10 Hashtag Holiday Ideas to Drive More Foot Traffic in 2018

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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

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