National Hat Day #NationalHatDay
- January 20: Cheese Lovers Day #CheeseLoversDay
- January 21: National Hugging Day #NationalHuggingDay
- January 24: National Compliment Day #NationalComplimentDay
- January 25: Opposite Day #OppositeDay
- January 28: Data Privacy Day #PrivacyAware
February 2024 Social Media Holidays
- February: Black History Month #BlackHistoryMonth
- February 2: Groundhog Day #GroundhogDay
- February 2: World Wetlands Day #WorldWetlandsDay
- February 4: World Cancer Day #WorldCancerDay
- February 5: National Weatherperson’s Day #NationalWeatherpersonsDay
- February 7: National Send a Card to a Friend Day #SendACardToAFriendDay
- February 8: National Boy Scouts Day #BoyScoutsDay
- February 9: National Pizza Day #NationalPizzaDay
- February 11: Inventors Day #InventorsDay
- February 13: World Radio Day #WorldRadioDay
- February 14: Valentine’s Day #ValentinesDay
- February 17: Random Acts of Kindness Day #RandomActsOfKindnessDay
- February 18: National Battery Day #NationalBatteryDay
- February 20: World Day of Social Justice #SocialJusticeDay
- February 20: Love Your Pet Day #LoveYourPetDay
- February 21: International Mother Language Day #IMLD
March 2024 Social Media Holidays
- March: Women’s History Month #WomensHistoryMonth
- March 2: National Read Across America Day #ReadAcrossAmerica & #DrSeuss
- March 3: World Wildlife Day #WorldWildlifeDay
- March 4: National Grammar Day #NationalGrammarDay
- March 6: National Dentist’s Day #DentistsDay
- March 7: National Be Heard Day #NationalBeHeardDay
- March 7: National Cereal Day #NationalCerealDay
- March 8: International Women’s Day #BeBoldForChange
- March 8: National Proofreading Day #NationalProofreadingDay
- March 10: National Pack Your Lunch Day #NationalPackYourLunchDay
- March 10: National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day #NWGHAAD
- March 11: National Worship of Tools Day #WorshipOfToolsDay
- March 12: National Girl Scout Day #GirlScoutDay
- March 14: Potato Chip Day #NationalPotatoChipDay
- March 14: Pi Day #PiDay (To go the extra mile, post this at 1:59, as Pi equals 3.14159…)
- March 15: World Consumer Rights Day #WorldConsumerRightsDay
- March 16: National Freedom of Information Day #FreedomOfInformationDay
- March 17: St. Patrick’s Day #StPatricksDay
- March 18: Awkward Moments Day #NationalAwkwardMomentsDay
- March 19: National Let’s Laugh Day #NationalLetsLaughDay
- March 20: International Day of Happiness #InternationalDayofHappiness
- March 20: World Storytelling Day #WorldStorytellingDay
- March 20: First Day of Spring #FirstDayofSpring
- March 21: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination #RacialDiscriminationDay
- March 21: World Poetry Day #WorldPoetryDay
- March 22: World Water Day #WorldWaterDay
- March 23: National Puppy Day #NationalPuppyDay
- March 25: Tolkien Reading Day #TolkienReadingDay
- March 26: National Spinach Day #NationalSpinachDay
- March 26: Purple Day #PurpleDay
- March 30: Doctor’s Day #NationalDoctorsDay
- March 30: National Take a Walk in the Park Day #NationalWalkInTheParkDay
- March 31: World Backup Day #WorldBackupDay
- March 31: Transgender Day of Visibility #TDOV
April 2024 Social Media Holidays
- April: National Stress Awareness Month #NationalStressAwarenessMonth
- April 1: April Fools Day #AprilFools
- April 2: World Autism Awareness Day #WAAD
- April 3: Find a Rainbow Day #FindARainbowDay
