“Get social media for your business,” they said. “It’ll be fun,” they said. Except on days when you’re staring at a blank screen wondering what in the world to post!
There are many factors that go into a strategic social media content plan, from business specials to great events you have happening. Staying relevant in seasonal conversations can also help, too. But that’s just one more ingredient in the mix.
Never fear! Let’s go month-by-month and find some creative ways to stay relevant seasonally on social media!
Click the month below to be taken directly to posting ideas.
January |February | March | April | May | June
July | August | September | October | November | December
“Happy New Year! Are you feeling refreshed and ready to take on your goals and year ahead? Or, still recovering from last year, and in need of a break?
Both camps need to start the year strong on social media…but with what?
- New Year’s Themes: From simple well-wishes to the year ahead, to asking about followers’ holidays or plans for the upcoming year, and inspirational messages, there’s a short window of time to leverage this theme, depending on your industry. For example, fitness and health industries typically have more to stretch out (no pun intended!) than a sculptor might. Nevertheless, you can take advantage of plenty of creative plays on these themes.
- After the New Year Runs Out: January can be a tough topic after the holidays, but weather is a good standby topic. Seasonally, it’s dark and cold for many, with the hope of Spring still a few months out. Aside from the cold weather, football, is an option, as is pulling out your backlog of throwbacks or behind the scenes.
- Think Ahead: Even if it’s your low/slow season, don’t lose momentum keeping up good social media habits, or preparing your long-term messages. Plant those seeds now!
- Tip: If you’re joining the conversation on Instagram, here are a few popular seasonal hashtags to incorporate: #newyear #goals
Hearts? Flowers? Chocolate? Ah, yes, we LOVE February and all of the ways you can make your social media content lovable!
- Valentine’s Day: How many ways can you talk about love this month? It can be more than just a day–perhaps the entire week is centered around things you love about your business. Or one item each week throughout the month. It doesn’t even need to be gushy–there are plenty of ways to incorporate love.
- Winter is…almost over!: The bad news: It’s still cold and snowy in many places. The good news: Despite what Phil says, we begin heading into Spring-ish weather after February, so use up your last month of chilly weather content tie-ins this month. Everything from “cozy up” comments, to belly-warming recipes and toasty sweaters. You catch the drift–stay relevant in those cold, winter conversations and cooped up, cabin-fever mindsets.
- Chock Full of Awesome: Wow–there are so many great topics to talk about this month and include in your social media content. From Black History Month to American Heart Month and Random Acts of Kindness Week. And don’t let Valentine’s Day think it’s the cherry on the sundae of days this month (we’re looking at you, Nutella Day)–have fun with the other ones out there.
- Tip: Who doesn’t “love” a good Valentine’s Day hashtag? Instagram! Be careful which ones you use, as they might be partially banned.
Feeling lucky? Maybe not with Facebook’s recent changes, but don’t lose faith: It’s just about changing things up and working on ways to engage your audience. Still feeling a little green about it (see what we did there…)? Here’s are March social media content ideas to keep your social media accounts growing:
- You’re in Luck: Whether that’s of the Irish, or just taking advantage of the green angle (color, money, eco-friendly, you name it), you can make the history behind the month, or the creative takes on it work to your advantage.
- Spring Thoughts: Things are beginning to thaw, and Spring break is on the horizon. Take advantage of that, or early summer-season prep (especially if you’re in a warm-weather industry). In addition to talking up Spring sentiments, like getting outside, growing and family activities,
- Spring Ahead: Content-wise and logistically, the time change means reminding people about losing sleep (hello, National Napping Day on 3/12!), and also adjusting your posting times if you have a national presence.
- Keep it Fresh: Remember that Facebook algorithm? If your reach is suffering, remember that it’s about quality engagement. Easier said than done, right? To stay on top of it, you’ll need to test tactics to get your followers engaging and creating quality conversations.
- If You’re Over Green: You don’t have to rave about corned beef and cabbage this month to find food to correlate to your content–you have plenty of other national food days. Plus, don’t miss worthy causes, such as International Women’s Day and National Day of Unplugging.
- Tip: If you’re thinking of using #stpatricksday #lucky or #springbreak, be careful that those hashtags sometimes have double meanings…and aren’t always family-friendly usages!
