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Social Media Holidays: 12 Months Of Post Ideas for 2024

There was a time when brands grappled with the challenge of finding effective communication channels to reach their customers. Then came social media and things changed, for good. Social media enabled brands to engage with their audience conveniently and in real-time. 

However, new obstacles emerged – competition and content overload on social media platforms. This dilemma paved the way for a new mystery—identifying the optimal moments and occasions for posting content on social media. This brings us to the focal point of our discussion today: social media holidays.

Beyond the globally recognized special occasions and holidays, there exist certain underrated days that don’t receive the attention they deserve. Nevertheless, these days often witness a subtle yet noteworthy surge in social media discussions, offering lucrative opportunities for brands to connect with their customers. 

Today, we delve into the realm of these social media holidays. And then we’ll talk about some quick and easy content ideas so you have a year full of ideas to begin with. 

To kick things off, let’s discuss some key insights regarding why these social media holidays hold significance for brands.

Is Crafting Content for Social Media Holidays Worth It?

Social media holidays are about celebration, about raising awareness, about nurturing long-term relationships with your customers. But is preparing content for social media holidays really worth your time? We’ll give you three good reasons why: 

  • Boosting brand awareness happens to be the main area of focus for several marketers. Social media holidays present fruitful opportunities to tackle this. Grabbing the attention of the relevant audience and therefore building brand awareness. 
  • Secondly, data shows that about 34% of shoppers looking for ideas seek answers from social media, especially around the holiday season. This means that timing your posts right and creating relevant content on these social media holidays can be a good way to present your brand as an answer your customers are looking for. That’s one way to boost sales. 
  • Finally, there is the undeniable fact that every brand craves emotional responses from its customers. Holidays are a great time to show the human side of your brand and foster emotional connections. 

That was a quick rundown of the benefits of creating content for social media holidays. Without further delta, let’s quickly jump to the list you’ve been waiting for – the list of social media holidays for 2024. The dates to mark in your content calendar! 

Plan Ahead: The Complete List of Social Media Holidays 2024 

We’ll begin with a brief list of the occasions to remember and then proceed to some useful content ideas for each.  Remember that this is a gist of the well-known special occasions that gain social media traction. There might be several more regional social media holidays and ones that matter to your industry in particular. For now, let’s look at some occasions that a lot of people are familiar with. 

January 2024 

January 1: New Year’s Day #NewYearsDay

January 4: World Braille Day

January 15: Martin Luther King Jr. Day #MLKDay

January 26: Australia Day 

January 31: National Hot Chocolate Day (in the U.S.)

February 2024 

(Black History Month in the U.S. & Canada)

February 2: Groundhog Day #GroundhogDay (in the U.S. and Canada)

February 4: World Cancer Day 

February 10: Chinese New Year 

February 13: Galentine’s Day #GalentinesDay

February 14: Valentine’s Day #ValentinesDay

February 20: World Day of Social Justice / National Love Your Pet Day (in the U.S.)

February 22: National Margarita Day #MargaritaDay

March 2024 

(Women’s History Month)

March 3: World Wildlife Day

March 6: National Oreo Day (in the U.S.)

March 8: International Women’s Day #IWD

March 14: Pi Day 

March 15: World Sleep Day 

March 17: St. Patrick’s Day #StPatricksDay

March 20: International Day of Happiness

March 21: World Poetry Day

March 25: Waffle Day (in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark)

March 30: National Doctors’ Day (in the U.S.)

March 31: Easter Sunday 

April 2024 

April 1: April Fools’ Day #AprilFools

April 7: World Health Day

April 10: National Siblings Day #NationalSiblingsDay / International Day of Pink (second Wednesday of April)

April 15: World Art Day

April 22: Earth Day #EarthDay

April 25: World Penguin Day 

April 28: World Day for Safety and Health at Work

May 2024 

May 1: International Workers’ Day #WorkersDay / Labour Day

May 4: Star Wars Day #StarWarsDay

May 5: Cinco de Mayo / International Day of Laughter (first Sunday of May)

May 12: Mother’s Day (varies by country – second Sunday of May in the U.S.)