- April 4: Hug a Newsperson Day #HugANewsperson
- April 6: National Walking Day #NationalWalkingDay
- April 7: World Health Day #LetsTalk
- April 10: National Siblings Day #NationalSiblingsDay
- April 10: Encourage a Young Writer Day #EncourageAYoungWriterDay
- April 11: National Pet Day #NationalPetDay
- April 12: International Day of Human Space Flight #InternationalDayOfHumanSpaceFlight
- April 15: National Tax Day #TaxDay
- April 16: National Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day #PJDay
- April 17: Haiku Poetry Day #HaikuPoetryDay
- April 18: National Columnists’ Day #NationalColumnistDay
- April 20: National Look-Alike Day #NationalLookAlikeDay
- April 21: National Administrative Professionals Day #AdministrativeProfessionalsDay
- April 22: Earth Day #EarthDay2024
- April 23: National Picnic Day #NationalPicnicDay
- April 23: World Book Day #WorldBookDay
- April 25: National Telephone Day #NationalTelephoneDay
- April 25: World Malaria Day #EndMalariaForGood
- April 29: International Dance Day #InternationalDanceDay
- April 30: National Honesty Day #NationalHonestyDay
- April 30: National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day #AdoptAShelterPetDay
- April 30: International Jazz Day #JazzDay
May 2024 Social Media Holidays
— Monica Burns #EdTech #Education (@ClassTechTips) May 8, 2024
- May: Asian Heritage Month #AsianHeritageMonth
- May: Mental Health Awareness Month #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth #MHAM2024
- May 1: May Day #MayDay
- May 1: International Workers Day #IntWorkersDay
- May 3: World Press Freedom Day #WPFD2024 #PressFreedom
- May 4: Star Wars Day #StarWarsDay & #Maythe4thBeWithYou
- May 4: International Firefighters Day #InternationalFirefightersDay
- May 5: Cinco de Mayo #CincoDeMayo
- May 6: National Nurses Day #NursesDay
- May 9: Europe Day #EuropeDay
- May 12: National Limerick Day #NationalLimerickDay
- May 15: International Day of Families #FamilyDay
- May 16: Love a Tree Day #LoveATreeDay
- May 17: International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia #IDAHOT2024
- May 21: National Memo Day #NationalMemoDay
- May 24: National Scavenger Hunt Day #NationalScavengerHuntDay
- May 28: Hamburger Day #NationalHamburgerDay
- May 29: Paperclip Day #PaperclipDay
- May 31: World No-Tobacco Day #NoTobacco
June 2024 Social Media Holidays
- June: Pride Month #PrideMonth
- June: Men’s Health Month #MensHealthMonth
- June 1: Global Day of Parents #GlobalDayOfParents
- June 5: World Environment Day #WorldEnvironmentDay
- June 6: Higher Education Day #HigherEducationDay
- June 8: World Oceans Day #WorldOceansDay
- June 8: Best Friends Day #BestFriendsDay
- June 14: World Blood Donor Day #GiveBlood
- June 14: National Flag Day #FlagDay
- June 19: Juneteenth (Freedom Day) #Juneteenth
- June 20: World Refugee Day #WithRefugees
- June 20, 21, or 22 (Depending on the Year): First Day of Summer #FirstDayofSummer
- June 21: National Selfie Day #NationalSelfieDay
- June 21: World Music Day #WorldMusicDay
- June 21: International Yoga Day #InternationalYogaDay
- June 27: National Sunglasses Day #NationalSunglassesDay
- June 30: Social Media Day #SMDay
July 2024 Social Media Holidays
🛸🌍 Yesterday, we celebrated the #WorldUFODay!
We’re curious, does anyone in the #UFOARMY have some wild UFO stories to share?
👽🖖Don’t hold back. The more out-of-this-world, the better.