April always makes us think of another mini-January with everything growing and blossoming. That’s a great theme to carry into refreshing and revitalizing your social media content (and the content you have to promote around it–we’re looking at you, old blog posts!). Here are some fresh ways to infuse your social media content with a bit more spring in its step:
- Hop on Board: Depending on the time of the month that Easter arrives, leverage all things synonymous with celebrating, including rabbits, eggs, etc. Since April Fool’s Day also happens early in the month, you can still take advantage of the joke/no joke references.
- Spring into Action: Everything’s trying to come out of hibernation, so anything related to nature, growing and blooming are especially relevant this month. Plus, Earth Day (4/22) brings even more opportunity to continue the green theme this month.
- Monthly Causes & Events: In addition to Earth Day, you might also freshen up your social media content by leveraging topics like Stress Awareness Month, Administrative Professionals Week, National Library Week and National Handmade Day (4/7).
- Tip: It’s not only time to clean up your winter hashtags and sprinkle in some #spring or #springtime, but it’s also time to sweep the dust bunnies out of your social media accounts!
April showers bring May flowers? (If so, don’t forget to share photos of them to capitalize on the lovely spring weather!) To keep that spring in your social media step, here’s how to infuse your May social media with fresh, fun and seasonally-relevant content:
- It’s Gonna Be May (please excuse our N’Sync reference): Before you skip ahead to school’s out for the summer and beach days, don’t forget May has some super-fun days that can fuel a day, week or even a month content theme. Some of our favorites: Star Wars Day (5/4), Cinco de Mayo (5/5), Mother’s Day, and National Creativity Day (5/30) and Small Business Week.
- School’s Out (…for the Summer!): Well, it’s on its way to being out, so take advantage of that last day of school feeling, graduation send-offs (yes, those can apply in your business, whether it’s celebrating customers who are “graduating” to a new level or staff who have graduations).
- Save Some (Summer, that is): You still have June and July, so don’t use all of your best summer content just yet. How you can leverage it? Preparing customers for things they need to do to get ready for summer. Finding their favorite cookout recipe, getting the backyard ready, making appointments before your busy season (or your planned closures for summer vacations). Plus, Memorial Day weekend celebrations mean lots of opportunities to make your business relevant to the Summer kick-off conversations (e.g., how can you tie into the BBQ, sunscreen, swimming and travel topics?).
- Keep Those Instagram Hashtags Fresh: Update your seasonal rotation, if it fits, to include new ones like #graduation #graduate #mothersday #giftideas #celebrate #maythe4thbewithyou
School’s out for the summer (cue the music)! Bring on the beach days, barbecues and camping trips. While it’s easy, either because of the hot weather or because of a summer break, to put your social media on summer vacation, you can still keep going strong. Here are some ideas and realistic tips to help you have your best social media summer.
- Show off those s’mores & sandcastles: Home or away, there’s no shortage of ways to incorporate summer topics into your social media content, whether you’re actually doing the fun things, or just relating your content to them. Careful, though: July and August are still ahead, so don’t use up all of your best summer ideas in June!
- June has its own special events: From graduation celebration season to Father’s Day, the first day of summer, and even National Camping Month, it’s time to say “hello” to season-specific celebrations.
- Let’s be realistic: You have fun things happening this summer, or you might just need a break. What not to do: Go MIA on your social media accounts. You have two options to take that vacation, and not worry too much about social media.
- Post an out of office message on social media: Keeping your social media followers up to date, and also showing your human side, can be the perfect solution to have it all.
- Use a scheduling tool: You can still have regularly-scheduled content posting, whether or not you’ve told your audiences you’ll be on vacation. It does require some planning, but if it’s a critical time for messaging, or you do have a robust content calendar, this will keep your content circulating while you’re building sandcastles. You just need to remember to check back in once you’ve returned to acknowledge any conversations or comments you might have missed.
- Keep those hashtags summer-y: A few new ones to add to your rotation might include: #vacation #fun #summer #summerweather #beach #sunshine
Let the fireworks begin–literally! The first full month of summer is here, and there are tons of creative ways to keep your social media lighting up the sky. Here’s how:
- 4th of July Blues: So you don’t sell fireworks or make flags? You can still remain relevant to the holiday-related conversations with a bit of creativity!
