First, what is a hashtag and why should you use it for your business?
I’m sure you’ve seen them. People post a pound sign (#) followed by a bunch of words clumped together, that can sometimes be difficult to read. What you may not know is that those hashtags become links. Click one and you’ll be served a list of posts using that hashtag. This can be great for your business because you can become visible to a potential customer who may not have known your store even existed because they were searching for, for instance, “#NationalPetDay”.
In the examples below, I’ll show you how you can generate some hype during slow times by getting creative with hashtags to promote a sale or event in your store. In addition to your standard advertising channels, (text blasts, store signage, website promotion, etc.) you should promote your event on your social media channels. Post details about the event in the weeks leading up to the event. You can even create a Facebook event and invite people. Be sure to post photos of items for sale and decorations leading up to the event. Photograph the festivities and post during and after so those who couldn’t make it this time will see how much fun it was and want to come to your next one.
You can also use hashtag holidays to build moral amongst your employees. The way I see it is any excuse to celebrate is a good one!
A couple things to remember when using hashtags
- Don’t use spaces
- Eliminate punctuation
- Don’t use special characters (These first three will break your link.)
- Capitalize the first letter of each word to make it easier to read
In addition to your standard holiday sales – Labor Day, Memorial Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Black Friday, and so on… Here are some ideas to have some fun with hashtag holidays.
February 15 – #SinglesAwarenessDay
Put a little spin on Valentine’s Day… The day after, let’s celebrate all those single folks. You can hold a “Treat Yourself” sale. Have some fun with this one. Make your single customers feel good about treating themselves with that item they’ve been eyeing in your store.
March 31 — #WorldBackupDay
Do a deep discount on all electronics.
April 11 – #NationalPetDay
Allow customers to bring their (friendly) pets into your store. Have dog bones and water bowls ready.
May 28 – #NationalHamburgerDay
Hold a cookout serving burgers and hotdogs to customers.
June 21 – #NationalSelfieDay
Give people a discount for taking a selfie and checking into your store. Bonus points if they give you a 5-star rating!
July 7 – World Chocolate Day
This one is especially great for jewelry shops. Sweeten your guests up with a nice chocolate covered strawberry and a small glass of champagne. Get them really enjoying themselves and wanting to browse a little longer. Take it one step further and partner with your local florist to give a discount on a dozen roses to anyone who makes a purchase.
July 15 – #GiveSomethingAwayDay
You know all those items on your shelf that have lost value over time and are really just taking up space? Wouldn’t it be great to get rid of some of it? Stick a bunch of those items into a “Prize Bin” and let each customer pick an item to take for free when they make a purchase. If you have time, you can even wrap them so it’s a surprise.
September 1 – #CollegeColorsDay
“Show us your colors!” Have customers come in wearing their favorite college team garb and offer a discount when they do. You can even give a bonus discount (like an extra 5% off) if you have a local team and the customer is rooting for them!
September 12 – #NationalVideoGameDay
Today is the day to move video games. Offer a really good discount, maybe “buy one get one free”. You can take it one step farther and offer discounts on video game consoles and equipment too.
October 26 – #NationalPumpkinDay
Hold a pumpkin-themed event. Have pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pies, pumpkin cookies… Even burn pumpkin-scented candles to get all the senses involved! You can hold a pumpkin carving or decorating contest. The possibilities are endless…
You get the idea now… Here are some other fun hashtag holidays you can get creative with throughout the year:
January 13 National Sticker Day
January 15 #NationalHatDay
January 18 Get to Know Your Customers Day
January 20 #CheeseLoversDay
January 25 Opposite Day
February 2 Groundhog Day
February 9 National Pizza Day
February 13 Mardi Gras
February 17 #RandomActsofKindnessDay
February 22 #NationalMargaritaDay
March 3 National Employee Appreciation Day
March 9 Popcorn Lover’s Day
March 14 #NationalPotatoChipDay
Pi Day
March 20 International Day of Happiness
April 1 April Fools Day
April 7 #NationalBeerDay
April 20 National High Five Day
April 26 National Administrative Professionals Day
April 30 Adopt a Shelter Pet Day
May 2 Thank a Teacher Day (teachers get a discount or lower loan rate)
May 4 Star Wars Day (“May the 4th be With You”)
International Firefighters Day (fire fighters get a discount or lower loan rate)
May 5 Cinco de Mayo
May 6 National Nurses Day (nurses get a discount or lower loan rate)
May 7 National Lemonade Day
May 10 National Receptionist Day
May 27 National Hugging Day
May 24 #NationalScavengerHuntDay
June 2 #NationalDonutDay
June 21 National Yoga Day
June 27 #NationalSunglassesDay
June 29 National Handshake Day
July 10 #NationalPinaColadaDay
July 13 #NationalFrenchFryDay
July 17 World Emoji Day
August 2 #NationalColoringBookDay
August 6 #FriendshipDay
August 9 #NationalBookLoversDay
August 16 #NationalTellaJokeDay
August 19 World Photos Day
World Humanitarian Day
August 26 #NationalDogDay
August 28 #JustBecauseDay
September 5 International Day of Charity
September 6 Read a Book Day
September 12 National Day of Encouragement
September 19 Talk Like a Pirate Day
September 21 Miniature Golf Day
September 25 #FamilyDay
October 1 #InternationalCoffeeDay
October 3 National Techies Day
October 4 #NationalTacoDay
October 5 World Teachers Day
October 6 World Smile Day
October 14 National Dessert Day
October 29 #InternetDay
November 4 #NationalCandyDay
November 13 #WorldKindnessDay
November 17 International Students Day
November 20 Universal Children’s Day
November 25 #ShopSmall (Small Business Saturday)
November 26 National Came Day
November 27 Cyber Monday
November 28 National Day of Giving
December 4 #NationalCookieDay
December 5 #InternationalNinjaDay
December 8 #NationalBrownieDay
December 18 #AnswerthePhoneLikeBuddytheElfDay
December 21 #CrosswordPuzzleDay
December 26 #ThankYouNoteDay
December 30 #BaconDay