Let’s hear about those close encounters… pic.twitter.com/LV2WZf8iK5
— UFO Gaming (@TheUFOtoken) July 3, 2023
- July: Disability Pride Month #DisabilityPrideMonth
- July: National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month #MinorityMentalHealthMonth
- July 1: National Postal Worker Day #NationalPostalWorkerDay
- July 2: World UFO Day #WorldUFODay
- July 4: Independence Day (United States)
- July 7: World Chocolate Day #WorldChocolateDay
- July 8: National Video Games Day #NationalVideoGamesDay
- July 11: Cheer Up the Lonely Day #CheerUpTheLonelyDay
- July 12: Malala Day #MalalaDay
- July 15: Give Something Away Day #GiveSomethingAwayDay
- July 17: World Emoji Day #WorldEmojiDay
- July 18: Nelson Mandela International Day #MandelaDay
- July 30: International Day of Friendship #DayOfFriendship
August 2024 Social Media Holidays
- August: Black Business Month #BlackBusinessMonth
- August: National Wellness Month #NationalWellnessMonth
- August 1: Respect for Parents Day #RespectForParentsDay
- August 2: National Coloring Book Day #NationalColoringBookDay
- August 8: International Cat Day #InternationalCatDay
- August 9: National Book Lovers Day #NationalBookLoversDay
- August 10: National Lazy Day #LazyDay
- August 11: National Sons and Daughters Day #SonsAndDaughtersDay
- August 12: International Youth Day #YouthDay
- August 12: World Elephant Day #WorldElephantDay
- August 13: International Lefthanders Day #LefthandersDay
- August 15: National Relaxation Day #NationalRelaxationDay
- August 16: National Tell a Joke Day #NationalTellAJokeDay
- August 19: World Photo Day #WorldPhotoDay
- August 19: World Humanitarian Day #WorldHumanitarianDay
- August 20: National Lemonade Day #NationalLemonadeDay
- August 26: National Dog Day #NationalDogDay
- August 26: National Women’s Equality Day #WomensEqualityDay
September 2024 Social Media Holidays
- September: Self–Care Awareness Month #SelfCareAwarenessMonth
- September 4: National Wildlife Day #NationalWildlifeDay
- September 5: International Day of Charity #CharityDay
- September 6: Read a Book Day #ReadABookDay
- September 8: International Literacy Day #LiteracyDay
- September 11: National Day of Service and Remembrance #911Day
- September 12: National Day of Encouragement #DayOfEncouragement
- September 15 – October 15: Histrongic Heritage Month #histrongicheritagemonth
- September 18: Civic Day of Hacking #HackForChange
- September 19: Talk Like a Pirate Day #TalkLikeAPirateDay
- September 21: International Day of Peace #PeaceDay
- September 21: Miniature Golf Day #MiniGolfDay
- September 22: Car-Free Day #CarFreeDay
- September 22: Hobbit Day #HobbitDay
- September 22 or 23 (Depending on the Year): First Day of Fall #FirstDayofFall
- September 26: National Pancake Day #NationalPancakeDay
- September 26: European Day of Languages #EDL2024
- September 27: World Tourism Day #WTD2024
- September 28: World Rabies Day #WorldRabiesDay
- September 28: National Good Neighbor Day #GoodNeighborDay
- September 30: International Podcast Day #InternationalPodcastDay
October 2024 Social Media Holidays
- October: Cybersecurity Awareness Month #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth
- October: National Bullying Awareness Month #NationalBullyingAwarenessMonth
- October: Domestic Violence Awareness Month #DVAM
- October 1: International Day of Older Persons #UNDOP
- October 1: International Coffee Day #InternationalCoffeeDay
- October 1: World Vegetarian Day #WorldVegetarianDay
- October 2: International Day of Nonviolence #InternationalDayOfNonviolence
- October 3: National Techies Day #TechiesDay
- October 4: World Animal Day #WorldAnimalDay
- October 4: National Taco Day #NationalTacoDay
- October 5: World Teachers Day #WorldTeachersDay
- October 10: World Mental Health Day #WorldMentalHeathDay
- October 11: International Day of the Girl #DayOfTheGirl
- October 14: National Dessert Day #DessertDay
- October 15: Global Handwashing Day #GlobalHandwashingDay
- October 16: World Food Day #FoodDay
- October 16: Bosses Day #BossesDay
- October 17: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty #EndPoverty
- October 20: World Statistics Day (Held every 5 years; it will next be celebrated in 2025) #StatisticsDay
- October 21: Reptile Awareness Day #ReptileAwarenessDay