May 20: World Bee Day

May 23: World Turtle Day 

May 25: Geek Pride Day #GeekPrideDay

May 28: National Burger Day (in the U.S.)

June 2024

(LGBT Pride Month)

June 5: World Environment Day #WorldEnvironmentDay

June 8: World Oceans Day 

June 19: Juneteenth #Juneteenth

June 21: International Day of Yoga

July 2024

July 4: Independence Day (in the U.S.) #IndependenceDay

July 7: World Chocolate Day

July 11: World Population Day

July 17: World Emoji Day #WorldEmojiDay

July 30: International Friendship Day #FriendshipDay

August 2024

August 8: International Cat Day #InternationalCatDay

August 15: National Relaxation Day #RelaxationDay

August 19: World Humanitarian Day

August 26: Women’s Equality Day (in the U.S.)

September 2024

September 6: Read a Book Day #ReadABookDay

September 16: International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer

September 21: International Day of Peace #PeaceDay

September 27: World Tourism Day 

September 30: International Translation Day

October 2024

October 1: International Coffee Day / World Vegetarian Day

October 4: World Animal Day #WorldAnimalDay

October 5: World Teachers’ Day

October 10: World Mental Health Day 

October 12: Indigenous Peoples’ Day #IndigenousPeoplesDay

October 14: Thanksgiving (in Canada – second Monday in October)

October 16: World Food Day

October 31: Halloween #Halloween

November 2024

November 1: World Vegan Day #WorldVeganDay

November 11: Veterans Day (in the U.S.) #VeteransDay

November 13: World Kindness Day

November 14: World Diabetes Day #WorldDiabetesDay

November 19: International Men’s Day

November 28: Thanksgiving (in the U.S.)

December 2024

December 1: World AIDS Day #WorldAIDSDay

December 2: Cyber Monday 

December 10: Human Rights Day #HumanRightsDay

December 21: Crossword Puzzle Day

December 25: Christmas Day #Christmas

December 31: New Year’s Eve #NewYearsEve

With all these holidays to plan around, the real question is, what do you post on these days? We’ve rounded up some exciting ideas for every brand. Besides being simple to implement, these ideas are timeless too. We’ll also look at some quick tips to bring those ideas to life. And to explain all this better, we’ll look at some posts from brands around the world created around these social media holidays. 

Social Media Holidays: 12 Months of Content Inspiration

While we are not covering all the holidays on our above list, we’ve handpicked a few so that can replicate these ideas to create posts and campaigns for other similar holidays as well. From giveaways to event announcements, conversation-focused posts to conversion-focused ones, the below list of examples has something for everyone.

January 

January 1: New Year’s Day 

People everywhere celebrate a fresh start and a ready to embrace change. So a positive, motivational post works well. Ideas on how to celebrate the occasion are gold! Especially when there are topical themes to talk about. Take the pandemic era for example. People were stuck at home looking for ideas on how to celebrate New Year’s Day. Mercedes Benz added the below post which was both fun and on-brand. 

January 4: World Braille Day

In memory of the birthday of Louis Braille, inventor of the Braille script, World Braille Day is also celebrated to raise awareness about the system. Naturally, BBC’s decision to story of Louis Braille is a good one to inspire your post idea. 

If you wish to get more creative and if it is somehow relevant to your brand, you could also create Braille versions of popular branding designs like your business card and other print materials. 

January 15: Martin Luther King Jr. Day #MLKDay

This day commemorates the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and his legacy in the fight for racial equality and social justice. Share motivational quotes or messages especially those from from Martin Luther King Jr. Remember to pick ones that resonate with your brand’s values and emphasize the importance of equality and justice. 

A simple quote post like the below one from Nordstrom will let you join the conversation. 

KIMP Tip: You can also add your brand’s personal touch to your quote posts for such special occasions by incorporating your brand colors and fonts. You can also include illustrations/visuals of the person or culture being honored on the respective day in your brand’s signature visual style. For example, if you use caricatures extensively in your promotional graphics, include a similar style caricature in these holiday posts.

