National Clean Out Your Computer Day is coming up. Bet you never heard of that one, did you? There are national holidays, a national day or national month for everything. In fact, there are over a thousand national holidays, national weeks and national months. Add bank holidays and major religious holidays, and you have one crowded calendar! National days of observance have become trendy and popular in part because companies have learned to use them for marketing. Just look at social media. Judging from the hashtags for various food days, people days, pet days, medical condition days, military days or industry days — it seems like every single day is a national holiday or national day of observance on Twitter and Instagram.
If you’ve ever wondered, “what national holiday is today?” — we’ve got you covered.
Are you in a pet related business, such as dog grooming or pet treats? If so, your customers may be interested in a special spa day you host on National Love Your Pet Day.
Own a coffee shop? Then National Coffee Day could be an awesome opportunity to run a sale on lattes or do a flash Facebook promotion to drive some foot traffic to your cafe.
Or perhaps you do financial planning or business succession planning. In that case you might want to highlight National Employee Appreciation Day on your blog to get some attention for your thought leadership in that niche.
Some national observance days are more popular than others, of course. You’ve probably never heard of National Bicarbonate of Soda Day (December 30), and probably never will again. On the other hand, every business owner knows Valentine’s Day — especially florists and candy shop owners.
However, for small businesses, some of the lesser-known national holidays might be your best marketing opportunities. Here’s why.
- On a smaller national day you’re less likely to have your marketing campaign overshadowed by Big Mega Corp’s humongous marketing budget.
- Some funny national holidays just make people smile, like National Make Your Bed Day in September. The fun factor alone could get you mileage (particularly if you run a furniture or mattress store!).
- And weird national holidays like National Handbag Day on October 10 grab attention through their sheer … weirdness. Yet a day like that is perfect for marketing in a boutique or fashion eCommerce shop.
10 Ways to Use National Holidays for Marketing
Use National Holidays on Social Media and in Content Marketing:
- Create content for your blog highlighting a national holiday, national week or national month relevant to your business. You can publish the content on the day in question, but if you’re looking for potential search engine traffic, publish a post ahead of time. People may be searching in search engines before the holiday arrives. Then post another when the national holiday starts, linking back to your first one.
- Share that content on social media, using the relevant hashtag. Others may find it when they search the hashtag on social media.
- Include an image in your social post. Use a tool like Canva or Picmonkey to superimpose the name of the national holiday, the date and any relevant hashtag on the image, too. People love to share images to visibly show their support of national holidays, so a properly labeled image can increase shares.
Use National Holidays As a Reason to Run Sales and Specials:
- Put something on sale or offer a special deal in honor of the national day observance.
- Publicize your sale, by putting signs in your physical location if you have one.
- Distribute details about the special deal to your email list and social media channels in honor of the day, week or month being commemorated.
Use National Holidays As a Theme for Events:
- Hold a celebration at your office or physical location in honor of the national holiday.
- Invite customers to attend along with your team. It gets both groups more engaged with your business.
- Take pictures celebrating the national day (or national week or national month).
- Take the celebration online. Load pictures to social channels like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, using the related hashtag such as #FarmersMarketWeek.
- Repurpose the pictures along with a bit of background text about the celebration and use in your next customer newsletter. Or use the pictures to create an engagement-building post for your company blog. Put a blurb and picture in your website’s About page, too, about your celebration and support.
Now that you have ideas for how to use national holidays for marketing a small business, let’s find a day or two to use in your marketing, shall we? Scroll down to browse the List of National Holidays for Small Business Marketing.
We’ve also created a downloadable version of the list. Download and save this PDF of the List of National Holidays.
