07 Aug Show Your Creativity by Cashing in on Twitter Holidays
This week, #NationalIceCreamDay made way for #NationalVanillaIceCreamDay, which lead to #NationalMilkChocolateDay, #NationalCheesecakeDay, #NationalLipstickDay, and #NationalMuttDay. Every day so far this week, there has been something to celebrate. And, why not?
If people are going to tweet about unique holidays, why not join the party and show off your brand’s creative side? The trick to celebrating these holidays is to create clever brand connections—ones that readers may not have expected. For example, the Dijiorno example above is clever and unique, but when Twitter users were scrolling down the list of tweets that included #NationalLipstickDay, they probably didn’t expect to see a pizza brand engaging. This worked, since pizza sauce is red. However, when Peeps engaged, it didn’t do as well, since the brand doesn’t have a red component in their food, and the illustration stretched the idea of the holiday.
So, when a holiday is trending on Twitter, here’s a cheat-sheet to help figure out when to engage and when to celebrate in silence.
1) Give Them Something
If the holiday is directly related to your products, run a deal or promotion, like the Cheesecake Factory did on National Cheesecake Day. It was rewarded by receiving over 1,000 retweets and over 750 favorites. And, who doesn’t love free cheesecake? Those users will want to be following you for this holiday next year.
2) Use Pictures
Alex and Ani bracelets paired a paw print charm with a leash to celebrate National Mutt Day. According to Twitter’s Media Blog, photos on pages increase retweets by 35%. Let your creativity be seen by sharing images with your holiday posts.
3) Keep it Unique and Lighthearted
This Coors Light National Hotdog Day post received more likes, retweets, and overall positive interactions than this US Labor Department post experienced, which was trying to make a point. Keep these holidays “fun,” and something that people want to retweet.
4) Celebrate YOUR Holiday
IHOP celebrated its 56-year birthday with 56 cent pancakes, and held its own party on Twitter (complete with multiple lyric-inspired tweets). We love it.
5) Make it clever.
This National Donut Day post by Vans makes you focus on their product, the shoes, and their waffle soles. Next time you see the bottom of a Vans shoe, your mind will go “shoe-waffle-donut… Wow! Vans was clever that day.” (And, who doesn’t want that?)