A dedicated design team can help you achieve this level of personalization in your designs!

January 31: National Hot Chocolate Day (in the U.S.)

There are some light-hearted social media holidays like this one when you can connect with your audience on a more relaxed and enjoyable level. 

Since this is a fun occasion, if yours is a food brand, engage your audience by sharing mouthwatering photos of your brand’s hot chocolate offerings. Or host a fun hot chocolate recipe contest, encouraging user-generated content and engagement. 

In the below post, Konami Digital Entertainment Inc, uses a simple cinemagraph to attract attention instantly. Moreover, they incorporate their fictional characters to stay on brand. 

Need help designing cinematographs for your brand? Get a KIMP Video subscription.

February 

Black History Month in the U.S.

Brands looking to focus on their inclusivity can make the most of this entire month. In the below post, Coca-Cola remembers Mary Alexander: the first female African-American to model for the brand. This is effective because it highlights the brand’s commitment to diversity, honors a trailblazer, and resonates with their diverse audience, fostering a sense of inclusivity and connection.

February 10: Chinese New Year

Oreo shared a user’s post to celebrate Chinese New Year. This reposting also allowed the brand to flaunt its exclusive festive packaging. 

Similarly, if you have festival collections in your products or if there is a revamped packaging, create a social media post to announce the same and to explain the significance of the change. 

Need help tweaking your packaging for the festive season? Get KIMP! 

February 13: Galentine’s Day #GalentinesDay

When brands are busy focusing on Valentine’s Day, sharing content for Galentine’s Day helps you stand out. And this is relevant particularly if yours is a women-focused brand. Or you could create a simple post focused on the women in your audience and run exclusive email campaigns or a social media post like the one below from Marks and Spencer. 

For more ideas on content and campaigns to celebrate Galentine’s Day, check out our blog here. 

February 14: Valentine’s Day #ValentinesDay

The below Valentine’s Day post from Dunkin’ is a good inspiration for your campaign this year. 

Adorable Valentine color palette, optimized heart-shaped product, a cute message – this post has it all! It has everything required to craft the perfect Valentine’s Day post to woo your customers. 

February 20: National Love Your Pet Day (in the U.S.)

People often talk about serious occasions that every brand discusses. But there are some off-beat ones that help you win your customers’ hearts. Love Your Pet Day is one such. It is a great time to show the pets in your organization allowing employees to participate by sharing their pet photos. Or a simple heart-warming video compilation of the people in your team with their pets will help humanize your brand. 

Animal Planet achieves this with a simple GIF. As can be seen, a simple animated loop or animated text can be an attention-grabber during high-traffic social media holidays.

March 

Women’s History Month

Renowned baseball team Milwaukee Brewers shared the below post. It is a great idea, especially for brands looking to build or strengthen their community. By staying within your niche and celebrating people in the niche you are getting closer to your audience. In this case, the post works well with baseball fans. 

March 3: World Wildlife Day

Some holidays are observed in order to initiate conversations and build awareness and this is one such. World Wildlife Day is celebrated to discuss the world’s diverse wildlife and the need for conservation. That’s pretty much the theme to work with. 

The below animation from Unilever is a creative genius. By removing all the animal symbols in its logo the brand achieves two things: 

  • It reminds people that there are various components that add value to its logo. 
  • And it tells them how much it cares about the conservation of wildlife. 

KIMP Tip: If you do not want to drastically alter your brand designs for occasions like this one, you can create a simple logo animation like the one created by Unilever. It helps highlight the message without losing your brand identity. 

Need help designing logo animations? Get a KIMP Video subscription. 

March 6: National Oreo Day (in the U.S.)

Some brands have managed to create social media holidays dedicated to their signature products like Oreo for a day to celebrate its cookie. While these occasions might seem relevant to respective brands, if you think your brand can piggyback on the popularity of such brands that have a strong command over your target audience, then these occasions work well. 

