Looking for some content ideas? In the busy month of May, we celebrate Mother's, teachers, graduates, military, as well as bring awareness to bike riding, physical fitness & sports and believe it or not - Eggs! Here, we've listed 5 things that you can use as a catalyst for content!
1. Celebrate May's monthly holidays
Do any of these month-long holidays resonate with your business and audience?
Plan a promotion that could include a blog post series, sales and discounts, social media posts, contests and more.
National Inventors Month
Revise Your Work Schedule Month
National Photo Month
National Egg Month
National Physical Fitness & Sports Month
Teen CEO Month
National Smile Month
Gifts from the Garden Month
National Military Appreciation Month
Family Wellness Month
2. Celebrate May's weekly holidays
Dates below are correct for 2021 and will be updated each year in early March.
May 1–7 is Choose Privacy Week
May 2–8* is National Small Business Week (This is a BIG ONE! See below for additional ideas!)
May 2–8* is also National Pet Week
May 3–7* is Teacher Appreciation Week
May 3–9* is also National Wildflower Week
May 9–15* is Work At Home Moms Week
May 16–22* is National New Friends, Old Friends Week
May 23–29* is National Backyard Games Week
3. Celebrate May's daily holidays
Two big holidays in May are Mother’s Day (May 9*) and Memorial Day (May 31*)
Moms are a huge force in the economy, and in each individual’s life.
Memorial Day is considered the kickoff of summer in the U.S.
Asterisked dates* change year to year. Dates below are correct for 2021 and will be updated each year in early March.
May 1 is May Day, Lei Day, and Global Love Day
May 2* is World Laughter Day
May 4 is Intergalactic Star Wars Day
May 4* is also National Teacher Day
May 5* is the Great American Grump Out
May 15 is International Day of Families
May 15* is also Armed Forces Day
May 20 is National Be a Millionaire Day
May 21* is International Virtual Assistants Day
May 22 is International Sherlock Holmes Day
May 23 is National Lucky Penny Day
May 27 is Nothing To Fear Day
May 30 is National Creativity Day
May 31 is What You Think Upon Grows Day
4. Go ALL OUT for National Small Business Week (May 2 - 9)
First and foremost, National Small Business Week happens annually every first week of May. The event was postponed until September and turned into a virtual celebration in 2020 due to COVID-19, but it's back on in 2021 starting May 2.
Dedicated to raising awareness about small businesses and celebrating the hard-working owners behind them, this week will be packed with ample marketing opportunities. Here are some ways to make the best of National Small Business Week:
Run a deal-a-day for the week, promoting different products/services each day. Or, run an online sale with a link to your landing or product page in your Instagram bio.
Get return customers: Give out coupons with purchases this week, that can only be redeemed on an upcoming holiday or on the last day of Small Business Week.
Get more leads: Offer a downloadable, small business-themed piece of content that is of value to your target audience in exchange for their email addresses. You could also create a guide outlining the specials offered by other small businesses in your neighborhood. This is a great way to connect and network with nearby businesses and strengthen your ties to the community.
Promote your promotions: Write a blog post with a schedule of the deals, events, and contests you’re running and include it in your emails and social media posts.
Increase your exposure: Use #nationalsmallbusinessweek and #nationalsmallbusinessweek[your location] and other relevant hashtags in your social media posts and promotions.
Run an Instagram giveaway for a free product or service. Entrants post a photo to Instagram of themselves at your business, using a custom hashtag. Announce the winner at the end of the week.
Connect: Don’t forget that educating yourself about small businesses and networking with other small business owners is important for your marketing success as well. Attend local events, SBA events, or follow along via live streams.
Build community and expand your reach: Team up with other complementary small businesses and create an event.
Give back: Make an extra effort to give back to your community by shopping at, posting reviews, and engaging in social media with other small businesses during the week.
5. Promote specific product demos and how-to videos
If you're going to promote your business, you might as well educate your customers and clients. This is a great opportunity to do Facebook live events and really engage your audience! Here are a few fun things to do with Facebook live this week:
New product intros and demos
How-to videos
Behind the scenes
Events
Staff spotlights
Giveaways/Contests
Customer interviews/spotlights
Promote other small businesses in your community - this is one of our FAVE'S!
Don't forget - while you're Live to:
Give context: Always make sure to introduce yourself. If you have a planned agenda, give your viewers a breakdown so they know what they’re tuning in for. Also, let your audience know if you’re planning to take questions during your stream. You don’t want any dead space in your live stream waiting for questions to populate. Since it takes a bit to type in the comment area, we recommend letting your audience know a few times throughout your broadcast that you’ll respond to questions.
Talk to your audience: Give a shout-out to those who engage with you. Mention their names and answer their questions. It’s one of the easiest ways to make your audience feel special and appreciated. Since a live stream can be viewed after it has ended in the way of a Facebook Live video, be sure to go back and respond to any comments left afterward. This helps cultivate a sense of community.
Consider the experience: Facebook Live provides a very visceral experience for your audience and it only amplifies that effect when you can further interact and engage with them. It’s best to not just point a camera at an event and let it roll. There needs to be an interaction with the audience. The advantage of Facebook Live is that not only do you have the ability to answer questions verbally via video, but you can also use a second device to respond to questions in real time via the comments section and create a conversation with your audience.
Be yourself: The best part about being live is that you don’t have to be perfect. Just have fun with it.
Have a happy and successful May!
Looking for more ideas/direction on ways to promote YOUR business? Give us a shout! Helping small business drive REAL RESULTS, is kind of our thing!