Why Utilising UK Awareness Days Can be an Effective Marketing Tool For Your Business

What is an Awareness/National Day?

An Awareness/National Day refers to a day typically set up by an organisation, to commemorate an occasion or place importance on a particular cause. For anyone who has viewed one of the many lists of ‘National Days’ online, you will know that there is now something for near enough every day of the year. Whilst some are novelty and light-hearted, including the ‘National Pastrami Sandwich Day’ and ‘National Dress Up Your Pet Day’, some carry an important message supporting an incredibly worthy cause, such as ‘World Aids Day’, or ‘World Cancer Day’. Many UK charities have created a dedicated day, week or even month to encourage fundraising and raise awareness of their cause. Some of these have escalated into more ongoing, national campaigns such as Children in Need and Comic Relief. UK Awareness and National Days have become reliably popular on social media, often becoming a trending topic and leaving a great opportunity to get involved and reach out instantly to an audience of thousands.

Why using awareness days can boost your business and support a good cause

A report published in 2018 by ‘We are Flint’, a research and communications agency, reveals interesting details of the demographics of social media users in the UK and the US. The report shows that Facebook dominates: 61% of UK and 66% of US online adults use Facebook daily. From this statistic, it is no wonder why businesses are increasingly trying to maximise their online presence.Some of the most popular hashtags of 2016 came from charity campaigns. The #NoMakeupSelfie in support of Cancer Research UK was tweeted 51,000 times just 48 hours after its launch and has since raised over 8 million pounds. There are plenty of great ways you can use utilise National Days within your social marketing plan: encourage your team to participate in fundraising activities, or get male employees to grow their beard in Movember, for example. You can then create a sponsoring page and post progress photos on your website/social media, encouraging customers to vote for the best growth or donate to the cause.It is no secret that workplaces, schools and retailers are actively encouraged to get involved with fundraising for charities, however, we now know that getting involved also helps to increase traffic to your social media as well as providing great content hooks for your marketing campaigns all raising awareness of your brand.Using National Days as a marketing tool for your business does not always have to be exclusively charity focused. International Business Times recently announced that Halloween has overtaken Valentine's Day to become the third biggest UK retail event, behind only Christmas and Easter.There are a whole host of National Days relevant to the food/drink and retail Industry, which might be difficult to incorporate into more niche businesses. There are, however, a number of National Days that are easily translatable to a wide range of industries, like the ‘National Find Out More About Your Customer Day’ and also the ‘Random Acts Of Kindness Day’; a lovely excuse to reward customers for their loyalty.

A word of caution…

Raising money for a great cause and having a little light-hearted fun in the office might seem like fun, however it is incredibly important to be aware of what’s going on in the world when your content is due to be posted. Posting novelty content in light of a tragic world event could leave a bad taste in customer’s mouths and leave your company reflected in a negative way.

Awareness Day Calendar

At Airship, we understand how useful it can be to incorporate awareness days/months within your marketing strategy, so we have created a handy calendar displaying key dates and events, along with our tips on how to utilise these with social media tips and ideas. Our calendar allows you to plan ahead - ensuring that you have time to schedule email campaigns, plan PR/marketing activities, and schedule timely social media posts and relevant blog posts.