- Cookout recipes or tips (or ask for opinions about your own menu!)
- Weather-related tips (e.g., hydration, skincare, workouts)
- Holiday closures/hours
- Memories
- Holiday-related words: fireworks, boom, patriotic, flag
- Images: Fireworks, picnics, cookouts
- When in doubt, re-share (with credit, preferably using the “share” button on social media platforms) another reputable business’ holiday-relevant post.
- Independents Week: This may be limited to Arizona (but worth celebrating nationwide!), and is a great way to not only promote your own local business, and also to show some love for fellow local businesses this month!
- Food for Days (Literally): It’s no surprise that since July is synonymous with Summer that there’s an abundance of national days recognizing some of our favorites, including grilling, chocolate, macaroni, and hot fudge sundaes. Plus, it’s National Ice Cream month (like that stops us from celebrating year-round!).
- Keep Those Hashtags Festivity Ready: #4thofjuly #july4th #redwhiteandblue #barbecue #picnic #bbq #swimming
Is it still summer, or are we going full speed into back to school? This sounds like a glass half full conversation, but it’s all in what takes priority for your business messaging. (Let’s be honest: Our brains might be in Fall planning, but we’re still physically poolside for as long as possible!) Here’s what to think about when you balance your social media content this month:
- Endings & Beginnings: Summer is winding down, but it’s still summer weather all month. School is around the corner (and it’s National Back to School Month), but you still have all of September to leverage that. If one or the other suits your business messaging better, capitalize on that more. However, if you opt for back to school, don’t use all of your best content right away, because you have all of August and September to think about!
- What Else? It doesn’t have to be all about summer and back to school this month if that’s not a fit for your business and messaging. There’s still plenty of fun to be had with National Farmers Market Week, National Coloring Book Day, National Ice Cream Sandwich Day and National Relaxation Day.
- It’s Only August, But…: There are only four months left in the year. Yikes! That means it’s the perfect time to start planning content for the next few months, especially if you have a business related to the upcoming holiday sales season.
- Hashtag Mix Up: Depending on what messages and seasonal items you’re promoting, your hashtags will reflect that, so you might have a mix of them this month, ranging from #summer and #vacation, to #backtoschool. If you’re looking specifically for end-of-summer ahead of Labor Day weekend, consider:
#labordayweekend #laborday #byesummer #lastsummerdays #seeyasummer #longweekend
September is synonymous with back-to-school season, but with that being said, you might face one of two challenges: You’ve already been promoting back to school since August, or you don’t think you have a connection to the topic.
No matter which camp you’re in, the solution may be reframing your content. For example, this doesn’t mean your business needs a direct connection to school. Think about other things that happen around this theme: schedules are busy, evenings are for activities, routines are solidified, staying healthy is a must. Mull over some of those ideas to see how you can make yourself: 1. relevant in the conversation and 2. subtle promotion of the topic.
If you (or your audience) is over the back-to-school season, here are a few other tips and ideas:
- Fall: Use this topic sparingly, as we’re just headed into the season, and you’ve got to make it last a few months! If you do venture there, vary your approach, from the stereotypical pumpkins to football and cooler-weather activities.
- Summer memories: They were technically only a few days ago, so you don’t have to file those kayaking trip photos, or wish longingly for the bacon s’mores you had camping. Use them for a throwback Thursday (#tbt), or on a day they make sense with your content to show nostalgia and personality.
- National days: If in doubt, take a break from the usual with a national day that’s either fun (Talk Like a Pirate Day 9/19), relatable (Grandparents Day 9/10) or relates directly to your industry. Plus, don’t forget Live Creative Day (9/14), Autumn Equinox (9/22), and some other month themes (National Honey Month, National Self-Care Awareness Month, National Sewing Month).
By the time October rolls around, hopefully, you haven’t already overdone all things pumpkin…
As you prepare your October social media posts, check out a few seasonal ideas to integrate into your existing messaging to make it seasonal, or to supplement any lulls in the month ahead.