Duke Men’s Basketball shared the below post to appeal to its audience in a more engaging way. Oreo’s connection with basketball needs no introduction after all! 

March 8: International Women’s Day #IWD

Campaigns that initiate conversations and inspire the audience are ones that work well, no matter what the occasion is. And for something like International Women’s Day when almost every brand out there is posting something, you need a unique idea that resonates with your audience. Like the one from Nike. Hosting webinars and online discussions and live events can leave a lasting impact. 

March 14: Pi Day

Social media holidays like Pi Day are not very popular but they have an interesting backstory. By creating an informative carousel or infographic to talk about the occasion or even a blog post to elaborate on it, you are giving your users something new and exciting to learn. This is what NASA did with its post for Pi Day. 

March 17: St. Patrick’s Day #StPatricksDay

Another busy social media holiday – so you need to take a path less taken. Moreover, you need to know how to connect your brand to the post subtly without sounding promotional. Tasty UK shared the below post featuring a recipe as it always does. However, the colors here are relevant to the occasion. 

March 20: International Day of Happiness

Some social media holidays feel close to your brand and your brand’s unique personality. Take Coca-Cola for example. The brand often talks about “opening happiness” and therefore International Day of Happiness is one the brand cannot miss. 

The brand shared the below metaphorical post that incorporates only the signature brand elements, namely the Coca-Cola bottles in the design. This is both a fun idea and a creative design inspiration. 

April 

April 1: April Fools’ Day #AprilFools

Tinder created a social media post and a brief article to discuss a fake feature that looked real. This is a very popular idea and we’ve seen brands creating fake products and fake promotions to grab attention. These humorous posts are great for April Fools’ Day

April 7: World Health Day

Brands usually talk about health and health tips on this occasion. However, there was something more pressing to discuss during the pandemic time – the health and wellness of the frontline workers. Several brands discussed this topic during World Health Day 2020. The below post celebrates these superheroes. 

April 22: Earth Day #EarthDay

Social media holidays like Earth Day give your brand a good chance to speak about the sustainability measures you take without making your content sound like greenwashing. That’s exactly what Xbox did with its post below. 

Similarly, a simple video on how your brand adopts sustainability practices and how you celebrate Earth Day will make a strong impact on eco-conscious shoppers. 

May 

May 4: Star Wars Day #StarWarsDay

Unique social media holidays like Star Wars Day give you a chance to target niche audience segments or even promote exclusive products in your portfolio. If there is a product that hasn’t been gaining a lot of traction lately, or if there is a new launch relevant to the occasion, then use the social media holiday to initiate conversations about this product.

May 5: Cinco de Mayo

The best way to celebrate social media holidays with a rich cultural background is to honor the respective culture. That’s what Smirnoff did in the below video. Either launch a product or create a post that celebrates the cultural significance of the occasion. 

May 12: Mother’s Day

This is one of the social media holidays with a strong emotional value attached to it. So, create posts that melt your customers’ hearts and celebrate the mothers in your audience. Posts that ask questions and connect with the audience at a more personal level are the best kind for social media holidays – like the below post from Pepsi.  

May 23: World Turtle Day 

The below post from GoPro stays within the brand’s theme of sharing user-generated content but also taps into the occasion. Similarly, use strong visuals to grab attention and deliver your message. The brand also complements its catchy visuals with engaging captions. 

June 

LGBT Pride Month

For socially-significant occasions like this one, events are a great way to engage your audience more meaningfully. The below post from Google shows that the brand goes beyond posting on social media to celebrate the occasion. 

June 19: Juneteenth #Juneteenth

Understanding the significance of the holiday is one of the most effective ways to celebrate it. So, education posts like the one from Later are great to engage your audience. 

July 

July 4: Independence Day (in the U.S.) #IndependenceDay

To celebrate the 4th of July, showcase your patriotism. Decorate your social media profiles with patriotic imagery, like the American flag, to create a festive atmosphere. Or better yet, give your brand’s iconic elements a patriotic makeover like the below post from Tim Hortons. Taking part in such local celebrations helps global brands get local in their marketing approach. 