List: Find Out What National Holiday is Today
JANUARY 2019 MONTHLY HOLIDAYS
National Hobby Month
National Letter Writing Week, January 6-12
JANUARY 2019 NATIONAL DAYS
New Year’s Day, January 1
Trivia Day, January 4
Three Kings Day, January 6
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (observed), January 21
Opposite Day, January 25
FEBRUARY 2019 MONTHLY HOLIDAYS
American Heart Month
Black History Month
FEBRUARY 2019 NATIONAL DAYS
Groundhog Day, February 2
Super Bowl Sunday #SB53, February 3
Safer Internet Day U.S., February 5
Chinese New Year #YearOfThePig, February 5
Inventors Day #InventorsDay, February 11
National Clean Out Your Computer Day, February 11
Valentine’s Day #ValentinesDay, February 14
Presidents Day #PresidentsDay, February 18
Love Your Pet Day #LoveYourPetDay, February 20
MARCH 2019 MONTHLY HOLIDAYS
National Craft Month
National Women’s History Month
National Nutrition Month
MARCH 2019 NATIONAL DAYS
National Employee Appreciation Day, March 1
National Salesperson Day, March 1
Mardi Gras #MardiGras, March 5
International Women’s Day, March 8
National Proofreading Day, March 8
Daylight Saving Time (U.S.), March 10
National Ag Day, March 14
Tax Filing Deadline for S Corps and Partnerships – March 15
St. Patrick’s Day, March 17
Spring Begins, March 20
National Puppy Day, March 23
National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day, March 29
National I Am in Control Day, March 30
APRIL 2019 MONTHLY HOLIDAYS
Stress Awareness Month
Records and Information Management Month
APRIL 2019 NATIONAL DAYS
April Fools’ Day, April 1
Palm Sunday, April 14
Tax Day (1040, Schedule C, and C Corp filing deadline), April 15
National Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day, April 16
National Get to Know Your Customers Day #GetToKnowYourCustomersDay, April 18
Good Friday, April 19
First Day of Passover, April 19
Easter, April 21
Earth Day, April 22
National Take a Chance Day, April 23
National Administrative Professionals Day #AdministrativeProfessionalsDay, April 24
National Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day #COUNTONME, April 25
Arbor Day, April 26
National Hairstylist Appreciation Day, April 30
MAY 2019 MONTHLY HOLIDAYS
National Small Business Week #SmallBusinessWeek, May 5-11
MAY 2019 NATIONAL DAYS
May Day, May 1
Law Day, May 1
National Loyalty Day, May 1
National Life Insurance Day, May 2
World Password Day, May 2
Cinco de Mayo, May 5
Lemonade Day Promoting Young Entrepreneurs, May 5
First Day of Ramadan, May 5
Mother’s Day, May 12
Memorial Day, May 27
JUNE 2019 MONTHLY HOLIDAYS
Candy Month
Email Week, June 9-15
June 2019 NATIONAL DAYS
National Running Day, June 5
D-Day, June 6
Flag Day, June 14
Father’s Day, June 16
Summer Begins, June 21
International Day of Yoga, June 21
National Insurance Awareness Day, June 28
National Camera Day, June 29
Social Media Day, June 30
JULY 2019 MONTHLY HOLIDAYS
National Independent Retailer Month
JULY 2019 NATIONAL DAYS
Independence Day, July 4
Amazon Prime Day [mid-July – exact date TBD] Get to Know Your Customers Day #GetToKnowYourCustomersDay, July 18
National System Administrator Appreciation Day, July 26
International Day of Friendship, July 30
AUGUST 2019 MONTHLY HOLIDAYS
National Bargain Hunting Week, August 5-11
National Farmers’ Market Week, August 5-11
AUGUST 2019 NATIONAL DAYS
Book Lovers Day, August 9
National Bowling Day, August 10
National Garage Sale Day, August 10
National Thrift Shop Day, August 17
National Mail Order Catalog Day, August 18
National Dog Day #NationalDogDay, August 26
SEPTEMBER 2019 MONTHLY HOLIDAYS
National Courtesy Month
Hispanic Heritage Month
Self-Improvement Month
SEPTEMBER 2019 WEEKLY HOLIDAYS
National Payroll Week, September 3-7
Build A Better Image Week, September 15-21
National Indoor Plant Week, September 15-21
National Dog Week, September 22-28
National Love Your Files Week, September 16-20
SEPTEMBER 2019 NATIONAL DAYS
National Labor Day, September 2
U.S. Bowling League Day, September 3
National Newspaper Carrier Day, September 4
National Beer Lover’s Day, September 7
