Happy new year! Let’s start this year off with some helpful tips on how to boost your marketing up a notch this January! And remember to stay tuned each month for a brand new blog full of helpful marketing tips, to boost your sales or help you share your business culture through your social media and so much more.
Like every January, this one is going to be a quiet one, this might be a good thing after such a busy December. So, take a seat, get a cuppa and have a read.
Things that are celebrated throughout the whole month:
Veganuary
Veganuary is a 31-day challenge inspiring people to try and be vegan for a whole month. This campaign is celebrated in over 220 countries and territories and has helped get veganism on the map (and menu) in many restaurants and cafes, making life just that little bit simpler for vegans and people with dietary restrictions. This campaign aims to have a world without slaughterhouses and animal farms, but also to improve human health through a veggie diet!
Many of you may enjoy your daily dose of meat, but why not give this a try? You’d be trying a healthier January after an indulgent Christmas. It will most likely be hard, but it’s not called a challenge for nothing!
How to include this in your marketing?
Document you or your staff doing Veganuary, take pictures of their lunch and even explain if they are finding it hard or are enjoying the change from meat to lentils and tofu.
To sign up and learn more about Veganuary, click here.
Hashtags to use: #veganuary #vegan
Dry January
Joining in on the Dry January challenge will help to reset your drinking habits and body after a heavy few weeks of celebrating and welcoming the new year. As well as this it creates awareness for people that struggle with alcoholism. By creating awareness and/or raising money for this campaign, you’ll be helping save and change lives, by getting people the support they need.
Having a break from alcohol, can help you “sleep better and have more energy, improve your mental health and concentration, look fabulous and get brighter skin, save money and feel an amazing sense of achievement.”
How to include this in your marketing?
Similarly to Veganuary, you could document any staff taking part in this, which could even lead to a few donations to the charity. Even if your team doesn’t take part you can share posts, and support the charity.
For more information about the charity, or to join, click here.
Hashtags to use: #dryjan #dryjanuary
The key dates are:
Brew Monday
16th January
Many of you may know this day by another name, Blue Monday. Blue Monday is known to be the most difficult day of the year, due to the combination of the short dark days, the aftermath of Christmas, and getting back into the swing of work. However, it’s important to understand that the day Blue Monday is actually a myth because we all have our good and bad days. It shouldn’t be associated with just one day of the year. In turn, Brew Monday was a day created by the Samaritans. The Samaritans want everyone to reconnect with their friends and family and have a chat over a brew, and get rid of the stigma that a calendar day can control how you feel.
Just have a simple chat and cuppa and make sure everyone is ok.
Why?
For many businesses, this is a great opportunity to ensure your employees are doing ok, whether it’s after work on a Friday or a mid-week lunch break, join in on Brew Monday.
It’s the perfect opportunity to build awareness for Samaritans and shows future employees that you care about your team’s mental health. Helping you build a good communication strategy with each of your employees, and showing them you are willing to support them if they need it.
This is also a good excuse for a slice of cake!
If you’d like to learn more about Brew Monday, click here.
Hashtags to use: #brewmonday #thesamaritans
Chocolate Cake Day
27th January
As you know, here at Gather, we aren’t ones to miss out on celebrating a national food day! Therefore, this January we can’t wait for chocolate cake day! This day is to celebrate the delicious chocolatey treat that has helped us get through bad days, birthdays, hungry days, and any days basically, showing it deserves to be celebrated.
The History of Chocolate Cake:
In 1764 Dr. James Baker found as he ground cocoa beans with millstones, it reduced the beans into a powder. This was the first record of the process of chocolate cake being made. In 1847, the first chocolate cake recipe was published in The Lady’s Receipt Book by Eliza Leslie. Other authors, like Sarah Tyson Rorer and Maria Parloa, also contributed to the creation of what we know chocolate cake to be today.
How to include this in your marketing?
For bakers or food shops, why not reduce the price of your chocolate for the day, or give out taste testers to your customers?
For other companies you could give your employees a slice of chocolate cake, this would be great for your social media, suggesting your appreciation for your employees and imagine the culture content you’d get!
However, if you’re a little strapped for cash this January, why not just talk about it over your socials? Set up a poll asking your followers: what's their favourite chocolate cake, white, milk, or dark chocolate? This aims to build your interactions with your followers, something which is important to build a strong following base.
Hashtags to use: #chocolatecake #chocolatecakeday
To conclude:
As you can see, it’s going to be a relaxed January, compared to the December we’ve all just had. So why not use this time to build your following, get in touch with them and take those all-important culture content? By taking these steps you’ll have a stronger social media presence, which is becoming more and more important when marketing for your company.
If you’d like to look back on last year's monthly marketing tips, click here and browse our blogs page to find them. And if you know of any other key marketing dates, comment below!
