You probably already know that social media is a budget-friendly way to promote your small business—but do you know what kind of content you want to share? If you’re looking for some fun holidays to celebrate in your social media posts, look no further. We have a full list of holidays by month, plus details about how to get the most out of holidays on your social media.
How to create a content calendar
Organizing your content in advance will help you establish a strong social media presence.
In order to create an effective calendar, you first need to decide what you want to achieve with social media. Do you want lots of customers sharing your posts? Do you want more people clicking on links to your website? Your goals will help determine your content.
You can also take a look at your current content and reevaluate your strategy. What posts are creating more engagement, and which leave your feed with the sound of crickets?
Next, you want to schedule out your posts to make sure you have a steady stream of content to share. You can use a spreadsheet or calendar to lay out your posts several weeks or months in advance. If you want to include timely posts, you can incorporate holidays.
What holidays should I post on social media?
Interesting holidays throughout the year are a way to anchor your posts. In addition to the big holidays like Independence Day and Black Friday, you might find that something like Cafe au Lait Day is useful to promote a coffee shop. You could even tie in a promotion to the holiday and offer 20% off cafe au laits for the day.
Try to find holidays that are relevant to your company and your customers. If you sell food, look for holidays that align with your flavors. If you offer software as a service, look for holidays that focus on technology or customer service. Most holidays won’t fit your business, but you can likely find a few that work.
Holidays can add variety and interest to your posts—or just allow you to make a funny post on any day celebrating pets. When you share a fun holiday, you might want to use a relevant hashtag to make sure your post shows up with others celebrating the day.
Which holiday is the most profitable?
Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States, and the Christmas shopping season is usually a profitable time of year for many businesses. As a small business, you can take advantage of Small Business Saturday to promote your company.
What is Small Business Saturday?
Small Business Saturday is a marketing campaign created by American Express, dedicated to supporting small businesses. It occurs the Saturday after Thanksgiving—the day after Black Friday. A social media campaign around the holiday can encourage people to shop and support local businesses.
Many small businesses offer promotions or discounts for the day in order to encourage the community to shop local instead of with the usual big-box stores. You could also share a personal story about your business on social media—this can add a personal touch and remind customers why they want to support you.
List of holidays for your social media calendar
Most of the holidays on our list probably won’t apply to your company—for example, you probably won’t post about National Fitness Day if you run an ice cream business. But this list is a useful resource to start planning your social media posts for the quarter.
This list is just to get you started, so if you want something more comprehensive, be sure to check out National Today for a full list.
January
- Third Monday in January: Martin Luther King Junior Day
- January 1: New Year’s Day
- January 2: Science Fiction Day
- January 5: Bird Day
- January 6: Technology Day
- January 8: Bubble Bath Day
- January 9: Clean Off Your Desk Day
- January 10: Cut Your Energy Costs Day
- January 13: Gluten-Free Day
- January 14: Dress Up Your Pet Day
- January 17: Customer Service Day
- January 19: Popcorn Day
- January 21: International Sweatpants Day
- January 22: Polka Dot Day
- January 24: Compliment Day
- January 29: Puzzle Day
February
- Third Monday in February: President’s Day
- February 2: Groundhog Day
- February 4: Ice Cream for Breakfast Day
- February 6: Chopsticks Day
- February 7: Rose Day
- February 8: Kite-Flying Day
- February 9: Pizza Day
- February 10: Umbrella Day
- February 11: Guitar Day
- February 14: Valentine’s Day
- February 18: Battery Day
- February 20: Love Your Pet Day
- February 23: Play Tennis Day
- February 24: World Bartender Day
- February 27: Protein Day
- February 28: Science Day
March
- March 1: Peanut Butter Lover’s Day
- March 4: Safety Day
- March 6: Dentist Day
- March 8: International Women’s Day
- March 11: World Plumbing Day
- March 14: Pi Day
- March 15: Consumer Rights Day
- March 17: St. Patrick’s Day
- March 18: Global Recycling Day
- March 19: International Client’s Day