National Swap Ideas Day, September 10
National Boss / Employee Exchange Day – Monday after Labor Day, September 9
National Day of Remembrance, September 11
National Day of Encouragement, September 12
Friday the 13th, September 13
National Programmers Day, September 13 (256th Day of the Year)
National IT Professionals Day, September 17
National Tradesmen Day, September 20
American Business Women’s Day, September 22
Car Free Day, September 22
Autumnal Equinox, September 23
National Research Administrator Day, September 25
National Situational Awareness Day, September 26
World Tourism Day, September 27
National Drink Beer Day, September 28
National Coffee Day, September 29
Rosh Hashanah begins, September 29
International Podcast Day, September 30
National Mud Pack Day, September 30
OCTOBER 2019 MONTHLY HOLIDAYS
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Emotional Wellness Month
Employee Ownership Month
Financial Planning Month
Global Diversity Awareness Month
International Strategic Planning Month
National Bake and Decorate Month
National Cookbook Month
National Cyber Security Awareness Month
National Disability Employment Awareness Month
National Ergonomics Month
National Fair Trade Month
National Work and Family Month
Positive Attitude Month
Right Brainers Rule! Month
Self-Promotion Month
Workplace Politics Awareness Month
OCTOBER 2019 WEEKLY HOLIDAYS
National Work From Home Week, October 6-12
Get Organized Week, October 6-12
Customer Service Week, October 7-11
Drive Safely Work Week, October 7-11
Financial Planning Week, October 7-13
Veterinary Technicians Week, October 14-20
Medical Assistants Recognition Week, October 20-26
National Business Women’s Week, October 20-26
National Save For Retirement Week, October 20-26
OCTOBER 2019 NATIONAL DAYS
National Techies Day #TechiesDay, October 3
National Manufacturing Day, October 4
National Handbag Day, October 10
National Farmer’s Day, October 12
National Train Your Brain Day, October 13
National Kick Butt Day, October 14
Indigenous Peoples’ Day, October 14
Columbus Day, October 14
National Online Bank Day, October 14
Boss’s Day (or National Boss’s Day), October 16
Support Your Local Chamber of Commerce, October 16
National Clean Your Virtual Desktop Day, October 21
National Get Smart About Credit Day, October 17
Get to Know Your Customers Day #GetToKnowYourCustomersDay, October 17
Sweetest Day, October 19
Medical Assistants Recognition Day, October 23
National Cat Day #NationalCatDay, October 29
Halloween, October 31
NOVEMBER 2019 MONTHLY HOLIDAYS
National Inspirational Role Models Month
NOVEMBER 2019 WEEKLY HOLIDAYS
International Fraud Awareness Week, November 10-16
National Deal Week, November 27-December 2
NOVEMBER 2019 NATIONAL DAYS
Daylight Saving Time Ends (U.S.), November 3
National Stress Awareness Day, November 6
National Cappuccino Day, November 8
Singles’ Day, November 11
Veterans Day, November 11
World Statistics Day, November 18
Thanksgiving Day, November 28
Black Friday, November 29
Small Business Saturday #ShopSmall, November 30
Electronic Greetings Day, November 29
Computer Security Day, November 30
Stay Home Because You’re Well Day, November 30
DECEMBER 2019 MONTHLY HOLIDAYS
National Tie Month
National Write a Business Plan Month
Operation Santa Paws (December 1-December 24)
DECEMBER 2019 WEEKLY HOLIDAYS
Kwanzaa, December 26-January 1
Chanukah December 22 -30
DECEMBER 2019 NATIONAL DAYS
Cyber Monday, December 2
National Day of Giving, December 3
Miners Day, December 4
National Pawnbrokers Day, December 6
Free Shipping Day, Mid December (changes annually)
National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day, December 20
Christmas Eve, December 24
Christmas, December 25
National Thank You Note Day, December 26
Boxing Day (Canada), December 26
No Interruptions Day, December 27
Tick Tock Day, December 29
National Bicarbonate of Soda Day, December 30
Make Up Your Mind Day, December 31
New Year’s Eve, December 31
So the next time someone asks, “what national holiday is today?” — you won’t be without an answer.