Ensuring your social media is engaging can be a small but mighty step in both attracting new clients and keeping your existing ones. But it can often be a creative challenge! To keep your social media engaging, I often find it helps to reflect on things like historical events or awareness days that you can build a post around. Sometimes you can relate it back to your business, sometimes it can just be useful to know, but hopefully it’s not all a sales pitch. Well, looking at my social media calendar for the coming week, I have no shortage of events I could build on! Here is very a personal selection.
Saints be praised!
For starters, Monday is St Clare’s Day (11th August), my namesake. Not that I am a religious person but Clare was a woman who existed in historical record (she lived 1194 to 1253) and did many noteworthy things (for one, she wrote ‘The Rule of Life’, the first set of monastic guidelines known to have been written by a woman). She was also designated as the patron saint of television (by Pius XII in 1958) on the basis that when she was too ill to attend Mass, she had reportedly been able to see and hear it on the wall of her room. (Handy skill! She wouldn’t have need Zoom…!)
👉 Content idea: Use this to talk about virtual meetings, video content or how communication has evolved.
Oh, and today is also the start of Afternoon Tea week so bring on the scones and clotted cream… Don’t start on whether it’s cream first or jam first: it’s a question of physics. Whichever has the greater density goes on first so you don’t scrape it off again when you apply the other one on top. Simples!
👉 Content idea: Post a fun poll, spotlight a local café or run a themed giveaway.
Never Forget…
Tuesday 12th August is Elephant Day. Like a lot of people, elephants have long been my favourite animals (don’t tell Jack the dog!). Apparently my first soft toy as a baby was a fabric elephant made by a great Aunt so any excuse to celebrate those noble creatures. They live in tight-knit herds, led by a matriarch, and have great memories (yes, it’s true). They also have great problem-solving skills, communicate using sounds and show a range of emotions, including empathy and grief. Elephants are, of course, physically powerful and – with noses like that – have a better sense of smell than dogs. An often underestimated animal in my view and worth celebrating (and protecting).
👉 Content idea: Tie in wildlife conservation, empathy in leadership or your brand’s ethical values.
Up on your left!
The 13th, Wednesday, is a double-header: both Left-Handers Day and Prosecco Day. Yes, I am among the 10% of the population who is left-dominant and doing our best to survive in a right-handed world. I have a left-handed ruler, left-handed secateurs, a left-handed cake fork (essential tool for Afternoon Tea week) and I still have a left-handed chequebook (somewhere…). If you are a ‘righty’ and don’t understand why any of these things might be helpful, please message me! I think it’s a super-power, in a small way, that many of us ‘lefties’ are actually fairly ambidextrous because our world has conditioned us that way. We have adapted to our environment in a way that 90% of you reading this will probably not understand… (So, only drinking prosecco with your left-hand tonight, please!)
👉 Content idea: Share team quirks, personal stories or celebrate inclusion in all its forms.
Fact or Fiction
Thursday 14th is my brother’s birthday (a significant one this year) and, an entirely unrelated fact, the day on which Macbeth killed Duncan I in 1040. I am a fan of Shakespeare but he never let historical accuracy get in the way of a good story: the real Macbeth killed Duncan in battle to claim the throne, not with a dagger between the ribs while he slept. Thinking about it, a battle-win is surely the more compelling story – although admittedly much harder to convey on stage. The Bard was clearly writing for the considerations of the facilities available to him, something I reckon every Marketer can empathise with.
👉 Content idea: Talk about storytelling in marketing, creative licence or behind-the-scenes limitations.
Historic Anniversaries
Friday marks 405 years since ‘The Mayflower’ sailed (from Southampton) to land in North America. (If we knew then what we know now, would we have stopped them?!) It will also be 182 years since the Tivoli Gardens (in Copenhagen) opened, home to the world’s second oldest (wooden) roller coaster. I was lucky enough to visit the Tivoli Gardens in October a few years ago and they manage to go full-on Halloween without it being kitsch (a trick many Marketers could usefully learn!).
👉 Content idea: Reflect on experiential branding or spotlight effective themed campaigns.
Roll on the Weekend
And then it’s the weekend! Admittedly, I am not a soccer person so the fact that – apparently – the new Premier League season starts on Saturday leaves me cold. (They tell me that my first word was “football”; I retort that my first word was actually “rugby” but that they weren’t listening properly…) According to some sources, Saturday is also Thoughtful Traveller day, which is something I can get on board with. It is intended to be a reminder to us all to recognise the importance of unique experiences often provided by small and independent establishments across the world, and the importance of leaving a positive review online for them to help ensure they can continue doing what they do.
👉 Content idea: Highlight your favourite small businesses or share tips on how reviews help visibility.
Use Awareness Days to Boost Your Marketing Calendar
So, like buses it seems, interesting, personal and relevant events can often come along all at once. Although sometimes the knack can be seeing how the events that do come along can harnessed to help you tell your particular story. (Personally, I’m happy that I have an excuse to celebrate something everyday, too!)
(Oh, and credit to Google Gemini AI for coming up with the brilliant image to go with this: where else was I going to find a picture that included a scone, an elephant, a television, a saint…? As with anything AI, it helps to give some really clear instructions on what you’re looking for, but good job!)