Keeping Up with the National Calendar
As anyone who knows me can attest — I live and die by my calendar. And as if that’s not enough to keep up with, now there’s #NationalSiblingDay (to my brothers, if you’re reading this, so sorry I forgot to shout you out), #NationalPetDay (to my dog, if you’re reading this … we should talk), #NationalDonutDay, #NationalBubbleTeaDay and so. many. more.
Well, today is National Stress Awareness Day (surprise!), and in case keeping up with all of this for your social media content calendar is giving you a headache, I’m here to help.
WHY IT MATTERS
Topical events and holidays are an opportunity to increase brand exposure and engage with your social media community. Plus, it allows you to go beyond your usual posts and showcase your brand’s personality, diversify your content and enter a larger conversation.
HOW IT WORKS
But you can’t just enter into any conversation. It still requires an intentional strategy that’s relevant to your brand. Hopping onto every hashtag holiday is annoying at best, and shows signs of desperation and a weak social media strategy at worst.
“There are chances that 51% of people would unfollow brands on social media if they post irritating content.”
Now I’m not sure how SMT defines “irritating” but according to the tweets above, too many posts about national days is a strong contender.
However, done right, it opens the doors for conversation and inspires authentic engagement with your audience. Because yes, there is practically a day for everything on the national calendar. And what better way to celebrate National Education and Sharing Day (April 15) than with my go-to resources.
NATIONAL DAY CALENDAR
According to their website, the National Day Calendar is “the authoritative source for fun, unusual and unique National Days.” Their navigation also allows you to see international days, register a national day, view today, tomorrow and the calendar at a glance. They also have a daily update subscription option to keep you in the loop, right in your inbox.
PLANOLY
In case Planoly is new to you, it’s a visual planner for Instagram — the first, it proudly boasts. And to complement their service, they have a blog chock full of resources, such as tutorials, best practices, inspiration and my personal favorite — downloadables.
From templates and guides to checklists and worksheets, their downloadable offerings are robust. But what I find myself on the lookout for are the quarterly content calendars, broken down by month. Plus, they’re super cute and include a mobile and printable calendar.
SPROUT SOCIAL
Sprout is a social media management tool — also offering a robust blog of resources (not as cute, though). Every year, they release their Hashtag Holidays calendar, which includes the trending holidays to look out for and keep on your radar. They also include the most used hashtag* for that holiday so you can ensure you’re shooting your best shot.
(*This is different depending upon platform. #NationalDoughnutDay may be more popular on Twitter, but #NationalDonutDay definitely wins Instagram).
SENDIBLE
Sendible is also a social media management tool, and their calendar is a recent addition to my social media manager toolbox. My boss lobbed this one my way just this week, and it’s a solid assist. 🙌🏾 Similar to Sprout, they provide an annual calendar of hashtag holidays for the US as well as the UK.
HubSpot is an “inbound marketing, sales, and service software that helps companies attract visitors, convert leads, and close customers.” Whether it’s their blog, incredibly active social media pages or trainings, if you’re in the marketing field, I’m sure you’ve come across this powerhouse at least once. Naturally, they also offer a social media holiday calendar.
And while these resources focus on nationwide celebrations, I recommend looking into holidays at the state and local level as well for any that may be relevant to your brand and social media strategy.
Are there large annual events in your area? Traditions or anniversaries? Throw those on your calendar as well. Anything that not only taps into existing communities, but also helps you build your own.
TIPS
Choose whichever is most well-known. National Clean Up Your Room Day? Yikes. Whether you’re a parent desperately trying to recruit your kids for spring cleaning or an hotelier trying to shout out your housekeeping staff, this is a reach. Personally, I’ve never heard of it, and I don’t recall it ever reaching a trending status on Twitter. Not that my familiarity with the day is the measuring stick here, but something to consider.
Choose whichever is most relevant. Look — we only have 365 days a year, and if we’re lucky, 366. There are a lot more national days than that, and I’m sure more are on the way, so naturally some will overlap. Which do you go with? Whichever is most relevant — to your brand and to your audience.
For example, the summer solstice (i.e., First Day of Summer) and National Selfie Day both fall on June 21. You could focus on National Selfie Day if you’re running a social media campaign, trying to increase user-generated content from your audience, or if you have a photography related product.
Or you could focus on the First Day of Summer if one of your products are sprinklers or you’re in the travel and tourism industry. Or you could combine them, and ask your audience to celebrate the first day of summer with a selfie. Just be sure that your content aligns with your audience, or else you’ll start creeping into the “irritating” threshold we’re all trying to avoid.