Are you ready for one of my favorite social media tricks for increasing interaction on social media and being ahead of the trends? Bloggers know to publish posts and social media content about major holidays like Anzac Day, Christmas, Diwali, Independence Day, New Year’s, Thanksgiving, etc. But, don’t miss the opportunity to take advantage of hashtag holidays.
Open up Twitter or Facebook right now and take a peek at the trending now section. Besides sports and politics do you see one for a silly holiday like #WorldEmojiDay (July 17) or #JohnnyAppleseedDay (September 26)? Those are what I call “hashtag holiday.” {I just coined that term, but you can feel free to use it.}
Someone somewhere decided that October 4th is #NationalGolfLoversDay. The PGA, LPGA, golf courses, golf equipment manufacturers, and other media outlets will be posting about golf that day.
Use it to your advantage. Share that gift guide for the golf lover post you wrote last December on social media. Or write a new post to coincide with the day (“5 Golf Courses I’d like to Visit in Scotland”, “Best and Worst Styles on the Golf Course,” “15 Foods to Serve at a Golf Par-tee”).
As a food blogger, I would be remiss not to share my Famous Amos Copycat Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe on #ChocolateChipCookieDay (May 15) every year and maybe even again on #WorldChocolateDay (July 7).
Where can I find the holidays
Every month I review the calendars and plan my social media sharing and content calendar. Here are some of my favorite sites for finding these obscure holidays:
National Day Calendar
Calendar Labs
Time and Date
Holidays Calendar
When to post
For blog posts and Pinterest, I schedule at least 6 weeks in advance of the day to give it some time to be shared by my sharing groups and to build momentum.
For Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, I post early on that day to take advantage of trending hashtags.
Use a Scheduler to make your life easier
I sit down to schedule once a month with Co-Schedule (affiliate link, the IBA will receive a commission for any purchases through this link). I do not wake up and check the calendars to find out the holiday of the day every single morning. By planning it out in one sitting, I get it done in a fraction of the time, and I can see where there are gaps in my calendar and plan accordingly. Then I sit back and let the scheduler post for me, freeing me up for more important blogging and life tasks.
If you need some tips on scheduling, check out this post on the IBA Blog: The Best Tools for Scheduling Blog Posts and Social Media Content