- October 24: United Nations Day #UNDay
- October 25: Greasy Foods Day #GreasyFoodsDay
- October 30: National Publicist Day #NationalPublicistDay
- October 30: Checklist Day #ChecklistDay
- October 31: Halloween #Halloween
November 2024 Social Media Holidays
- November: National Novel Writing Month #NaNoWriMo
- November 1: National Authors Day #NationalAuthorsDay
- November 1: World Vegan Day #WorldVeganDay
- November 1: National Cook For Your Pets Day #CookForYourPetsDay
- November 3: National Sandwich Day #NationalSandwichDay
- November 4: National Candy Day #NationalCandyDay
- November 8: National Cappuccino Day #CappuccinoDay
- November 8: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Medicine (STEM) Day #STEMDay
- November 11: Veterans Day #VeteransDay
- November 13: World Kindness Day #WKD
- November 14: World Diabetes Day #WDD
- November 15: Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day #CleanOutYourRefrigeratorDay
- November 15: America Recycles Day #BeRecycled
- November 16: International Day for Tolerance #ToleranceDay
- November 17: International Students Day #InternationalStudentsDay
- November 19: International Men’s Day #InternationalMensDay
- November 20: Universal Children’s Day #UNChildrensDay
- November 21: World Hello Day #WorldHelloDay
- November 26: National Cake Day #NationalCakeDay
- November 29: Electronic Greeting Card Day #ElectronicGreetingCardDay
- November 30: Computer Security Day #ComputerSecurityDay
December 2024 Social Media Holidays
It’s the BEST holiday — #NationalCookieDay! 🎉
Thank you to our Crumbl Family, who have let our cookies be a special part of your life for the past 4+ years. 🥳
We want to hear your all-time FAVORITE Crumbl cookie! 🍪 We’ll send 10 of the most descriptive replies a cookie. 👇 pic.twitter.com/KpdnE9j4g4
— Crumbl Cookies (@CrumblCookies) December 4, 2021
- December: National Learn a Foreign Language Month #ForeignLanguageMonth
- December 1: World AIDS Day #WAD2024
- December 3: International Day of Persons with Disabilities #IDPWD
- December 4: National Cookie Day #NationalCookieDay
- December 5: World Soil Day #WorldSoilDay
- December 6: Microwave Oven Day #MicrowaveOvenDay
- December 8: Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day #PretendToBeATimeTravelerDay
- December 10: Human Rights Day #HumanRightsDay
- December 10: Nobel Prize Day #NobelPrize
- December 11: International Mountain Day #InternationalMountainDay
- December 21: Crossword Puzzle Day #CrosswordPuzzleDay
- December 20, 21, or 23 (Depending on the Year): First Day of Winter #WinterSolstice
- December 27: No Interruptions Day #NoInterruptionsDay
- December 31: New Year’s Eve #NYE
Tips for Using Marketing Holidays on Social Media
1. Prioritize your holidays in advance.
As I mentioned above, the goal isn’t to participate in every social media holiday out there. You’ll want to choose the observances that make the most sense for you and your brand.
Create a list at the start of each month — or better yet, each year — of the holidays you’ll be creating content for. This will make it a lot easier to work this strategy into your content calendar.
And try to spread the love throughout the different months of the year. That way you can capitalize on seasonal trends, too.
2. Keep your audience segments in mind.
It‘s possible that all of the people who interact with your business won’t care about all of the holidays you decide to post about.
That‘s why it’s important to make a thoughtful decision about which observances and conversations you choose to join on social media.
Use insights from your buyer personas to tap into the holidays that align most closely with the interests of your audience.
3. Track the success of your marketing holiday calendar.
As a marketer, I like to try a bunch of different tactics to see what sticks.
I‘d recommend doing that with social media holidays. Especially if this is the first time you’re considering building our a promotion calendar based on observances.
Here’s what that might look like:
- Over the course of a year, you could pick a few observances each month to join in on social media.
- Then, track key metrics like impressions and engagements to see which holidays are getting the most traction for your business.
