8 Quick Tips for Mastering Social Media Holidays

Sure, you’ve heard of Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Fourth of July — but did you know that there’s a whole world of other holidays out there just waiting to be celebrated?

That’s right! A social media holiday is a mini holiday centered around a person or a group of people, animal, idea, hobby, food, activity, trend, and so much more. We’re not just talking about Hanukkah and Christmas, we’re talking Star Wars Day, National Beer Day, World Vegetarian Day, National Relaxation Day, and even things like Microwave Oven Day.

Posting on your social media accounts during these holidays is a super great way to increase audience engagement and interaction, grow your follower count, get more eyes on your posts, and have a little fun in the process.

In the remainder of this blog, we’ll cover a couple tips about how to master posting on social media holidays, some best practices as well as how to choose social media marketing agency.

Tip No. 1: Know Your Audience

Before you get started on drawing more engagement and interaction from your audience, you first must understand the types of things that will resonate with said audience, like the trends they follow, what their hobbies and interests are, and more.

For best results, check out this blog from Hubspot: The Ultimate Social Media Holiday Calendar for 2021. Next, create a list of holidays that you believe will resonate with your audience to return to over time.

If you aren’t 100 percent sure, it’s always a good idea to test some posts out and see which types of content and holidays do best. Remember: In the digital-marketing world, testing things out and tracking your data is always your best friend.

Tip No. 2: Don’t Post for Every Holiday

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of social media holidays out there. In fact, there’s at least one almost every day of the year, and if you post for all of them, you’ll overwhelm yourself, your feed, and your audience.

In addition, some of them are a bit silly (like Talk Like a Pirate Day and Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day) and might be a little out of pocket depending on the type of business you run.

For best results, post only during the ones that resonate with you, your brand, and your audience. Don’t go out of your way to try and post for a particular holiday if it just doesn’t match up — luckily, there are tons out there for you to pull from, so this shouldn’t be too hard.

Tip No. 3: Tie In Related Promotions When You Can

It’s definitely not a good idea to try and tie a promotion into every single one of your posts, but for the times when you can do so naturally, it’s the best idea ever!

For example, let’s say for just a moment that you’re the owner of a local burger joint. You likely wouldn’t want to run a promotion that goes something like, “In honor of World Vegetarian Day, we’re offering 5 percent off all our burgers!” But when National Burger Day rolls around, that’s the perfect promotion to run!

As a rule of thumb, only try to tie in promotions when it seems natural, fluid, and relevant. That does give you some wiggle room to have some fun and be playful, however — for example, World Vegetarian Day might be the perfect time to announce your newest burger: the Impossible Beef Burger!

Tip No. 4: Always Use the Accompanying Hashtag

Of course, if you’re looking to get more eyes on your posts, you’ll always want to make sure you incorporate the accompanying hashtag: #NationalBeerDay, for example.

Bonus tip: Take some time to peruse what others have posted under these hashtags for future content ideas!

Tip No. 5: Use the Right Platform

Depending on where your audience is located, you’ll want to make sure your posts go out on all the right platforms so they reach their full potential.

So yes, definitely share it on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but maybe stay away from LinkedIn unless it’s super related to your business, as the content on that platform tends to be a bit more professional.

In addition, you can also turn to platforms like TikTok and Pinterest when applicable.

Tip No. 6: Check Out What Your Competitors Are Doing

You know the saying, “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer?”

The same goes for your competitors! 

Competitors are not our enemies but rather are fellow peers we can learn from. Take advantage of this, and take the time to check out what they’re doing on their social media platforms — who knows what you’ll learn!

Tip No. 7: Ask Your Followers to Play Along

You like it when your followers engage with you, and your followers like it when you engage with them — so for best results, ask your followers to play along with you!

For example, try inviting your followers to show you pictures of their pups on National Dog Day. Your audience will be overjoyed by the chance to participate, and your social media team will also get to have tons of fun looking at pics of puppies all day!

If you’re looking for some more inspiration, you can head to this blog by Crowdfire: 150 Questions That Will Increase Your Social Media Engagement.

Tip No. 8: Remember to Provide Value

This last tip is just a friendly reminder to make sure you focus on providing value to your audience — not just saturating your feed for the sake of getting more likes, comments, and shares.

Make sure the holiday is connected to your brand and your people in some way, shape, or form, and don’t use these holidays solely as a way to promote your products. If you can tie them in, you definitely should, but remember that these holidays are about celebrating with others — not making sales.

For best results, use your following to draw attention to causes you truly believe in — like Autism Awareness Month or LGBT History Month — and always do what you can to add to the conversation rather than detract from it.

Thanks for Reading!

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog!

We know you might have more questions about social media best practices and how they all fit into the wider ecosystem of your digital marketing plan — and our team here at OpticTour would love to lend a hand!

If you think you could use a little guidance, you can schedule a time to talk with us by heading to this link.