July 17: World Emoji Day #WorldEmojiDay

The below post from Google shows that identifying a theme (better representation of women in this case) and creating content personalized for the occasion can be great ways to celebrate. 

August 

July 30: International Friendship Day #FriendshipDay

The below campaign from Coca-Cola for Friendship Day shows the power of leveraging trends. This was the time when NFTs were a big thing. So, the brand tapped into the trend and created a campaign promoting its NFTs while also staying true to the Friendship Day theme. 

September 

September 27: World Tourism Day

The below animation from Yardley London shows how you can use visually engaging social media designs to create memorable experiences for customers. The video idea is creative and on-brand. Like the Coca-Cola post, this one uses only the brand’s perfume bottles to evoke brand recall while highlighting the theme. 

October 

October 1: International Coffee Day

Like the Yardley London campaign discussed above, the below post from Starbucks is also about creative virtual experiences that establish the brand firmly. Instead of focusing too much on the brand, the campaign celebrates the hero product here to connect well with coffee lovers. 

October 10: World Mental Health Day 

Answering common questions about the topic relevant to the social media holiday is another great idea. In place of regular informative posts, you can create carousels like this one that answer common questions around crucial topics. 

November 

November 1: World Vegan Day #WorldVeganDay

We spoke about niche marketing a while ago. If you are looking for occasions to tap into this strategy and make it work for your brand, social media holidays like this one matter. Because these occasions resonate only with specific demographics and therefore you manage to build strong closely-knit communities with thoughtfully designed campaigns for such holidays. 

Similar to what Vegan FTA did with its above post, use conversational captions. Ask questions and actively engage with your customers. That’s when your posts begin to make a difference. 

November 13: World Kindness Day

Social media holidays like this one are about nurturing positivity and honoring universal emotions. So, you need content that evokes a strong emotional response. Storytelling helps, as you can see in the below post. Use your visuals and the copy to cohesively tell a story relevant to the occasion. 

November 19: International Men’s Day

Discussing underrepresented topics like men’s mental health, for example, can help your brand stand out. So, look for relevant yet less-known occasions like this one especially when other brands in your industry are more focused on well-known occasions like International Women’s Day. 

The below post from Burger King beaks stereotypes and initiates conversations. 

December 

December 21: Crossword Puzzle Day 

The below post will make no sense to those who do not know Stan Lee but for his fans, this one is hard to resist. Additionally, gamified posts like this one get shared among fans, among people within niche communities. That’s one way to earn leads by leveraging social media holidays. 

December 25: Christmas Day #Christmas

Occasions like Christmas and New Year’s Day are times when there is a surge not just in social media usage but also in shopping. So, look for foolproof ideas to share with your audience – like holiday gift guides. Show them what’s new in your catalog and give them ideas that simplify their holiday shopping. 

Designing Eye-Catching Social Media Holiday Posts with KIMP 

Now that we’ve seen some post ideas for different types of social media holidays, let’s also look at some design tips to make these work. 

  • Start with a relevant color palette. Take cues from the aesthetics of the occasion and colors that people instantly recognize – like greens and reds for Christmas, orange for Halloween, green for St. Patrick’s Day, and so on. 
  • Ensure that the fonts you choose also align with the theme of the holiday. For fun occasions like Hot Chocolate Day, a more casual font works. However, for something of a more serious tone, like Pride Month posts, choose fonts that look more professional and responsible. 
  • Ensure that you use symbols and imagery relevant to the occasion. Whether it is packaging design changes or just social media post updates, these relevant symbols help deliver your message effectively. 

Sticking to these design tips might sound overwhelming, especially considering the sheer volume of content there is to handle throughout the year. What if we told you that there’s an easy way to do it? What’s an easy way to make all this work and have your designs for social media holidays delivered to you in autopilot mode? Get an unlimited design subscription like KIMP. 

Register now for a free 7-day trial! 

Posted On

10 Nov, 2023

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