Do you celebrate International Cat Day, Pizza Day, or Talk Like a Pirate Day?
There are a plethora of observance days worldwide during which marketers can share content relevant to their industries, get involved in a movement, or simply generate more awareness. But odds are, you probably don’t acknowledge these days until you see your favorite brand posting about it.
These social media “holidays” are a fun way to connect with new and existing followers who share an affinity for a specific food, fictional character, or pet.
While we don’t suggest sharing content on social media and then adding an irrelevant holiday hashtag to it, these holidays can be a chance to promote your brand in a relevant way. Not doing so could cause you to miss valuable opportunities where your brand can join the conversations taking place among members of your target audience.
To help you plan for trending holidays, we created a list that you can bookmark, as well as a downloadable calendar so you can receive automatic reminders.
DOWNLOADABLE SOCIAL MEDIA HOLIDAY CALENDAR
To help you keep track of all these unique holidays, here’s a Social Media Holiday Google Calendar.
Aside from 2023 holidays, we’ve also set dates on the calendar to repeat annually — either on the exact date they occur or the weekday they occur within the month.
Want to finish out your 2023 calendar with some upcoming holiday posts? Tap the + symbol in the lower right-hand corner of the calendar below to add it to your own Google calendar.
Use the Above Template to Plan Out Your Social Media Holiday Posts
ROLLING SOCIAL MEDIA HOLIDAYS
First up, let’s 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
- National High-Five Day #NH5D: Third Thursday of April
- Get to Know Your Customers Day #GetToKnowYourCustomersDay: Third Thursday of 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
- National Red Nose Day #RedNoseDay: Last Thursday of May
- Heat Awareness Day #NoFryDay: Last Friday of May
JUNE
JULY
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
NATIONAL & GLOBAL SOCIAL MEDIA HOLIDAYS: 2023
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 2023 SOCIAL MEDIA HOLIDAYS
FEBRUARY 2023 SOCIAL MEDIA HOLIDAYS
MARCH 2023 SOCIAL MEDIA HOLIDAYS
- March 19: National Let’s Laugh Day #NationalLetsLaughDay
APRIL 2023 SOCIAL MEDIA HOLIDAYS
MAY 2023 SOCIAL MEDIA HOLIDAYS
JUNE 2023 SOCIAL MEDIA HOLIDAYS
JULY 2023 SOCIAL MEDIA HOLIDAYS
AUGUST 2023 SOCIAL MEDIA HOLIDAYS
SEPTEMBER 2023 SOCIAL MEDIA HOLIDAYS
- September 11: National Day of Service and Remembrance #911Day
OCTOBER 2023 SOCIAL MEDIA HOLIDAYS
NOVEMBER 2023 SOCIAL MEDIA HOLIDAYS
DECEMBER 2023 SOCIAL MEDIA HOLIDAYS
EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL MEDIA HOLIDAY POSTS
Ready to get inspired? Check out some of our favorite examples of social media holiday posts below.
1. DECEMBER HOLIDAYS — HUBSPOT
In this post from HubSpot’s very own social media team, we created a holiday gift guide for marketers — 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
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
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
Stationery brand Mark + Fold kept it simple with this Mother’s Day post, which reminds their followers to order a long-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
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
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
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
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.