- Halloween: This is an obvious option, no matter if you take the scary Halloween angle, or a more seasonal approach. Common obstacle: “But I don’t offer anything Halloween-related.” Remember: It’s all about making what you do relevant to the season. Ideas: “Isn’t it scary…(that you don’t have one of the beautiful bracelets I make, you haven’t had our delicious granola, etc.).”
- Seasonal (literally!)-Cooler Weather & Harvest: Dropping temperatures bring new foods, lifestyle habits, you name it! Something you do IS relevant to that.
- Fall Break: Depending on where you’re located, you might be a Fall break destination, or experiencing families heading for Fall break. Something you do might be relevant to their journey or destination. Ideas: “Heading out the road? Pack everything with my handmade, local tote bag.
- National Days: Keep tabs on what’s happening this month, whether it’s specific to your industry, or just something you’d like to piggyback on (hello, National Taco Day!). National Handbag day, anyone? Maybe National Greasy Food Day (oops, that’s us!)? Be creative!
- Hashtags: #fall #fallyall #hellofall #feelslikefall #pumpkintime #trickortreat #halloweencountdown (Be careful with #leaves: It may be a partially banned hashtag!)
It’s officially the holiday season, and of course, Thanksgiving is synonymous with giving thanks! Since that’s one of the main focuses this month, let’s talk about how you can incorporate Thanksgiving without overdoing it (just like too many cranberries and mashed potatoes!).
- Thanksgiving
Business tie-ins: Are you having a company-wide Thanksgiving event? How about seasonal decorations around your office? Maybe there are season-specific ways to use your products (e.g., that wooden bowl you made is perfect for passing the bread on Thanksgiving!).
Personal elements: What are your family’s holiday traditions (e.g., recipes, watching football, etc.)? What are you thankful for? Try asking your followers, too!
Be careful: It’s easy to get carried away with hashtags (there are so many fun options!), but may be banned on Instagram, especially around holidays. What does this mean? Instagram is going to reduce the number of people that see your post. Better to stick with #Thanksgiving #family #dinner to name a few. - Small Business Saturday: Of course, if you’re participating in Black Friday or Cyber Monday specials, you’ll want to include those, too. But we’re going to focus on Small Business Saturday, an event that strives to raise awareness for supporting smaller companies during the holiday season. Once you’ve determined any specials, or just want to encourage people to visit your store, begin planning posts you can do around that. If you’re going to post multiple times, get creative to mix it up!
- Logistics: Do you have holiday closures or special hours? Let customers know!
‘Tis the season to: 1. Let your social media accounts fall by the wayside. 2. Use up all of your holiday content in one post. 3. Think ahead to the new year. Reality: All of the above!
Whether you’re running around trying to fulfill holiday orders, or just out of steam at the end of a busy year, staying consistent on social media, and having a plan to set you up for success is important.
What can you add to your content rotation this month?
- Holiday sales & gifting: Do you have a holiday sale? How often are you going to post about it on social media? Is there a fun way you can announce it (12 days of Christmas, anyone)? Do you have appropriate graphics? Also, consider your content balance so your posts don’t come across as too sales-y or pushy.
Tip: If you’re running a contest, make sure you’re compliant with each social media platform’s rules!
- Are there gift packages? Whether you’re offering your own packages, or you’re partnering with other businesses to offer a bundle, don’t miss out on this opportunity for good karma and making shopping easier for your existing and new customers.
- How are you holiday-relevant? Amidst all of the fa-la-la, being heard in the holiday conversations can be tough. Is your new necklace the perfect accessory for a holiday outfit? Maybe the corks from your wine bottles can double as ornaments or wreaths? Or perhaps your ceramic bowl makes a versatile holiday table centerpiece. Bring value and show how you’re helpful this holiday season.
- Customer service tip: Set realistic expectations for timely orders and shipping! (Check out this free mini-course for making sure your social media accounts are ready for the holiday season!)
- Holiday messages: It’s still the season for thankful posts, holiday wishes and reflections on the past year. Bonus points for taking a creative twist!
- End-of-year: Do you have a tie-in for services that are time-sensitive by the end of the year? Whether your services are wrapping up before the end of the year, or
Tip: Adjust your Twitter and Instagram hashtags to include holiday and seasonal changes. For example: #winter #sale #deals #gifts
Happy posting!