- And finally, use those insights to inform your social media holiday participation for the next year.
Also, don‘t be afraid to peek at what other brands are doing for inspiration. It’s amazing what goes viral these days.
Examples of Social Media Holiday Posts
Speaking of inspo, are you ready to get inspired? Check out some of my favorite examples of social media holiday posts below.
1. December Holidays — HubSpot
Image Source
In this post from HubSpot’s very own social media team, we created a holiday gift guide for marketers.
Of course, this is one of our buyer personas and also a group of people we very much love (we create software products just for them, after all! Shout out to Marketing Hub).
This is one example of how you can make a social media holiday post relevant to your target audience while integrating light humor.
2. Valentine’s Day — Afterlight Books
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Afterlight Books is a romance book box subscription service that hit the nail on the head with their Valentine’s week campaign.
You read that right — they turned a social media holiday into a social media week.
Not only is that delightful for their loyal subscribers, but it also capitalizes on one of their main selling points. All of their books are romantic, so it makes sense to make a big deal out of the most romantic holiday of the year!
If your product or business aligns with a specific holiday, feel free to go all out on your campaign.
3. Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month — Spotify
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For Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Spotify featured a diverse panel of artists who are of Asian and Pacific Islander descent.
In the spirit of the holiday, the brand also asked each artist why representation matters to them, which not only uplifts API voices but also honors what heritage months are all about.
Whenever you make a social media holiday post, consider tying the content you’re publishing very closely with the essence of the holiday.
4. Mother’s Day — Mark and Fold
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Stationery brand Mark + Fold kept it simple with this Mother’s Day post, which reminds their followers to order a lasting gift for the wonderful mothers they know.
This post features minimal photography and embodies the brand’s professional, polished tone (with a bit of sass, of course).
It’s a great example of how to keep it simple — no need to go over the top, especially if your brand is more understated in nature.
5. First Day of Summer — Brown University
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If you’re looking for an example of a no-fuss social media holiday post, look no further than this example from a university.
It celebrates the first day of summer, which for most students means a welcome break from school. To encapsulate that spirit, it includes an image of an empty, peaceful, and quiet green (which is, in fact, called the Quiet Green).
With a brief Instagram caption and a dedicated branded hashtag, this social media holiday post is both effective and simple, and absolutely worth imitating if you’re not sure what to post next but know that another holiday is coming up.
6. Halloween — Meta
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For its Halloween post, Meta published a reel titled “Haunted House: Trick-VR–Treat,” which effectively advertises its VR headset product.
It also encapsulates the spooky spirit of the holiday by inviting viewers to join them in a virtual haunted house created by Eli Roth. This is an excellent example of how to tie a holiday post into an experiential marketing campaign.
7. December Holidays — JetPens
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Let’s be honest: December is chock-full of social media holiday opportunities, so it warrants a second example on this list.
JetPens, an online stationery store, delighted its followers with a gift wrapping tutorial (which is just about the hardest thing to do) featuring a few of its stationery items. What a win!
The brand both advertised its products and provided useful information to its followers. Consider taking a similar approach with your posts, where you both honor the holiday and help out your viewers.
8. National Pink Day — Crumbl Cookies
Image Source
Crumbl Cookies won the social media holiday game with this post about National Pink Day. Its brand color is pink, so it created a giveaway campaign to celebrate the holiday and invited their followers to tag others for a chance to win.
This is a great example to follow if your brand colors align with any one of the national color holidays.
Just remember that many of those holidays are aligned with a specific cause.
For instance, Purple Day (March 26th) is designed to raise awareness about epilepsy, while National Dress in Blue Day (first Friday in March) aims to raise knowledge about colon cancer.
Social Media Holidays Will Help You Grow Your Brand
Partaking in social media holidays will help you create a stronger brand voice and share posts about trending topics, helping you earn more followers in the long run.
While it’s not important to celebrate every single social media holiday, being aware of the holidays can help you brainstorm ideas for your marketing and implement fun, themed posts into your social media content calendar.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in January 2017 but is updated annually for comprehensiveness.