We’re all aware of the power of hashtags to get your social media content seen. Tagging in a relevant business or account is another great way of raising awareness of your own brand. But many businesses shy away from one thing that combines the visibility boost of a trending hashtag with the positive association of an existing movement: National Awareness days.
Whether it’s Independence Day, Remembrance Day or World Kindness Day, certain dates on the calendar see social feeds flooded with content that hashtags the cause or subject.
But how do you choose which to celebrate with an official day for just about everything?
As a business, showing support for your favorite charities and causes and paying homage to things you find interesting is a great way of connecting with your audience and the community.
That being said, it’s important to be selective about the national hashtags and awareness days you associate with. Remember, you’re connecting them to your brand; they will impact your reputation as a business, how other businesses perceive you, and whether they choose to work with you.
Go For Relevance First
While it may be tempting to get involved in the days that appeal to you personally, remember, you’re connecting your brand to these occasions. They need to be in alignment with your values, your mission, and what you do as a business.
You may also think that doing all the things is a great way to go. After all, if participating in one national awareness day will give you a boost, surely doing all of them will give you a mega boost?
Not quite. Being discerning in your choices, selecting a few that really align with your brand, and doing a great job of participating will resonate with your audience. It will attract more people to you who are on the same wavelength, who are interested in your business and what you do.
Doing all the days is equivalent to abandoning targeting in your marketing and falling back on the old ‘spray and pray’ tactics. You shout a generic message at anyone who will listen and pray someone is interested.
One approach nets you quality audience growth that is of tangible value to your business.
The other might bring in the odd client or two, but they’re likely to be problematic because they’re not your ideal client.
How To Choose National Awareness Days
As you look for relevant awareness days and national occasions to support and celebrate, it’s useful to bear a few things in mind. First and foremost, before you commit to anything, make sure it’s 100% aligned with your brand, goals, and audience.
If there’s any aspect of it that you’re a little unsure of or which may potentially be taken badly or out of context, move on. It’s not like there aren’t plenty of other days to choose from.
That doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with your selections - Christmas Jumper day has become somewhat ubiquitous across brands. It's a great way for your staff to have fun and for your business to raise money for a great cause. When looking at any other day, consider the following points:
- Is there a link between cause or subject and your business? For example, Star Wars Day (May 4th) is a great one for businesses in the industries that relate to science fiction or space - tech companies, science research, etc. Likewise, a charity that supports mental health awareness is great for a business in the mental health field.
- Does the attention the day has garnered in the past match the kind of awareness and engagement you want to attract to your business?
- Is it something you or your team members are passionate about? For example, do you have a team member with a disability who would like to show support to the disabled community and raise money to fund research that will support others like them?
- Is it something that will really get your staff interested and engaged? Remember, this isn’t just about how the outside world sees your business. Positive company culture is vital to retaining your staff and attracting top talent in the future.
And Finally…
Have fun with whatever you choose to support. The benefit of being discerning about your choices means you can give your full attention to whatever you choose. Make sure you’ve planned out plenty of content to draw attention to the fact you’re supporting it. That can be pre-created with scheduled blogs, posts and newsletters, or it could mean going Live on the day itself.
Whatever you’re doing, make sure you get plenty of video footage on the day. You can use this for the day itself, but it can also be repurposed and used for great visibility-building exercises in the rest of your marketing.