Common Ground – Creating Connections with Customers
You’re a savvy retailer. You have an amazing store, gorgeous product and you even set up social media accounts for your brand. You talk, talk, talk and listen . . . *crickets*
As a retailer, you know the value of connecting with your customers, but you’re left with questions.
How does it happen?
How long does it take?
Will it last?
It depends.
Sadly, there is no secret formula that unlocks the human heart, mind and wallet because people are diverse and complex. That’s why you can’t take a one-size-fits-all approach to the content you share and expect connection.
Think about this for a minute – when was your last, “Omigosh, me too” moment? Was it the last time you stood in line for your coffee and responded to someone’s weird, offhand comment? Was it at the gym when the lady next to you fell off her treadmill with gusto? Perhaps it was with a flight attendant with a magnetic personality and the confidence to let her offbeat sense of humor shine? The resulting rush of endorphins created a connection point – however brief and fleeting.
The point? You never know what will spark a connection when with your customers.
That’s why we encourage you to celebrate the Social Media Holiday!
The what now?
You’ve seen the posts - celebrating anything and everything under the sun on your social channels!
Love hot dogs? There’s a day for that. July 19th. And what about the ketchup on top? June 5th. Yes, for real.
There is a day to honor, recognize and applaud everything under the sun. And those quirky, wacky, interesting and cute holidays may just be the attention-grabbing post that your customers need for a resounding and heartfelt, “MEEEEEE TOOOOOOOOO!”
So, how does this work?
It starts with an understanding of what you and your brand are and aren’t. After all, authenticity rules the day in customer communications. If you don’t love Star Wars or it isn’t aligned with your ultra-luxe high-end brand, skip May 4th and let not a single utterance of “May the fourth be with you,” escape your lips or fingertips.
Then, you’ll create a list of holidays you’d like to mention and/or celebrate.
Build your content – whether it’s a simple graphic or a storewide sale – and schedule your post.
Then, monitor your feed for comments and responses on the appropriate day, because THIS is where the magic happens.
You have an opportunity to connect with your audience over a shared love of chartreuse (May 16th) or handmade products (April 7th). And, don’t worry - your response doesn’t always need a sales bent either! Just a comment in response lets potential customers know that you’re real, approachable and able to accommodate conversation. That goes a long way when someone is ready to redesign their home and wants to dialogue with an expert.
That’s all fine and good, but where do I find these holidays?
Google is always the answer. Search for “social media holidays,” “weird holidays” or “micro holidays.” There are tons of downloadable calendars you can use – along with templates for creating posts for your business. But, for your convenience, we’re including some of our favorites below. They give the phrase ‘happy holidays’ a completely different ring!
January
14 National Clean Off Your Desk Day
17 Get to Know Your Customers Day (This happens the 3rd Thursday of every quarter. Use #gettoknowyoyurcusotmersday.)
24 National Compliment Day
28 Data Privacy Day (Use #PrivacyAware)
February – Rich with all the usual suspects (groundhogs, cupid and presidents), you’ll only need to add a few:
5 Chinese New Year (Use #yearofthepig)
9 National Pizza Day
March
1 National Peanut Butter Lovers Day (You’re welcome.)
1 National Employee Appreciation Day (Use #EmployeeAppreciationDay)
5 Mardis Gras – laissez les bon temps rouler!!!
8 National Day of Unplugging
10 Daylight Savings Time
14 Pi Day
15 World Consumer Rights Day (Use #WCRD2019)
April
16 National Stress Awareness Day (Use #stressawarenessday)
30 National Honesty Day (Proceed with CAUTION!!!)
May
1 International Worker’s Day
2 World Password Day
24 National Scavenger Hunt Day
June
3 National Leave the Office Early Day
21 National Selfie Day (Isn’t this EVERY day???)
30 Social Media Day (Use #SMDAy)
July
7 World Chocolate Day (Cheers!)
11 Cheer up the Lonely Day (This is a great day to organize volunteer efforts with the elderly or shut in.)
26 Talk in an Elevator Day
August
2 National Coloring Book Day
9 Book Lovers Day
10 National Lazy Day (Use #LazyDay)
19 World Humanitarian Day
September
5 International Day of Charity (Use #charityday)
12 National Day of Encouragement
19 Talk Like a Pirate Day
October
14 National Dessert Day
16 Bosses Day
30 Checklist Day
November
3 National Sandwich Day
8 STEM Day (Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine)
19 National Entrepreneur’s Day
30 Small Business Saturday (Use #shopsmall)
December
2 Cyber Monday
10 Human Rights Day
13 National Salesperson Day
30 No Interruptions Day (This honors the last working day of the year!)