- March 21: World Poetry Day
- March 22: World Water Day
- March 23: Puppy Day
- March 26: Wear a Hat Day
- March 27: International Scribble Day
- March 29: Mom and Pop Business Owners Day
- March 31: Transgender Day of Visibility
April
- April 1: April Fools’ Day
- April 3: World Party Day
- April 12: Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day
- April 13: Peach Cobbler Day
- April 14: Gardening Day
- April 22: Earth Day
- April 23: Picnic Day
- April 26: Get Organized Day
- April 27: Tell a Story Day
- April 28: Superhero Day
- April 29: International Dance Day
- April 30: International Jazz Day
May
- First full week of May: Small Business Week
- Last Monday of May: Memorial Day
- May 1: New Home Owners Day
- May 5: Cinco de Mayo
- May 7: Fitness Day
- May 8: Coconut Cream Pie Day
- May 13: Apple Pie Day
- May 15: International Family Day
- May 16: Barbecue Day
- May 21: Strawberries and Cream Day
- May 22: Solitaire Day
- May 25: Wine Day
- May 27: Sunscreen Day
- May 28: Hamburger Day
June
- June 3: World Bicycle Day
- June 7: Chocolate Ice Cream Day
- June 8: Best Friends Day
- June 10: Iced Tea Day
- June 17: Apple Strudel Day
- June 18: Splurge Day
- June 19: Juneteenth
- June 21: International Yoga Day
- June 22: Onion Ring Day
- June 23: Pink Day
- June 24: Swim a Lap Day
- June 26: Beautician’s Day
- June 27: Sunglasses Day
- June 30: Social Media Day
July
- July 1: International Joke Day
- July 2: Made in the USA Day
- July 3: International Plastic Bag Free Day
- July 4: Independence Day
- July 10: Kitten Day
- July 13: French Fry Day
- July 22: Hammock Day
- July 24: Amelia Earhart Day
- July 25: Hot Fudge Sundae Day
- July 28: Milk Chocolate Day
- July 29: Lipstick Day
- July 30: Cheesecake Day
August
- August 2: Coloring Book Day
- August 3: Watermelon Day
- August 4: Chocolate Chip Cookie Day
- August 8: International Cat Day
- August 9: Book Lovers Day
- August 10: S’mores Day
- August 12: Vinyl Record Day
- August 13: International Left Handers’ Day
- August 14: Financial Awareness Day
- August 16: Roller Coaster Day
- August 17: Nonprofit Day
- August 18: Bad Poetry Day
- August 19: Photography Day
- August 21: Senior Citizens Day
- August 24: Waffle Day
- August 30: Beach Day
September
- First Monday in September: Labor Day
- September 2: World Coconut Day
- September 4: Wildlife Day
- September 5: International Day of Charity
- September 7: Buy a Book Day
- September 11: Patriot Day
- September 20: Fried Rice Day
- September 21: Chai Day
- September 22: Dear Diary Day
- September 25: Cooking Day
- September 27: World Tourism Day
- September 28: Drink Beer Day
- September 29: Coffee Day
- September 30: International Podcast Day
October
- Third Thursday of October: Get to Know Your Customers Day
- October 1: World Vegetarian Day
- October 4: Golf Lovers Day
- October 10: World Mental Health Day
- October 12: Farmers Day
- October 14: Dessert Day
- October 15: Aesthetician Day
- October 16: Dictionary Day
- October 20: International Sloth Day
- October 23: Paralegal Day
- October 24: Bologna Day, Food Day, United Nations Day
- October 25: International Artist Day
- October 26: Pumpkin Day
- October 30: Checklist Day
- October 31: Halloween
November
- Fourth Thursday in November: Thanksgiving
- Friday after Thanksgiving: Black Friday
- Saturday after Thanksgiving: Small Business Saturday
- Monday after Thanksgiving: Cyber Monday
- Tuesday after Thanksgiving: Giving Tuesday
- November 3: Sandwich Day
- November 4: Candy Day
- November 8: STEM/STEAM Day
- November 10: International Accounting Day
- November 11: Veterans Day
- November 13: International Tongue Twister Day
- November 15: Recycling Day
- November 17: Hiking Day
- November 21: World Television Day
- November 23: Espresso Day
- November 30: Computer Security Day
December
- December 4: Cookie Day
- December 8: Brownie Day
- December 10: Dewey Decimal System Day
- December 12: Gingerbread House Day
- December 13: Violin Day
- December 14: Energy Conservation Day
- December 15: Cupcake Day
- December 16: Chocolate-Covered Anything Day
- December 17: Maple Syrup Day
- December 20: Games Day
- December 21: World Snowboard Day
- December 25: Christmas
- December 26: Start of Kwanzaa
- December 31: New Year’s Eve
Staying organized helps grow your business
A social media content calendar allows you to plan out your content in advance and keeps your message consistent across all platforms. If you stay organized and make a plan, you will have enough time to come up with creative and useful ideas.
However, staying organized is also important in areas other than marketing—it’s also critical to be financially organized. Expense management is a key to success in any small business. By keeping track of expenses and creating a solid financial plan, you can make smarter business decisions to fuel growth and expansion.